BARD’S FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR FALL SERIES Monday Afternoon Series from September 11 to December 11, “What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason,” Includes Concerts, Performances, Lectures, Films, and Panel Discussions

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—On Monday afternoons from September 11 through December 11, Bard’s fall 2006 First-Year Seminar program, “What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason,” offers a series of concerts, performances, lectures, films, and panel discussions. All the events are free and open to the public and begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Sosnoff Theater of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts (through October 23) or in Olin Hall (after October 23). The fall lecture series is part of the First-Year Seminar at Bard College, a required two-semester program for first-year students that introduces them to worldwide intellectual, artistic, and cultural traditions and to methods of studying those traditions. The lecture series provides a public forum for students, the public, and leading scholars and artists to explore contemporary and relevant issues, as well as the latest scholarship on enduring questions. On October 16, the seminar with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO), titled “Mozart and the Enlightenment,” is a highlight of the series for the students and public. The free event includes a lecture/demonstration followed by a performance of Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 “Prague” in D major. Other prominent presentations of the series include: on September 11, “The World of Confucius” by Smith College professor Daniel Gardner, author of Canon, Commentary, and the Confucian Tradition; September 25, “Plato’s The Republic: A Layman's View,” by Leon Botstein, President of Bard College; October 30, “Philosophy for Beginners: Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy ibn Yaqzan” by Richard Bulliet of Columbia University, author of The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization; and December 11, “William Wilberforce and the First Phase of British Abolitionism,” by Pulitzer Prize winner and Yale professor David Brion Davis, author of Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. Events that feature Bard faculty include lectures on September 18, “Classical Architecture: A Visualization of Western Ideals” with Diana Minsky; November 6, “Galileo and Descartes as Natural Philosophers,” with Matthew Deady; November 27, “Novel Selves: Imagining the Individual in 18th-Century Literary Culture,” with Deirdre d’Albertis; and December 4, “Be My Fantasy: Cannibalism and Prostitution in the 18th-Century Pacific,” with Geoffrey Sanborn. In addition, a student debate centers on Plato’s The Republic on October 2; film screenings are offered on October 23 and November 13; and a faculty panel discussion on “John Locke, Property, and Human Rights” takes place on November 20. All events are free and open to the public; no reservations are necessary. For further information or directions to the Fisher Center, call 845-758-7900; for information or directions to Olin Hall, call 845-758-7512. For information about the First-Year Seminar at Bard, visit inside.bard.edu/firstyear/. # The American Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski with a mission to “perform concerts of great music within the means of everyone.” Today, under music director Leon Botstein (who assumed the post in 1992), that mission has broadened into an effort to revitalize the concertgoing experience in order to maintain it as a vibrant force in contemporary culture. As part of Lincoln Center Presents Great Performers, the American Symphony Orchestra performs thematically organized concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, linking music to the visual arts, literature, politics, and popular culture, often in collaboration with museums and other cultural institutions. The American Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra of The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, where it participates in a winter concert series as well as the summer Bard Music Festival. The American Symphony Orchestra also offers a variety of music education programs at high schools in Manhattan and New Jersey. Leon Botstein is music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra, founder and coartistic director of the Bard Music Festival, and president of Bard College. He is also the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Botstein is editor of The Musical Quarterly and has published several books, including The Compleat Brahms and Jefferson’s Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture. # Schedule of Events: All events begin at 4:30 p.m. Location: Sosnoff Theater of the Fisher Center (through October 23); Olin Hall (after October 23) Information: 845-758-7900 or 845-758-7512 September 11: “The World of Confucius” Lecture by Daniel Gardner, Smith College Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center September 18: “Classical Architecture: A Visualization of Western Ideals” Lecture by Diana Minsky, Bard College Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center September 25: “Plato’s The Republic: A Layman’s View” Lecture by Leon Botstein, President, Bard College Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center October 2: Student Debate on Plato’s The Republic Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center October 16: “Mozart and the Enlightenment” Lecture/demonstration and performance by Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center October 23: Film Screening Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center October 30: “Philosophy for Beginners: Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy ibn Yaqzan” Lecture by Richard Bulliet, Columbia University Olin Hall November 6: “Galileo and Descartes as Natural Philosophers” Lecture by Matthew Deady, Bard College Olin Hall November 13: Film Sceening Olin Hall November 20: Faculty Panel Discussion: “John Locke, Property, and Human Rights” Olin Hall November 27: “Novel Selves: Imagining the Individual in 18th-Century Literary Culture” Lecture by Deirdre d’Albertis, Bard College Olin Hall December 4: “Be My Fantasy: Cannibalism and Prostitution in the 18th-Century Pacific” Lecture by Geoffrey Sanborn, Bard College Olin Hall December 11: “William Wilberforce and the First Phase of British Abolitionism” Lecture by David Brion Davis, Yale University Olin Hall # # # (8/28/06)

This event was last updated on 12-12-2006

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