Ian Buruma’s New Book Stay Alive Reviewed in the Forward
Julia M. Klein writes that Buruma’s work is “at once panoramic and intimate, dispassionate and deeply moving.”
Ian Buruma’s New Book Stay Alive Reviewed in the Forward
Ian Buruma. Photo by Pete Mauney ’93 MFA ’00
The Human Rights Program at Bard is a transdisciplinary program involving such diverse fields as literature, political studies, history, anthropology, economics, film and media, and art history. It emphasizes integrative historical and conceptual investigations, and offers a rigorous background that can inform meaningful practical engagements. The program seeks to orient students in the intellectual tradition of human rights and provide them the resources with which to appreciate and criticize its contemporary status.
Post Date: 03-24-2026
Bard College and PEN America Announce the Launch of the Central America Independent Media Archive
CAIMA was built in partnership with the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA) team, and is the latest project under the umbrella of Kronika.Bard College and PEN America Announce the Launch of the Central America Independent Media Archive
Ramón Zamora. Photo by Bernardo Díaz
Founded in response to the escalating criminalization and persecution of journalism in Central America, CAIMA’s mission is to empower journalists, researchers, and civil society actors to deepen investigative work across the region. The collection currently preserves archival publications from 12 media outlets, including the complete editorial history of elPeriódico, a Guatemalan publication internationally recognized for its decades of investigative reporting on corruption and abuse of power.
In 2022, elPeriódico’s founder and director, José Rubén Zamora, was arbitrarily detained after the newspaper published 144 consecutive weeks of investigative reporting on corruption during the administration of former Guatemalan president Alejandro Giammattei. Following his arrest, the newsroom faced political, legal, and financial pressure, forcing nine journalists into exile. In May 2023, the publication was forced to shut down, cutting off public access to decades of investigative journalism. To protect their father’s legacy and the work of the newsroom, Zamora’s sons, Ramón and José Carlos, secured a complete digital copy of elPeriódico’s archive, an effort that laid the groundwork for CAIMA.
“Our goal is to preserve the first draft of Central America’s history and ensure that the work of courageous journalists is never erased,” said CAIMA coordinator Ramón Zamora. “CAIMA is both a shield against censorship and a tool for journalists and researchers committed to exposing corruption and understanding how power operates across borders.”
The archive is designed to grow by continuously incorporating collections from other independent media organizations across Central America that face censorship, shutdowns, or forced exile. In a region where authoritarian practices increasingly restrict access to information, CAIMA strengthens journalism’s ability to hold power accountable and supports deeper, evidence-based regional analysis. To access CAIMA, please visit elarchivo.media/en
Post Date: 03-23-2026
Bard Alumna Sonita Alizadeh ’23 Profiled in Forbes
“Today, Sonita’s message is simple but profound: never underestimate the power of your voice.”Bard Alumna Sonita Alizadeh ’23 Profiled in Forbes
Sonita Alizadeh ’23, Bard College alumna and human rights activist.
Post Date: 03-17-2026
M. Gessen Spoke with WMCU’s Here and Now About Kronika, Joint Civic Tech Project of Bard College and PEN America
Gessen outlined how Kronika has gone from being an archive to a set of tools in response to worldwide threats to free speech.M. Gessen Spoke with WMCU’s Here and Now About Kronika, Joint Civic Tech Project of Bard College and PEN America
M. Gessen.
Post Date: 02-16-2026
Upcoming Events
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5/22Friday11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today: 2026 Graduate Student Curated Exhibitions
Saturday, April 4, 2026 – Sunday, May 24, 2026
11:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Hessel Museum of Art, CCS Bard
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today collects curatorial projects organized by the Class of 2026 at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, in fulfillment of their MA in Curatorial Studies. From solo exhibitions that revisit and reinvigorate historical legacies to group shows that foreground contemporary practices, the projects span diverse disciplines, time periods, and materials.
More exhibition information here. Not open Monday or Tuesday.
