Courses

Through this course we launch into an introduction to cultural anthropology, one of the four fields of American anthropology. In this course we will broadly familiarize ourselves with the history of the discipline in the U.S. and elsewhere, its methods, key figures, and key anthropological concepts, such as (gendered and raced) culture(s), social structure(s), forms of kinship (to name a few) across cultures and societies. The broad questions that we will explore throughout the course will revolve around locating and making sense of similarities despite the obvious differences in human experience cross-culturally, as well as locating differences within the obvious shared commonalities. We will do so through engaging multimedia resources, writing, reading, and discussing pertinent issues. Most importantly, however, you will be able to creatively use the knowledge you develop in the course by experimenting with different anthropological methods and approaches. Ultimately, our goal in this course is to develop the anthropological way of knowing (that of familiarization and denaturalization), as it can create transformative, if sometimes precarious, moments of understanding within and beyond academia.

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D38
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D38

This course provides an introduction to research methods often employed in the social sciences, including but not limited to anthropology, sociology, economics, psychology, political science, and gender studies. We will cover a variety of methods, including surveys, interviews, observations and experiments. To help us understand the complex questions facing researchers more interactively we will actually do methods in this course. You will design and implement your projects in collaboration with your peers. Leaving this course, you will be prepared to conduct your own research project, aware of the elements that contribute to a well-crafted research design and ask astute questions about our social world.

• Introductory level work in the social sciences
• Students pursuing Plan work in sociology and anthropology are required to take this course

• Tuesday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D38
• Friday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D38

This course charts the medieval history (c. 1000 to 1400 CE/c. AH 400-800) of the city of Jerusalem, sacred to three of the world’s largest religious traditions. The course takes its structure from a recent (2016-17) exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city. We will examine both the works of art discussed in the exhibition as well as the historiographic context of the exhibition itself. The course thus jumps between the present and the past, seeking to understand the context in which the works of art and architecture that we examine were produced, and our current understanding of their place and meaning in today’s city.

• at least two art history courses, one introductory one intermediate

• Monday 3:30pm-5:20pm in Apple Tree
• Thursday 3:30pm-5:20pm in Apple Tree

Visual material is arguably now a more prevalent means of communication than language. But like language it is not always clear that the message being sent is the one that is received. This class takes as a given that it is essential for us to be cognizant of the way in which images act in the world from propaganda to news photographs and from famous paintings to contemporary music videos. Thus the aim of the class will be to develop skills of critical image assessment, we will also think through choices that artists and others make about media, juxtapositions of text and image, delivery systems such as the internet and print media, and questions of universal applicability of an image. Prerequisite: None

• none

• Monday 10:00am-11:20am in Apple Tree
• Wednesday 10:00am-11:20am in Apple Tree

During thirty years of Maoist revolution and, now, forty years of quasi-capitalist reform, China’s authoritarian regime has had a tempestuous relationship with the natural world.  First famously contemptuous of the constraints nature might pose on human ambitions, the Chinese Communist Party dammed, flooded,  irrigated, chopped, extracted, paved, and irradiated with abandon.  Mao’s successors might have departed from his ideological dismissiveness of the environment, but in their quest to maximize the growth of China’s economy, they continued to run  roughshod over the increasingly fragile ecosystem.  The world’s most ambitious family-planning regimen was, perhaps, the one great concession to the natural world’s limited capacity to provide.   Now seeking to displace American leadership on the world stage, Party Secretary Xi Jinjping aims to take the lead in a global competition for green technology and finance.  In this course we will explore the complex relationship between political organization and environmental policy.  We will examine tensions between state sovereignty and global interdependence.  We will also look the role of civil society, the media, and international NGOs.  What implications does the Chinese state’s capacity to dictate consumption and production choices have for the natural world?  If the results prove favorable, might other countries be inclined to authoritarian measures of their own?   Students in the class will engage in a quick study of the history of China’s environment and then a closer analysis of recent policy decisions, and what they tell us about the role of the contemporary state in stewarding natural resources.  Each student will pick a subject to examine in greater detail.  We will draw on the expertise of colleagues at the Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum and the Vermont Law School’s China Project.

• Tuesday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D21
• Friday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D21

This introductory class will focus on the design features, principles, and use of Japanese hand tools.  Following Toshio Odate’s text as our guide, we will consider the role of the shokunin or craftsman in society.  We will study the physical properties of steel, stone, and wood.  We will examine the aesthetics and function of traditional temple joinery.  Dull tools will become sharp in our hands.  We will look out to the wider world through a fieldtrip to New Hope PA, home to George Nakashima’s workshop.  We will also look in to the fine expressions of grain in pieces of pine and oak, which will tell us how to approach the wood with our tools.  By the end of the term students will be able to recognize a halved, rabbeted, oblique, scarf joint, and maybe even be able to cut one!

Additional Fee:$50.00

• None, some manual dexterity helpful!

• Wednesday 10:30am-12:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L18
• Friday 10:30am-12:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L18

General Biology I is an introduction to the scientific study of life and basic biological principles. We begin the semester with an examination of the molecular, cellular, and metabolic nature of living organisms and then explore the genetic basis of life. General Biology I & II serve as the foundation for further work in life sciences. Prerequisite: Some chemistry recommended

• Monday 10:30am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Wednesday 10:30am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Friday 10:30am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 221

The focus of this course is an exploration of biological principles and biological diversity in a laboratory setting. We will study such organisms as bacteria, yeast, molds, and mammalian cell cultures including cancer cells, plants, bacteria and others. Skill in basic laboratory techniques in biology will be acquired throughout the semester. Recommended for prospective life science Plan students. Additional Fee:$0

• Concurrent enrollment in General Biology I or permission of instructor

• Monday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 220

Students examine the interactions of body systems as they explore identity, communication, power, movement, protection and homeostasis.  Students design experiments, investigate the structures and functions of the human body, and use data acquisition software to monitor body functions such as muscle movement, reflex and voluntary action, and respiration.  Exploring science in action, students build organs and tissues on a skeletal manikin, work through interesting real world cases and often play the role of biomedical professionals to solve medical mysteries. *This course is held on the Brattleboro Union High School campus.

This course is a biological survey of members of the Class Mammalia. We will cover classification, physiology, morphology, behavior, and ecology in order to able to recognize morphological specializations and evolutionary relationships among mammals. Pre-requisite: College-level biology or permission of instructor

Additional Fee:$ 0

• College-level biology or permission of instructor

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 221

In this class we will examine the biological principles that underlie some controversial issues in today's society. Students will gain an understanding of the scientific approach and learn to think critically about issues that affect our lives. Topics may include GMO's, vaccines, climate change, endocrine disruptors, stem cell research, and identity. Prerequisite: None

• Monday 11:30am-12:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Friday 11:30am-12:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221

This course will introduce students to the foundational skills used for both sculptural and functional ceramics.  Demonstrations and presentations will expose students to historical and contemporary approaches to working with clay.  Basic technical information about the ceramic medium will be discussed, and students will complete a series works designed to provide a broad sampling of the medium.  This class will focus primarily on hand building, with a wheel-throwing section.

