Okay, it’s a sprint to the finish now for most of us in academia. After what was (we hope!) a restful Thanksgiving break, you may find yourself tempted to throw every waking moment and all of your energy into accomplishing your goals for this semester, particularly if you’ve fallen behind a bit (and who hasn’t?). Read more about Sunday Motivation: Mental Downtime[…]
The explicitness of sexuality in Ancient Greece, the voicelessness of prostitutes during World War I, the spark of revolution in nineteenth century Paris, and the Baudelaire’s ideas about aesthetic beauty and urban landscape: all of these intriguing concepts have served as inspiration for the work of Mary Reid Kelley. Though she originally “started off as a Read more about Field Work: Mary Reid Kelley Brings SWINBURNE’S PASIPHAE to Life[…]
It has been a tumultuous week in the U.S. filled with events that cause us to doubt our unity and integrity as a nation. On this Thanksgiving Day, for some it may be hard to see what we can be thankful for in the U.S. public sphere. The New York Times recently published a story on Read more about Thanksgiving in Times of Crisis[…]
Many of you are traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday today – need a little something to listen to that will get you in the spirit? Or at least make you feel less guilty about your turkey carnage tomorrow? Take a listen to a legendary episode of This American Life featuring a turkey on the rampage, terrorizing Read more about Podcast of the Weekend 9: Turkey Rampage Edition[…]
A recent interactive article by the New York Times has been making the rounds on social media that purports to identify signature Thanksgiving dishes from each state in the U.S. The interactive quality of the article is pretty impressive, and each state’s recipe is included in case your Thanksgiving table needs a little help this year. Read more about Creativity Breadcrumb 35: Your State’s Thanksgiving Favorite[…]
On November 20, 21, and 22, the Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre presented its Final Showings. The performances encompassed works by faculty artists, of the students’ own, and from classical ballet and modern repertoires. What was most fascinating to me was the structure that allows for the audience to witness the evolution of the pieces, to watch Read more about Field Work: Life in Movement[…]
Many people have conflicting opinions on Thanksgiving. On the one hand, they appreciate the opportunity to gather with family and friends, eat good food, and be thankful for all that they have. On the other hand, the increasingly commercial holiday glorifies the destruction of an entire group of people just for the sake of “discovering Read more about Podcast of the Week 8: Thanksgiving Thoughts[…]
Post-Impressionist illustrator, painter, printmaker, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) would be 150 today, and what better way to celebrate than to be inspired by his work… Born to a wealthy family, but standing at a short statue of 4’6″, Toulouse-Lautrec found himself uncomfortably between the elites and social outcasts of Paris. His work captures this crux, Read more about Creativity Breadcrumb 34: Toulouse-Lautrec Turns 150[…]
The Annual Elizabeth Bishop Poetry Reading: Mark Strand November 6, 2014 funded courtesy of Priscilla H. Rockwell ’47 and the late H.P. Davis Rockwell Named a MacArthur Fellow in 1987, appointed as the U.S. Poet Laureate in 1990, and awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1999, et al., now at the age of eighty Mark Strand Read more about Field Work: Towards a Vivid World[…]
Finals are almost upon us. As you prepare for your final papers, projects, and exams, bear in mind the wise words of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Vassar alum Jane Smiley: I think there are two kinds of sentences in a rough draft: seeds and pebbles. If it’s a pebble, it’s just the next sentence and it Read more about Sunday Motivation: Vassar Alum Jane Smiley ’71 on Creating Seeds or Pebbles[…]