2026–27 Theme
“The Republic Revisited”
The current moment presents a historical juncture in which assumptions about government and public life, in the United States and beyond, are being challenged in renewed and disconcerting ways. Economic and political stability, once regarded as the dividend of the ending of the Cold War, can no longer be taken for granted even in the so-called mature liberal democracies of the North Atlantic region. Faith in democracy as a form of government, and in free speech, cosmopolitanism, and a separation of religion and politics as supporting pillars of such a government, are in decline. International challenges, associated with climate change and global public health, press a world system built upon independent nation-states. Against such a backdrop, students across the world are confronted with an urgent need to re-examine, articulate, and perhaps rejuvenate what it means to live together in a shared society.
This incarnation of First-Year Seminar explores the challenges that arise from membership of a democratic community, the obligations and possibilities of citizenship, and the very notion of a collective society. Students read important works from across history drawn from literature, philosophy, political theory, science, and the arts that have shaped how people think about citizenship and civic membership across time and space. In the process, students develop the core skills needed to succeed at Bard, from engaging in active, critical reading and conversation to writing original, thought-provoking, and persuasive essays. The fall semester takes Plato’s Republic as an anchoring text to focus on the idea of the Republic as a commitment to organizing society and political life as a shared endeavor. The spring semester will build from the constitutional documents of the United States and elsewhere to address the obligations and possibilities that arise for individuals as a consequence of membership of such a community. Authors including Aeschylus, Plato, Burke, Douglass, Wollstonecraft, Locke, Hobbes, Liang, Ellison, and Rousseau, as well as challenges to existing constitutional orders, such as those offered by the Suffragists, Native American groups, and others, will aid our thinking.
This incarnation of First-Year Seminar explores the challenges that arise from membership of a democratic community, the obligations and possibilities of citizenship, and the very notion of a collective society. Students read important works from across history drawn from literature, philosophy, political theory, science, and the arts that have shaped how people think about citizenship and civic membership across time and space. In the process, students develop the core skills needed to succeed at Bard, from engaging in active, critical reading and conversation to writing original, thought-provoking, and persuasive essays. The fall semester takes Plato’s Republic as an anchoring text to focus on the idea of the Republic as a commitment to organizing society and political life as a shared endeavor. The spring semester will build from the constitutional documents of the United States and elsewhere to address the obligations and possibilities that arise for individuals as a consequence of membership of such a community. Authors including Aeschylus, Plato, Burke, Douglass, Wollstonecraft, Locke, Hobbes, Liang, Ellison, and Rousseau, as well as challenges to existing constitutional orders, such as those offered by the Suffragists, Native American groups, and others, will aid our thinking.
Photo by Chris Kayden
What is First-Year Seminar?
Acquiring a shared basis for conversation.
First-Year Seminar is a two-semester course taken by all first-years. Its goal is to create a basis for shared conversation among the first-year class and build foundational skills for success in college—attentive close reading of challenging texts; respectful and inclusive dialogue with others; the ability to ask profound and interesting questions about what you read; and developing your academic voice through writing. During First-Year Seminar, students develop a clearer sense of their own intellectual goals and priorities, which will inform their work during the rest of their time at Bard. A shared reading list addresses a specific theme for the year; recent themes include “What Is Freedom? Dialogues Ancient and Modern” and “What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason.”