Additional Fee:$120

• None

• Monday 1:00pm-3:20pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L12
• Thursday 1:00pm-3:20pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L12

This course will introduce students to the process of slip casting in ceramics.  We will investigate sculptural as well as functional forms, and the class will address the use of multiples and replicas in both fine art and industrial settings.  Over the course of the semester, students can expect to gain an understanding of the fundamental issues associated with making plaster molds.  This class will consist of demonstrations, lectures, and image presentations when appropriate.

Additional Fee:$120

• None

• Tuesday 10:30am-12:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L12
• Thursday 10:30am-12:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L12

Chemistry has a rich history, including ancient theories on the nature of matter and recipes for converting lead into gold. Modern research and applications are equally exciting, and include topics such as creating more efficient solar collectors and the reactions of natural and human-made chemicals in the environment. We will explore these topics as we learn about atomic structure and the periodic table, reaction stoichiometry, chemical bonds, molecular structure and other concepts central to modern chemistry. Many of these topics are related to current health topics and environmental issues. For example, discussions of pH include research on ocean acidification, and our exploration of thermochemistry includes calculations of the fuel value of traditional and alternative fuels.

• General Chemistry I Lab

• Monday 9:30am-10:20am in Brown Science/Sci 216
• Wednesday 9:30am-10:20am in Brown Science/Sci 216
• Friday 9:30am-10:20am in Brown Science/Sci 216

Science is a process, not a collection of facts. In this laboratory we will combine the study of chemistry with the process of science. Our explorations will focus on "pharmacognosy" which is the scientific study of medicinal plants. We will begin by developing some basic quantitative skills and familiarity with laboratory techniques. The activities for these early parts of the lab will be fairly structured. As you develop your ability to approach a problem scientifically the activities will be less structured. You will have more responsibility for designing and conducting your own experiments on medicinal herbs. Students will work on projects in groups but each student will keep their own laboratory notebook and write their own laboratory reports.

• General Chemistry I

• Tuesday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 112

Carbon can form bonds with itself and almost all of the other elements, giving rise to an enormous variety of carbon-containing molecules. Early organic chemists struggled with the structure of one--a cyclic molecule called benzene--until Friedrich Kekulé solved the puzzle in a dream: he saw the carbon atoms “twisting in a snake-like motion. But look! What was this? One of the snakes had seized hold of its own tail, and the form whirled mockingly before my eyes.” In this course we study the chemistry of these carbon-based compounds--their structures, properties and reactions. Many of these concepts will be discussed in the context of biological systems, and class sessions will frequently be devoted to problem-solving sessions and small group projects. This is an intermediate chemistry course and provides essential background for biology, chemistry, pre-med, and pre-veterinary students. 

• General Chemistry I (NSC158)

• Organic Chemistry I

• Tuesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 112
• Thursday 11:30am-12:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 112

In the laboratory we will apply the concepts and analytical skills we develop in the classroom. We will continue to hone problem-solving skills and become familiar with organic chemistry laboratory equipment and procedures. Laboratory sessions will be designed to allow students to explore ideas discussed in class through structured protocols as well as through more open-ended inquiry. Initial laboratory sessions will guide students through the isolation and identification of various compounds of interest, preparing students for their own more in-depth research. By using these techniques students will become comfortable working in a laboratory and familiar with techniques commonly used by organic chemists.

• Organic Chemistry I

• Thursday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 112

This is a beginner's course in Ancient Greek, the language of Homer, Plato, Sophocles, and so many other eminent authors who have shaped Western civilization with their works. Its lexical and conceptual legacy continues to be felt in a number of modern languages, including English. Ancient Greek is also worthy of study for the beauty of its sound – what the Greeks called euphonia - and the unique richness of its expression. It can be challenging, and regular quizzes and consolidation will be integral to the course, but hard work will yield rich rewards. We will be working from Athenaze, a textbook designed for students starting Greek at the college level; it focuses on exposing students to continuous Greek prose as early as possible.

• Monday 11:30am-12:20pm in Rice-Aron Library/202
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:20pm in Rice-Aron Library/202
• Friday 11:30am-12:20pm in Rice-Aron Library/202

Continuation of Greek IB.

In this intermediate course, you will strengthen and enrich your knowledge of Greek morphology, grammar, and vocabulary as you gain experience in reading Greek prose. We will read and discuss Xenophon’s Symposium, a lively narrative of an aristocratic drinking-party with Socrates as the guest of honor.

• Tuesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Rice-Aron Library/202
• Thursday 11:30am-12:50pm in Rice-Aron Library/202

This is a beginner's course in Latin. Students come to Latin for many reasons: to acquire a better understanding of English and other languages, to gain unmediated access to a rich and influential literary tradition, or simply to challenge themselves intellectually. Latin is a demanding language, and students should be prepared for regular short quizzes to reinforce material as we go along, but consistent effort will pay rich dividends. We will be working from the latest edition of Wheelock's Latin, designed for moderate-to-intense language training. It not only covers important vocabulary, morphology, and grammar, but also offers an exciting glimpse of Roman life and thought through a plentiful collection of excerpts from ancient authors.

• Monday 9:30am-10:20am in Rice-Aron Library/202
• Wednesday 9:30am-10:20am in Rice-Aron Library/202
• Friday 9:30am-10:20am in Rice-Aron Library/202

TITLE: Intermediate Latin Prose: Cornelius Nepos & Cicero.

Continuation of Latin IB.

In this intermediate course, you will strengthen and enrich your knowledge of Latin morphology, grammar, and vocabulary as you gain experience in reading Latin prose. In the first half of the course, we will translate and discuss several Lives (Vitae) of ancient men written by Cornelius Nepos, a 1st century Roman with a clear and accessible style. His Vitae are short biographies of important ancient personages, such as Themistocles, Hannibal, and Cato. In the second half of the course we will read selections from Cicero’s Pro Caelio, a courtroom speech by Rome’s greatest orator in defense of a young friend who fell into legal trouble while enjoying the fast life with the rich and famous of Republican Rome.

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Rice-Aron Library/202
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Rice-Aron Library/202

A look at what goes on "under the hood" of a computer, in the implementation in machine code of a C program running on a Linux computer. Sometimes called "Computer Organization", a course like this one is a required part of most computer science degree programs, typically taken by sophomores after a course or two in basic programming concepts. Topics include the C programming language, machine-level data representation and assembly language, processor organization, system performance, memory caching, code compilation and linking and similar fun stuff. This course is likely to be offered every few years. Textbook: Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, ISBN 0136108040.

