Tara Westover Joins Bard College as Visiting Writer in Residence in the Division of Languages and Literature
Tara Westover. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
Bard College’s Division of Languages and Literature is pleased to announce the appointment of Tara Westover as visiting writer in residence. Her appointment begins in the fall 2026 semester.
Westover is an American historian and memoirist. Her first book, Educated, a memoir of her upbringing in rural Idaho, was a finalist for a number of national awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, PEN America’s Jean Stein Book Award, and two awards from the National Book Critics Circle Award. The New York Times named Educated one of the 10 Best Books of 2018, and the American Booksellers Association voted Educated the Nonfiction Book of the same year. “I'm very pleased to be joining the faculty at Bard and am really looking forward to meeting the students,” said Westover.
In 2019, Westover was named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the year. She holds a PhD in intellectual history from Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 2019 she was the Rosenthal Writer in Residence at Harvard University. In 2023, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by former president Joseph Biden.
Post Date: 08-14-2026
Westover is an American historian and memoirist. Her first book, Educated, a memoir of her upbringing in rural Idaho, was a finalist for a number of national awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, PEN America’s Jean Stein Book Award, and two awards from the National Book Critics Circle Award. The New York Times named Educated one of the 10 Best Books of 2018, and the American Booksellers Association voted Educated the Nonfiction Book of the same year. “I'm very pleased to be joining the faculty at Bard and am really looking forward to meeting the students,” said Westover.
In 2019, Westover was named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the year. She holds a PhD in intellectual history from Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 2019 she was the Rosenthal Writer in Residence at Harvard University. In 2023, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by former president Joseph Biden.
Post Date: 08-14-2026