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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5/01Friday11:00 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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5/01Friday
The Bard College Dance Program Presents: Momentum
Faculty Dance Concert 2026
Thursday, April 30, 2026 – Saturday, May 2, 2026At the LUMA Theater, Fisher Center at Bard. Choreography by: Souleymane Badolo, Jean Churchill, Lisa Fagan, Tara Lorenzen, and Merce Cunningham. Free for Bard students, faculty and staff, $15 for the public.
LUMA Theater
April 30th - 7:30pm
May 1st - 7:30pm
May 2nd - 2pm and 7:30pm
Website: https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/2026-faculty-dance-concert/
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5/01Friday
OTHERWISE: Thesis Exhibition of the MA in Human Rights & the Arts 2026
Friday, May 1, 2026 – Sunday, May 10, 2026
Massena CampusThe MA Program at the Center for Human Rights & the Arts is pleased to announce the thesis exhibition of the MA in Human Rights & the Arts, Class of 2026.
The exhibition is taking place May 1 through May 10, at the Massena and Annandale campuses at Bard College. It features installations, films, and written works by the graduating cohort. The artistic, academic, and hybrid theses are all based on original research by students. They make interventions at both the analytic and methodological levels of analysis.
Below please find the program for the thesis exhibition, including a list of events and showcased works.
Contact: Center for Human Rights & the Arts
E-mail: [email protected]
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5/01Friday12:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Chamber Music Marathon - Part I
Friday, May 1, 2026
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
This concert is a part of the Conservatory’s Chamber Music Program, which all instrumental and studio faculty support through their generous coaching and mentorship.
Free and open to the public. Livestreaming on the Conservatory YouTube Channel here.
Contact: Bard Conservatory Concert Office
Phone: 845-758-7196
E-mail: [email protected]
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5/01Friday1:00 pm – 3:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
The Bill Mullen Recitation Prize
Apply by April 23rd; Contest on May 1st
Friday, May 1, 2026It's time for the annual poetry recitation prize contest. Any current Bard student is eligible to enter. First Place, $500; Second Place, $100! Enter by April 23, 2026.
1:00 pm – 3:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Bard Hall
The Bill Mullen Recitation Contest encourages the love of literature, the joy in oral recitation, the committing to memory of great poetry, the love of public speaking, and the agonal spirit, all of which are at the heart of how we remember Bill Mullen’s intellectual legacy. The Bill Mullen Recitation Contest aims to expose students to, and perhaps instill a love for, the art of memorizing and reciting poetry.
Rules of Competition:
- Participants must be undergraduates at Bard College.
- Poem must be recited in English (translations into English are welcome).
- The poem’s author must be deceased.
- Full texts only, no excerpts.
- Recitation length: no longer than 3 minutes (time yourself in a practice run).
- If the number of applicants exceeds the slots available, applicants will be selected on a “first come” basis.
- Entry deadline: April 23, 2026.
Prizes:
$500 1st place
$100 2nd place
Refreshments will be served.
Who was Bill Mullen?
William "Bill" Mullen (1956-2017) came to Bard College in 1985 and was a key figure in establishing the College's Classics program. He taught at Bard until his death. In 2021 the College announced that a bequest from Professor Mullen's estate had established the William C. Mullen Memorial Fund, which sustains his legacy through grants to former students to continue their studies, and through the support of the Poetry Recitation Prize.
Who are the Judges?
As a jazz musician and sound/text performer, Michael Ives' work with the performance trio, F'loom, was featured on National Public Radio, the CBC, and in various international anthologies of sound poetry. As a member of F'loom, he shared the stage with a wide range of artists, including Eric Bogosian, Lily Tomlin, and Margaret Atwood. He has taught music performance and composition and creative writing at the Aesthetic Education Institute of Lincoln Center and was artist in residence at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He is the author of The Extenal Combustion Engine, Wavetable, The Ghost in the Field, and Oh Shining Nations, So Distant, So Real. His poetry, prose, and fiction have appearance in numerous periodicals. He has taught in the Written Arts Program at Bard College since 2003 where he is a poet-in-residence.
Ann Lauterbach is the author of eleven poetry collections, several chapbooks, and three works of prose, including The Night Sky: Writings on the Poetics of Experience. Her Or to Begin Again was nominated for a National Book Award, and her most recent book, Door (2023), was a finalist for the International Griffin Poetry Prize. She has written about the visual arts, including essays on Felix Gonzales Torres and Mina Loy, and was a recipient of a New York Council of the Arts grant in 2025 for her project The Meanwhile. Among her awards are grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation She was co-chair of Writing in Bard’s MFA from 1992 to 2020, and is Bard’s David and Ruth Schwab Professor of Languages and Literature (Written Arts).