• Previous programming experience

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 217
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 217

A hands-on exploration of interactive electronics with the Arduino programmable microcontroller and various sensors, motors, lights and switches which show the basics of circuits, coding, and the techniques behind the DIY (Do It Yourself) "Maker" culture. We will also do a bit of 3D modeling and printing. Required hardware : "SparkFun Inventor's Kit" ($100 at https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14265 )

• Wednesday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 217

A first class in computer programming, and as such a foundation class for further work in computer science. Much as a competency with English grammar is required for writing, an understanding of programming is required for nearly all intermediate and advanced work in computer science. A similar course is offered every fall, though the language chosen varies from year to year. Python is a modern, elegant, high level scripting language, popular at Google among other places. In addition to learning about "object oriented programming", loops, input/output and all that, expect to also learn a variety of computer skills and basics.

• Tuesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 217
• Thursday 11:30am-12:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 217

In this course, the students will be introduced to French and Francophone Cultures (Algeria, France, Haiti, Morocco, Quebec, Senegal...)  through Films. We will start with a discussion on colonization and independence, and move to immigration. Special attention will be paid to Feminism and LGBTQ issues in the Francophone world. The class will center on such films as Black and White in color by Jean-Jacques Anneau, Indochine by Regis Warnier, Divines by Houda Benyamina, Outside the law by Rachid Bouchared, Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako, Black Girl by Ousmane Sembene.  

• Monday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Dalrymple/D43

In this class, students will explore both the art and the craft of making dances, drawing on the dance traditions they have studied and gaining new tools and inspirations. Students will be encouraged to think deeply about what is valued in the dance forms they practice and what their own goals are as choreographers. We will work together to develop language to describe dances, so that we can sharpen our ability to observe and analyze choreographic choices and expand our own palettes as creators. Responding to weekly assignments and prompts, students will create a number of dances throughout the semester, bringing a new draft to class each week. Class sessions will focus on viewing and discussing students' work, and on exploring both tools for the creative process and ideas about composition. Attention will be given to learning how to give and receive choreographic feedback, how to support others in reaching their own choreographic visions, and to editing and developing existing choreography. In addition, students will study the choreographic methods of established artists in a variety of forms through viewing videos and reading texts. This course will require students to work independently and commit a substantial amount of time outside of class to the completion of choreographic studies. Students will present their final projects in an end of the semester showing. This course may be repeated for credit; assignments, readings, and special topics will differ each semester. 

The theme of this semester’s course is: Aesthetics and Composition Across Dance Forms. In the dance form(s) you’ve practiced, why are dances made? When and where are they performed? What are the values and unspoken rules inherent in this artistic tradition? What ways do artists innovate within or expand the boundaries of the dance forms you practice? In what ways do you want to expand on what other artists have done? In this course, we will seek to understand our aesthetic histories and ourselves as artists, as well as to expand our possibilities beyond what we already know and do. 

• Permission of the instructor

• Tuesday 1:30pm-3:20pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Dance
• Friday 1:30pm-3:20pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Dance

Contact Improvisation (CI) is an exploration of the movement that is possible when two bodies are in physical contact, using each other's support to balance and communicating through weight and momentum. CI was invented in the United States in the early 1970s and it has since spread all around the world, where it is practiced both as a social dance and as a component of post-modern dance performance. In this class, we will learn basic skills and concepts to enter the practice of contact improvisation. We will work to develop comfort with our bodies, to trust one another, to take risks, to make choices in the moment, and to understand the forces of physics as they apply to the body in motion. We will listen to sensation, communicate through skin and muscles, develop reflexes for falling and flying and find access to our own strength and sensitivity. Prerequisite: None

• Tuesday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Dance
• Friday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Dance

In this course we will explore dancing as a kind of speaking or singing of one’s body, exploring concepts like texture, volume, timbre, harmony, and discord in our movement. We will look at the idea of a “kinetic melody,” investigating how various melodies come together and break apart and how the content of our dancing is affected by  ?(and effects) our ecosystem. Technical training is undertaken with the goal of strengthening each student’s poetic command of their moving-speaking-singing bodies. We will look to cultivate strong, articulate, and receptive dancing.

Pulling primarily from somatics, release technique, and Contact Improvisation, the technique portion of the class includes specific, set phrasework and exercises which are interspersed with improvisatory explorations in order to further refine technical and performance skills. Students are encouraged to draw from any movement-based background they might have—sports, other dance forms, martial arts, etc.—in order to bring their full selves into dancing. We will strive to sharpen anatomical and kinesthetic awareness, improve alignment, increase strength, efficiency, and flexibility, and develop rhythmic sensitivity. Patience, efficiency, and specificity (in addition to abandon) are prioritized throughout. Through physical experience, observation, discussion, reading, writing, and reflection, we will seek to deepen our sense of creative ownership and presence in movement.The course will culminate with the performance of a dance work made collaboratively over the course of the semester. The work will explore the unique rhythms—biological, environmental, cultural, and cosmic—that constitute our lived experience of ourselves and our worlds. We will look at how these rhythms influence our perceptions, our actions, and our communities.

• Some prior dance experience (in any forms of dance) and permission of the instructor.

• Monday 10:30am-12:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Dance
• Wednesday 10:30am-12:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Dance

This class will look in depth at the microeconomic models that economists use to explain consumer and firm behavior (Demand and Supply).  Emphasis will be placed on the interpretation and validity of these economic models.  We will take note of when the models work well and when they don’t, and some alternatives will be discussed.  The discussion of homeworks (one approximately every two weeks) will be an integral part of the class.  Regular attendance and a textbook are required for this course.

• basic algebra (non-calculus) graphing of straight lines is highly recommended but not required

• Tuesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D43
• Thursday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D43

Agroecology involves the application of ecological principles to growing food and seeks to make agricultural practices more sustainable. While contemporary use of this term originated in the 1970s, the science and practice of agroecology dates from the origins of agriculture. We will examine complex interactions between crop plants and their physical environments as the plants acquire water, nutrients, carbon dioxide and light and as they interact with other plants and animals (including humans). We will draw on historical and contemporary examples of agroecological systems worldwide. Stephen Gliessman’s text Agroecology: Ecological Processes in Sustainable Agriculture serves as a framework for the course, and we will also explore topics using articles from the scientific literature. You will have the opportunity to investigate an area of particular interest in a research project, and we will hear first-hand accounts from local experts, make field visits to local farms, and work on the college farm.  We will meet on Fridays until 4:50.

• Biology or an introductory Environmental Studies course recommended

• Tuesday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 222
• Friday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 222

Course offered at BUHS for BUHS Students

The Environmental Studies Colloquium serves to foster community among Environmental Studies students and faculty at Marlboro as well to introduce new students to ES opportunities at the college. This year, the Colloquium will employ the broad theme of nutrient capture from waste streams to explore the rich and varied approaches environmental studies can bring to understanding the cultural, scientific and political dimensions of our environmental challenges. Faculty at Marlboro embody this variety of perspectives, as we will learn through conversations with professors who will visit the class. We will focus on the dual problems of excess phosphorous in surface waters due to human activity, and the loss of essential plant nutrients from farms. Students will help frame these issues in the Central Connecticut River Valley bioregion, and its connections to the larger world, through field trips and encounters with organizations and individuals who envision more just and sustainable ways of living. Throughout the course we will deepen our connections to place and to each other through readings, discussions, experiential learning and a weekend outdoor adventure.