Contact: CCS Bard
Phone: 845-758-7598
E-mail: [email protected]
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5/22Friday
Alumni/ae Reunion Weekend
Class Years Ending in 1 and 6: It’s Your Reunion
Friday, May 22, 2026 – Sunday, May 24, 2026Reunion Weekend 2026 Is May 22–24!
Bard College Campus
We encourage alumni/ae in classes ending in 1 and 6 to return to beautiful Annandale to celebrate, reconnect, and have a great time! Come back to look at your favorite Bard spots, and see all the amazing changes happening on campus. All alumni/ae are invited!
Contact: Jane Brien
Phone: 845-758-7406
E-mail: [email protected]
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5/23Saturday
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5/31Sunday4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Poiesis Quartet
Sunday, May 31, 2026
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Olin HallPoiesis Quartet
Sarah Ying Ma violin
Max Ball violin
Jasper de Boor viola
Drew Dansby celloCelebrated for their “multifaceted artistry” and “brilliantly idiomatic” programming (New York Times), the Poiesis Quartet is the winner of the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award and the First Prize and Commission Prize recipients of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. They will perform works from the canon by Joseph Haydn and Sergei Prokofiev alongside contemporary works by Sky Macklay, Chickasaw classical composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and a newly commissioned work by Kevin Lau.
Phone: 845-758-7900
Website: https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/hvcmc26-1/
E-mail: [email protected]
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6/06Saturday3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Hannah Arendt in Art and Practice
Part of the Hannah Arendt Special IHRAF Festival Celebrating the life and ideas of Hannah Arendt (1906-1975)
Saturday, June 6, 2026The Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College presents a discussion with artists and scholars about how Arendtian ideas influenced their work. Moderated by Thomas Bartscherer (Peter Sourian Senior Lecturer in the Humanities at Bard College) and featuring Jenny Lyn Bader (playwright) and three IHRAF artists: Emmanuelle Zagoria (The banality of being a balloon), Shailly Agnihotri (The Supremes) and Dylan Horowitz (Living The Dream).
3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
The 30th Street Theater, 259 West 30th Street, NYC
Thomas Bartscherer (Workshop Leader) holds PhD and MA degrees from the University of Chicago and a BA (summa cum laude) from the University of Pennsylvania. He has held fellowships at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, the University of Heidelberg, and the Center for Advanced Film Studies at the Freie Universität in Berlin. He is a Senior Fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities. His writing for performance has been presented at numerous venues, including LA Phil’s Disney Hall, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Prototype Festival, the Kaatsbaan Festival, and the First Take Opera Workshop.
Roger Berkowitz (Introduction) is an American scholar and professor whose work focuses on politics, philosophy, and law. He is recognized as a leading scholar on the political thinking of Hannah Arendt. In 2006, he founded the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College, where he is a Professor of Politics, Philosophy, and Human Rights.
Jenny Lyn Bader (Playwright)'s plays include Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library (Luna Stage), Equally Divine (Theatre at the 14th St. Y), In Flight (Turn to Flesh Productions), and None of the Above (New Georges). A Harvard graduate, she has received the “Best Documentary One-Woman Show” Award (United Solo Fest); Athena Playwriting Fellowship; and the O’Neill Center’s Edith Oliver Award for a playwright who has, in the spirit of the late New Yorker critic, “a caustic wit that deflates the ego but does not unduly damage the human spirit.” Her work has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Smith + Kraus, Applause, Vintage, W.W. Norton, The Lincoln Center Theater Review, Plays International + Europe, and The New York Times, where she served as a frequent contributor to the "Week in Review.”
IHRAF Festival: Hannah Arendt is taking place June 5-7 at The 30th Street Theater, 259 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001
The International Human Rights Art Movement announces its IHRAF Festival: Hannah Arendt, highlighting the thought and power of the 20th century social philosopher Hannah Arendt, and how her work informs our understanding of today’s social and political world. IHRAF: Arendt, funded by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and in conjunction with the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard college, highlights her ideas through dance, theater, puppetry, music, a workshop discussion and other artistic means, 15 performances chosen out of 100 submissions.