• Monday 5:30pm-7:00pm in Dining Hall/staples

Food and social justice are intertwined. People who produce our food deserve fair wages for their work, and everyone deserves access to affordable, healthy food. An organization called the Real Food Challenge advocates for a “healthy, fair and green food system.” Marlboro College participates in the Real Food Challenge (RFC), and the primary goal of this group tutorial is to promote real food at Marlboro. For this project food is ‘real’ if it is nutritious, and produced locally in a fair and environmentally responsible manner. How much of Marlboro’s food satisfies these criteria? To answer this question we need to assess the college’s food purchases. In this tutorial you will explore food justice and the various dimensions of real food, and help make this assessment. You will also participate in the hands-on process of finding the percentage of real food served at Marlboro. The college’s goal is 20% by 2020 – how are we doing, will we meet that goal? Can we surpass it?

• None

Learn skills and techniques for visual storytelling in digital video production. Students will work in groups to write, direct, act, shoot and edit short videos. In-class workshops and demonstrations will instruct students on the fundamentals of camera, sound and lighting. We will explore how the technical aspects of cinematic technique - such as lens selection and camera movement - affect the subtext of a film and empower filmmakers to create fresh and original stories. Screenings and critiques of students’ work throughout semester will provide feedback and support. Open to filmmakers of all skill levels.

Additional Fee:$100

• Friday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Lower Baber/Baber Art

Who am I, where do I come from, where am I going, and what does home mean? These are questions we all ask, but none more urgently than those who have left their homes and communities. Immigrants provide a unique and valuable perspective on both the communities and cultures left behind and those in which they have resettled. There are more displaced people in the world now than there have been since World War II, including over 63 million people without a safe place to return. Resettlement and the contact zones they create result in the emergence of exciting new hybrid cultural spaces. Representations of immigrant and diasporic identities are shifting from the margins to the center and gaining a greater voice in cinema. At the same time, anti-immigration rhetoric and nationalism is also on the rise - which makes now the perfect time to examine and reflect upon the immigrant experience through cinema. The films studied may include: Stroszek, Werner Herzog (Germany 1977); El Norte, Gregory Nava (US-Mexico 1983); Avalon, Barry Levinson (US-Russia 1990); Flores de Otro Mundo, Icíar Bollaín, (Spain 1999); Dancer in the Dark, Lars von Treir (Danish-Czech 2000); Maria Full of Grace, Joshua Marston (Colombia-US 2004) , Head-On, Fatih Akin (Turkish-German 2004); En Garde, AyÅŸe Polat (German-Kurdish 2004); The Namesake, Mira Nair (Indian-American 2007); The Visitor, Tom McCarthy (US 2007); Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud (French-Iranian 2007); Syn Babilonu, Mohamed Al-Daradji (Iraq 2009); Pushing the Elephant, Elizabeth Mandel & Beth Davenport (US-Congo 2010); Into the Fire, Kate Mara & Guy Smallman (Italy 2013); Nobody’s Watching, Julia Solomonoff (Argentina-US 2017), Black Panther, Ryan Coogler (US 2018).

Additional Fee:$10

• Thursday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Lower Baber/Baber Art

This seminar will explore urban and rural queer and trans history during the transformative period from the late 60’s to the late 80’s. The class will blend historical perspective with oral history projects and community engagement. Topics of investigation include the relationship between queer and trans social formations and the broader counterculture; the role of internal conflict in the making of collective identities; the place of "rural utopia" in political imaginings; the shifting political uses of sexual identity; and the contested nature of historical memory. The class will be co-taught by Obie award winning playwright and VPL artist-in-residence, Ain Gordon, and HB Lozito of Green Mountain Crossroads, (and creator of the Andrew's Inn Oral History Project) who will serve as collaborative partners and resources for student projects. The class is open to students across disciplines who have interests in using oral history and the construction of narratives in their academic work.

• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Apple Tree
• Friday 11:30am-12:50pm in Apple Tree

Not a history of the many cultures that have existed around the Mediterranean--Roman, European, Arab, Turkish--but rather a course about the sea itself, we will look at what and why scholars have written with fascination and even love about the "Middle Sea." 20th century historiography has often sought to portray the multitude of nations and peoples who have populated the Mediterranean since ancient Rome as inextricably linked, through geography, environment, economy and even in anthropological descriptions of culture. The discourse of interconnectedness in turn influenced thinkers and writers studying everything from Japan to the 17th century Atlantic. In this course we will survey the idea of Mediterranean unity, debates about the nature of "Europe" and some of the philosophical assumptions that make up large historical narratives. The final project for this course is a group research project.

• Courses in History, Art History or related and permission of instructor

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Rice-Aron Library/102
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Rice-Aron Library/102

This course explores the practices of empathic listening and group facilitation, primarily through the structure of “council” – a dialogic process in which every voice is welcomed into a “listening circle.” Council is a communication practice that stimulates compassionate understanding in a wide variety of contexts including schools, prisons, non-profit organizations, businesses, and social change movements. In addition to reading and writing about listening and group dynamics, students will gain experience facilitating various forms of council both in and out of class.

• Tuesday 6:15pm-8:45pm in Apple Tree

This course will focus on three sets of Social Experiences:

These steps will allow us to learn by experiencing/doing and thinking, i.e. through Praxis. Faculty for this course will help each student organize a placement in a school such as Marlboro Elementary or with an afterschool program such as the Boys & Girls Club. We expect each student to log approximately 6 hours per week in their placement. Participants will keep a field journal on their observation and participation. There will be written reflections on readings for the course.  A final presentation and paper will explore the current tendencies in the field of education and the underlying political-economic forces in order to explain and suggest changes of direction.

• Tuesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D42
• Thursday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D42

Introduces students to the phonology and script of classical/modern standard Arabic and covers the basic morphology and syntax of the written language. Emphasis on the development of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) at the earliest stages. Samples of modern (contemporary) and classical styles of writing introduced, and audio-visual material from the contemporary Arabic media. Prerequisite: None

• Monday 8:30am-9:20am in Dalrymple/D42
• Wednesday 8:30am-9:20am in Dalrymple/D42
• Friday 8:30am-9:20am in Dalrymple/D42

NOTE:  This is a Dual Enrollment course and is held at the Brattleboro Union High School.

In this course students will continue to build proficiency and confidence while working at an accelerated pace.  Discussions and writings are based on authentic readings and feature films in their historical and cultural contexts.  Activities may include exploring current events and cultural trends, preparing presentations and short field trips.  

This course is an introduction to the structure of sentences in English. It describes English grammar. The course is intended for students who get excited about language and want to know more about it, whether you study English or want to teach English as a second language. It is certainly for students with an interest in linguistics, wishing to explore explanatory aspect of grammar. Practice focuses on linguistic analysis and argumentation. This course is a prerequisite for intermediate level linguistics courses.

• Monday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Wednesday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Friday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D33E

This course focuses on the opportunities for student to have individual hands-on experience in language learning both inside and outside the classroom. Emphasis is given to a study of cultural behaviors, values and norms to demonstrate respect and understanding of the Deaf community and Deaf Culture. The use of videotext to improve conversational skills and preserve the integrity of the language is a critical component of this course.  2 credits.   

The assigned videos will be provided for both receptive and expressive signing practice.  It is important for student to complete homework assignments each week.  If not, it will be difficult to keep up with the in-class signing expectations.

• Friday 9:00am-12:00pm in Rice-Aron Library/102

This four credit introductory course is for beginning students who wish to develop the basic skills in French language competency including listening, speaking, reading and writing. The course is designed to facilitate active learning about the francophone world through study of its language and cultures. Emphasis is on vocabulary building, basic grammar structures, cultural and historical knowledge.

Additional Fee:$0

• Monday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Wednesday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Friday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D33E

This is a language course for first-year students of Spanish and is designed to aid development of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. It is part of a year-long course that covers basic grammar along with a variety of vocabulary and cultural topics, and it prepares students for the second-semester Spanish course to be offered in Spring 2014. In addition to written work and exercises, students are expected to complete home-work assignments in the Vistas website. The course meets three times a week for an hour and twenty minutes plus one hour extra for conversation. Prerequisite: None

• Monday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D13
• Wednesday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D13
• Friday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D13

Intermediate French I is designed as a second-year French course for students have completed first-year French or its equivalent. Students will strengthen their language skills and cultural competency through vocabulary, grammar and readings. You will contribute to the classroom community by using French in and out of class, collaborating with classmates, and taking responsibility for timely completion of all assignments, quizzes, compositions, projects and tests. 

• Monday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D43
• Wednesday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D43
• Friday 9:30am-10:20am in Dalrymple/D43

A continuation of elementary Arabic with equal emphasis on aural and oral skills, reading and writing. Selections from contemporary Arabic media are introduced and serve as a basis for reading and conversation. Prerequisite: Beginning Arabic or the equivalent

• Monday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D42
• Wednesday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D42
• Friday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D42

Strives for mastery of complex grammatical structures and continues work on writing and reading skills. Frequent compositions, selected literary readings, class discussions, and debates on films and current events. This course meets three times a week plus an additional 50 minutes for conversation. It also requires workbook online. Prerequisite: At least two consecutive semesters of college Spanish

• Elementary Spanish
• Prior exposure to Spanish

• Monday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D13
• Wednesday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D13
• Friday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D13

This is a Chinese language course for beginners. It aims to help you develop communicative competence in Chinese, focusing on the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You will learn basic vocabulary and sentence structures for use in everyday situations through various forms of oral practice. Pinyin (the most widely used Chinese phonetic system) will be taught as a tool to learn the spoken language. You will also learn Chinese characters in order to be able to communicate effectively in real Chinese situations. While linguistic aspects of the Chinese language are the primary focus, introduction to the social and cultural background of the language will also form an important part of the course.

• Monday 8:30am-9:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Wednesday 8:30am-9:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Friday 8:30am-9:20am in Dalrymple/D33E

Do you like podcasts?  Do you want to make a podcast?  Fundamentally, that's what this course is about and all you need to know.  We will cover the basics of preparation, recording, interviewing, editing, and producing a podcast start to finish.  We will also discuss a range of topics important to recorded media including the current podcast ecosystem, genres, voice, sound mixing, microphones and other equipment, and story-telling practices.  We will also be listening to and discussing a wide range of podcast along the way, so as noted at the beginning…hopefully you like podcasts. 

• None

• Monday 10:30am-11:20am in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-115
• Wednesday 10:30am-11:20am in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-115
• Friday 10:30am-11:20am in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-115

The skills needed to support and govern our campus community and the skills needed in the academic classroom overlap in many ways. This course is an opportunity to apply your academic skills to your community work and bring your community work more deeply into your academic life. The collective work of running the Marlboro College community and our individual work as academics are both strengthened when we bring the two together. To take this course, students should be serving on a committee or in another substantial role that supports community life; groups of students may also work on projects in teams, with instructor approval. Participating on major committees provides students with direct participation and experiences offered almost nowhere else, including hiring and tenure review of faculty or discussions of the campus-wide curriculum and finances. Work for the course will support and deepen each student’s specific work in the community and engagement with the structures that support our community. This course will also provide skills to help students engage productively in community work. Such skills may include collaboration, taking of minutes, consensus building, debate, conflict resolution, and creative problem solving. Students in this course will engage in academic work that examines, contextualizes, deepens, or furthers their work in the community. Every student will set up their own contract for this work with the faculty in charge of the course at the start of the semester. This course may be repeated for credit, up to a total of 8 credits.

• Co-requisite: students should be serving on a committee or in another substantial role that supports

• Thursday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D43

Through service learning, this seminar explores the meaning of democratic citizenship in a multicultural society.  Students will work closely with a community agency and volunteer 30 to 40 hours over the course of the semester.  Weekly class sessions will engage with academic work on the dynamics of social change and levels of impact, develop the skills, knowledge and empathy to work effectively in the community, and create a space to reflect on the politics of helping. 

• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D43

 "Unlike the novel" says Jorge Luis Borges, "a short story may be, for all purposes, essential." What is essential about the short story, with its singular purity and magic, its focus on those seemingly fleeting moments in human life? To attempt to answer this question, we will be examining a range of 19th, 20th, and 21st century short stories. Stories will include classic tales by Anton Chekov and Franz Kafka, modern stories by Sherwood Anderson and James Joyce, and contemporary selections from the work of writers such as Nadine Gordimer, Haruki Murakami (whose words describing his short stories appear in the course title), Naguib Mahfouz, Jhumpa Lahiri, Jorge Luis Borges, Raymond Carver, and Flannery O’Connor. Though thematic topics will be important to our class discussions, our close textual readings will also help us to examine the subtleties of character development, the creation of plots and subplots, and the narrative device used to create the worlds in which we live. Prerequisite: None beyond a willingness to engage in the journey of imaginative reading.“When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.” – George Saunders

• Tuesday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D42
• Friday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D42

In this course we will read canonical novels written by women from different countries of Latin America, from Isabel Allende's The house of Spirits and Brazilian Clarice Lispector masterpiece The Hour of the Star, to the brilliant Argentinian writer Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman, to Carlos Fuentes' The Death of Artemio Cruz, among others. We will center our readings of these novels using close reading and commentary as well as these novels' literary and cultural traditions. We will also examine the ways in which gender, race, class, and / or nationality intersect in these works. 

• Experience reading literature is desirable

• Monday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D13
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D13

This course develops a comparative and global understanding of transnational and diasporic experiences through literary and cinematic cultural production. While exploring contact zones of nations, cultures, and histories, we recognize colonization, decolonization, and globalization as the defining events of modernity, and ask questions about cultural identity informed by the resultant increase in forced and voluntary movement of ideas, peoples, and cultures. 

Areas of inquiry include: What constitutes the diasporic and transnational experience? What marks the relationship between the diaspora and its home-nation? What struggles mark the relationship between diasporic communities and their host-nations? What clusters of affect (alienation, longing, nostalgia, dislocation, amongst others) suffuse the diasporic lived reality? In what ways are gendered or sexual hierarchies that are integral to the nation preserved and/or resisted in diaspora? In what ways do diasporic realities reproduce the homogeneous, limiting solidarities of the nation? As James Clifford reminds us, “the term diaspora is a signifier, not simply of a utopian transnationality”, but of “political struggles” to redefine identity and community “in historical contexts of displacement”. We examine these struggles in multiple contexts through a range of literary texts, films, history, and criticism (Gloria Anzaldua, Junot Diaz, Nadia El Fani, Stuart Hall, M. NourbeSe Philip, Kamila Shamsie, among others) to understand how specific histories of dispersion and contact have shaped cultures and identities locally and globally.

• Monday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Dalrymple/D42
• Thursday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Dalrymple/D42

Can a book change your life?  In this course, students will draw on their own experiences as readers to explore deeply rooted debates between didactic virtues and aesthetic aims, take a stand on the value of the classic or irrelevance of the canon, and test the pleasures of rereading, the perils of corruption, and the ethics of empathy. As we read Longinus’s “On the Sublime” and Sir Philip Sidney’s “The Defense of Poesy” alongside Italo Calvino’s “Why Read the Classics?” and Rita Felski’s Uses of Literature, we will examine the many claims made on literature’s behalf over the course of history. Works of fiction and poetry will provide shared context for discussion and serve as test cases for the claims we encounter. Through frequent writing, ample feedback in workshops and conferences, and opportunities for revision and reflection, this course offers students a chance to hone research and writing skills on topics ranging from Fanfic and reading communities to the cognitive science of your brain on books. 

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D33E

A one semester course covering differential and integral calculus and their applications. This course provides a general background for more advanced study in mathematics and science.

• Monday 10:30am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 217
• Wednesday 10:30am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 217
• Friday 10:30am-11:20am in Brown Science/Sci 217

Calculus III continues the development of the techniques of Calculus into multi-variable and vector-valued functions. 

• Calc 2 or permission of instructor

A mathematical approach to logic, of interest to philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. We will cover the main concepts of symbolic logic and apply these tools to arguments we find in a variety of contexts, from math proofs to popular media. This is the starting point of a vast field. The choice of more advanced topics will depend on the interests of the class.

• Tuesday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Thursday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 221

Next to Calculus, this is the most important math course offered. It is important for its remarkable demonstration of abstraction and idealization on the one hand, and for its applications to many branches of math and science on the other. This course will cover linear algebra in n-dimensional space.  Matrices, vector spaces and transformations are studied extensively.

• Calculus or permission of instructor

• Monday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 217
• Thursday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 217

Set theory is the mathematics of the infinity, and part of a core foundation for students of mathematics. This class will blend theory and connections with other parts of mathematics to understand the place of set theory in a wider context. Beginning with the theoretical fundamentals of the Zermelo-Frankel axioms, defining what is meant by the mathematical object "set", the goal is to then proceed to illustrate applications to analysis, topology, combinatorics, as well as pure set theory. Boolean algebras, trees, games, dense linear orderings, ideals, filters, and club and stationary sets will all be developed. 

• Tuesday 2:00pm-3:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Thursday 2:00pm-3:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221

A follow-up to Statistics (NSC123) in which students acquire and hone the statistical skills needed for their work on Plan or simply pursue more advanced topics within the field. Course content is driven by the interests and requirements of those taking the class. Variable credit (1-4). May be repeated for credit.

• Statistics (NSC123) or permission of the instructor

• Monday 11:30am-12:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 217
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 217

This course covers a wide range of math topics prerequisite for further study in mathematics and science and of interest in their own right. The course is divided into 10 units, listed on the course web page. One credit will be earned for each unit completed. Students select units depending on their interest and need. The course is especially designed for students who plan to study calculus or statistics, would like to prepare for the GRE exam or who just want to learn some math. Over the semester, 3-4 units will be offered in the timetabled sessions. Individual tutorial-style arrangements can be made with students who want to study the non-timetabled units, or who want to study units at their own pace.

• Thursday 9:00am-10:20am in Brown Science/sci205

An opportunity for students to meet on a weekly basis to read and rehearse music from the standard chamber music repertoire. Woodwind, string and brass instruments welcome. Course may be repeated for credit.

Additional Fee:$ 0

• Tuesday 4:00pm-5:30pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Ragle Hall

An overview of the music of the Indian sub-continent with a focus on the two dominant classical traditions as well as some of the folk and popular musical genres.  Students will learn sargam (Indian solfège system) and familiarize themselves with the raga system of melody as well as the tala system of rhythm.  There will be sung repertoire, melodic and rhythmic exercises as well as close listening to recordings.

• Monday 1:30pm-3:30pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Ragle Hall

researching, exploration and performance of jazz repertoire.

Ensemble singing for more experienced choristers. Ability to read music and sight-sing. An exploration of repertoire from Renaissance to contemporary music for small choral ensemble. May be repeated for credit.Prerequisite: None; ability to read music helpful

Additional Fee:$0

• Thursday 4:00pm-6:00pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Ragle Hall

A study of musical practice and theory from basic notation to species counterpoint. Work concentrates on intense practice of singing, rhythm and music reading. Please note: This course constitutes a requirement for advanced work in music. It is also a prerequisite for many intermediate level classes. Prerequisite: None

Additional Fee:$00000000

• Tuesday 10:30am-12:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Serkin 150
• Thursday 10:30am-12:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Serkin 150

What are "musical roots"? What happens to music as it moves to other places? How does cultural identity manifest and can it be recast through music?  Those are the kinds of questions that guide this course, setting forth an exploration into the human world as reflected in people's musical practice and the manifold ways music interacts with culture and cultural clash.  Primarily focused on music of the Black Atlantic during the last century as a case study, we will track how cultural identity, colonialism, migration, cultural hegemony and the resistence it generates manifest through music.  

• Tuesday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Serkin 150
• Friday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Serkin 150

This class will focus on learning the basic drum techniques and rhythms of Senegal, West Africa. With an emphasis on Sabar and Saouruba, students will explore rhythms from Dakar, the capital of Senegal, to Casamance, a rural village in south Senegal. Students will learn to play on authentic drums and will accompany dancers, learning the give and take between drummer and dancer that is inherent to the musical culture of West Africa. The course will culminate with a live performannce, including both drummers and dancers. 

• Wednesday 6:30pm-8:50pm in Serkin Center for the Performing Arts/Serkin 104

What is place?  How are places meaningful?  What is the relationship between place and narrative, memory, cultural authority, or knowledge construction?  What does it mean to describe places as public, private, gendered, racialized, virtual, or natural?  What are some of the ways we can have a deeper and more complex relationship to the places where we live?  And what are some of the ways in which the knowledge we produce can or ought to be shared?  And with whom?  This course will explore these questions through philosophical texts on place and public scholarship and also through producing and sharing knowledge on one particular place.  We will begin by studying place from a variety of philosophical perspectives.  Informed by thinking more generally about place, with faculty support, students will then choose a place of particular interest in the area and do focused research on it.  These places will generally be associated with particular people and words they have left behind, for example: the feminist and abolitionist Clarina Howard Nichols, who published her newspaper above where Amy’s bakery is today; Frederick Douglas, who gave talks in Brattleboro; Thoreau, who wrote in his journal about Mt. Wantastiquet; Robert Frost, the first trustee of Marlboro College; Lucy Prince, author of the earliest extant poem by an African American, a freed slave who lived in Guilford; Pene wonse, an Abenaki signer of an extraordinary document composed after the destruction of a colonial fort on the Connecticut (Kwinitekw) River; Judge James L. Oakes, who authored groundbreaking environmental jurisprudence at the federal court house in Brattleboro; etc.  Finally, students will learn how to share their research through audio and web format.  This work will then become part of the Brattleboro Words Project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to build community through collaborative humanities projects.  (The Brattleboro Words Project is a collaborative effort of Marlboro College, Brooks Memorial Library, the Brattleboro Historical Society, Write Action, and the Brattleboro Literary Festival, to explore the intersection of history, places, people, and words in the Brattleboro area that will be shared via walking, biking, and driving audio tours and a supplemental website.)

Co-Taught with Christiooher Lamb

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D42
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D42

Description: What is race?  How did the idea of race arise and what are the many ways in which ideas of race function today?  How have ideas of race operated in the construction of knowledge across the disciplines, especially in biology, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, medicine, and history?  In what way is race constitutive of our identities?  What is the relationship between racial categories and racism?  What is the relationship between race and culture?  This course will explore these questions through a careful analysis of many of the most important classic and contemporary texts on race across a broad range of disciplines.              The course will be roughly divided into three parts.  The first part will be a kind of intellectual history tracing the idea of race in philosophy, the social sciences, the biological sciences, and politics.  In addition to a contemporary historian, we will read original texts from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries on race.  The second part of the course will look at contemporary debates on race.  And the third part of the course will look at some of the questions raised by thinking about race, and explore the resources of critical concepts such as the epistemology of ignorance, epistemic injustice, whiteness, the racial contract, etc. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor  

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D35
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D35

This seminar is an opportunity for students working in philosophy to share their work with colleagues. For the most part, our common texts will be the writing that students bring to the seminar. Each meeting will be devoted to one student's work, who will determine the most helpful way to recieve feedback. On rare occasions, we will read each others texts, relevant to the writing process or to the content of the papers.

Description: What is a “good” life?  What makes an action “good”?  What is the foundation for moral action and ethics?  Or, is there in fact no adequate foundation for morality?  Through careful readings of classic and contemporary texts we will consider these questions, and other themes, including: the role of character, virtue, and vice in a good life; the properties of right or wrong actions; how our understanding of what it means to be human guides our understanding of the good; the relation between reason and emotion in ethics; morality and happiness; ethics and the rejection of objective moral value; our obligations to distant others and to nonhuman animals; and the nature of normative reasoning.  Most of the course will be devoted to the most influential Western moral theories through the works of Aristotle (virtue theory), Epictetus (Stoicism), Hobbes (social contract theory), Hume (moral sentiment theory), Kant (deontology), Mill and Bentham (utilitarianism), and Nietzsche (critical genealogy).  These will figures will be supplemented by contemporary work that engages these theories from multiple perspectives, including some which is informed by recent empirical findings in the behavioral and brain sciences, and evolutionary science. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor  

• Permission of the Instructor

• Monday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D42
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D42

This course provides an introductory foundation to photography as a means of visual exploration and communication through digital photographic processes. Students will learn basic digital workflow from the DSLR camera operation, camera RAW processing, scanning and inkjet printing while considering theoretical and historical topics and discovering personal imagery interests.  Materials fee required. If you do not have a DSLR camera with full manual operation, we will try to share those the school has. There are not enough cameras for everyone so please let me know if you have one, plan to purchase one or hope to borrow one.  

Additional Fee:$120

• none

• Monday 1:30pm-4:20pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-101
• Thursday 1:30pm-4:20pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-101

Observation, Collaboration and Communication, Photographic Community Engagement Through Documentary Practice or Education. This intermediate/advanced level course will explore the documentary tradition from the perspective of the maker. While considering theoretical arguments challenging the practice of outsiders making work about the "other", we will explore various methods practitioners have found to engage communities and their own lives with the hopes of making worthwhile statements without denying their subjectivity. Throughout the course we will read theoretical writings, view historical examples and each class member will be making their own documentary and, or community engagement work through the mediums of photography, video, other visual art practices or participate in the design and implementation of community collaborations. 

Additional Fee:$120

• Intro to Photography or permission of instructor

• Tuesday 10:30am-12:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-101
• Thursday 10:30am-12:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-101

All political arguments in the United States become legal arguments. This insight, made by Alexis de Tocqueville, is as true today as it was in antebellum America. Abortion, affirmative action, hate speech, have all be argued by Supreme Court justices, who have given us the framework for our current debates. This class, uses Supreme Court arguments along with recent discoveries in neuroscience to understand the nature of the fault lines in our most passionate disagreements. No prior work in politics necessary.

• None

• Tuesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E
• Thursday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E

Populist leaders, parties and movements, which seek to promote the rights and interests of common people in their struggles against political elites and institutions, have been on the rise across the globe. This populist wave covers a wide range of interests on both the left and right of the political spectrum. Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Jeremy Corbyn, Hugo Chávez, Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders, Rodrigo Duterte, Sweden Democrats, UKIP, the Five Star Movement, Brexit, the Arab Spring, the Pink Tide in Latin America, Occupy Wall Street, and the Tea Party amongst others have all been labelled ‘populist’. This course will explore contemporary and historical populist movements in the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia in order to make sense of what populism means and to assess whether it is a threat or whether it is essential to the future of democracy.

• Monday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Rice-Aron Library/102
• Thursday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Rice-Aron Library/102

Restorative Justice uses a relational approach to repair harms between individuals in a community. Unlike the adversarial system of the criminal legal system, which focuses on the conduct of individuals, RJ focuses on restoring the relationships between offender and victim and between offender and the community. In the state of Vermont, community justice centers work with the Department of Corrections to help ex-offenders reintegrate into their neighborhoods. Many also provide reparative panels to resolve cases where the accused take responsibility for their actions. In other locales, such as immigrant communities and tribal nations, restorative justice operates independently of the state’s attorney. This class considers the advantages and disadvantages of giving restorative practices official status. We’ll visit reparative panels in Brattleboro and read about peacemaking practices in other locations. We’ll also consider Marlboro’s efforts to bring restorative practices into our campus disciplinary system.

• Tuesday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 116
• Friday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 116

Inequality is rising almost everywhere across the world with profound implications for the lives and well-being of billions of people. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has grown considerably in recent decades. According to a 2017 Oxfam Report, the eight richest individuals own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world's population (3.6 billion people). The course will analyze the social, political and economic factors which have led to rising inequality around the globe and examine the consequences of and possible responses to this growing problem. The course will explore issues of inequality from a global and historical perspective seeking to define and understand this complex problem. We will analyze case studies from both the Global North and Global South to gain insights into the effects of poverty and inequality in different political systems and societies. We will also evaluate contemporary ideas and policy proposals to promote more inclusive growth and greater social equality and well-being.

• Monday 11:30am-12:50pm in Rice-Aron Library/102
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Rice-Aron Library/102

This writing seminar develops strategies and skills necessary for completing a Plan in political theory. May be repeated for credit.

• Must be a Senior
• Courses in politics

• Thursday 1:30pm-4:50pm in Brown Science/Sci 116

The course will:

• Tuesday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-112
• Friday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-112

The course will focus on socialization through the life course, self and self-presentation, altruism and empathy, and moral development. Throughout the semester, we will investigate people’s behavior stemming from participation in social groups, interactions in various contexts, and the effects of the cultural environment and social structures on individual identity formation. Students will periodically collect and analyze data through interviews and/or observations, and produce analytic essays that apply course concepts and theories to explain aspects of human social behavior.

• Tuesday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-102
• Tuesday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-101
• Friday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-102

Ritual is a ubiquitous presence in human existence—from rites of passage such as marriage and graduation, to quests and journeys such as pilgrimage, to everyday actions like greetings and shaking hands, ritual permeates our personal and social lives. This course is an introduction to the field of ritual studies and an overview of the ways in which scholars have understood the origin, function, and significance of ritual. We will pay particular attention to the way in which ritual, like play, uses the power of imagination to create “as if / imaginal” spaces and thereby allows us to live in a perennially imperfect and chaotic world.

• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E
• Friday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E

Writing seminar for seniors. Students not completing a plan in religion can take this course as well but need permission of the instructor. This course can be taken for two to six credits. Additional Fee:$ 0

• Friday 9:00am-11:00am in Dalrymple/D22A

An examination of available sources and current methodologies in the study of religion. Required for juniors on Plan in religion. Additional Fee:$ 0

• Friday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D22A

This course is an introduction two Chinese schools of thought and practice: Confucianism and Daoism. We will read the foundational texts in each school. Discussion will focus on ideas of morality, social relations, self-cultivation, good government and nature. We will also consider the historical context of the primary texts as well as their influence on religious practice and art. Students will engage in a close analysis of key terms through quizzes, journaling and reflection papers. Prerequisite: None

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D34
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D34

Art of Survival: Sculpture for Staying AliveThis is an upper level sculpture course serving to introduce students to methods, practices and ideas with multiple applications linking real world survival to conceptual object making and action. What does it mean to have the basics of life? Food, water, shelter. Is this enough? Don’t we also need human interaction, innovation, and art?We will apply accumulated knowledge of centuries of basic survival to contemporary questions of need and sustenance. Projects may involve making devices for foraging for food, building shelter or building community. All as objects and actions of aesthetic, practical and conceptual value.The emphasis will be on projects born out of necessity and using one’s hands to shape the world we see and use. We will employ methods developed throughout the course of human history as necessary for making objects of both utility and adornment, such as stone carving, woodworking and scavenging. Students will be challenged to consider what is essential for them as individuals, and the needs of humans as members of a functioning collective society. Ultimately, the goal of the course is to help students become more aware of their aesthetic choices and how they impact survival.

Additional Fee:$ 0

• Any lower level art course (preferably 3D)

• Monday 1:00pm-3:20pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L18
• Thursday 1:00pm-3:20pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-L18

Sociology examines the external factors that act on individuals, the belief systems and group structures and how these factors relate to one another.  In this class students will examine how groups operate, how and why people make decisions, and what goes on "behind the scenes" in society.  Learning is facilitated through a variety of activities including small group and full class discussions, lectures/notes, simulations and role playing, research, reports, presentations, essays and projects.

This course is held at the Brattleboro Union HIgh School as part of the Dual Enrollment Program.

Sociology is a combat sport according to theorist Pierre Bourdieu.  Charles Lemert described social theory as a basic survival skill, not only for experts but frequently wielded best by “those with no professional credentials.”  Drawing from these images of sport and skill, this class will engage with theory as a form of self-defense and power, a set of conceptual tools available to everyone through training and practice.  We will read from classical and contemporary theorists (ex. Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Simmel, Du Bois, Goffman, Patricia Hill Collins, Bourdieu, Giddens), as well as analyze how the sociological canon was constructed.  Students will learn how to ask sociological questions, submit to, contextualize and critique theory, and open new lines of inquiry.  

• previous work in Sociology

• Monday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E
• Thursday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E

Goths, punks, teddy boys, lowriders, straightedge, otaku, noodlers, graffiti artists—Why do subcultures emerge when and where they do? From spectacular aesthetic displays to deviant behavior, we will investigate historical and current subcultures to better understand youth collective behavior and how it diverges from dominant cultures and communities. Style, identity expression, consumerism, deviance, class-based resistance, gender and race will be explored using research, movies, blogs, zines and music. While the primary topic is subcultures, this course is also an introduction to the approach, concepts, theories and methods of sociology. 

• Monday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D38
• Wednesday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D38
• Friday 10:30am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D38

This is a practical theatre course that explores various skills and techniques to assist in developing an understanding of the processes of acting. Analysis, interpretation, collaboration, improvisation, relaxation, and critique all contribute to the composite demands required in performance. The course will consist of various exercises, monologue work, and attendance at performance events.

• Tuesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Whittemore Theater/Theater
• Thursday 11:30am-12:50pm in Whittemore Theater/Theater

In this hands-on course, students will learn the theories and approaches to directing plays and then put them into practice. Each student director will learn how to analyze a script, audition and cast actors, design a show and create and implement a production schedule. In addition, directors will learn to manage and work with stage crew, an assistant stage manager and a stage manager. Throughout the semester, students will gain specific directing skills while discovering their own unique directing style. This is a beginning directing class that will culminate in a directing a play for the Ten Minute Play Festival, to be performed at the end of the semester. Once your show has a caste, you will also need to be available for rehearsals on Thursdays 3:00-5:00pm.

• none

• Tuesday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Dalrymple/D23
• Friday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Dalrymple/D23

Employing disability studies, performance studies, and history as the framework, this course is an interdisciplinary exploration of the ways in which cultural definitions of disability are articulated, represented, and subverted. The class will incorporate essays, plays, films, pop culture critiques, first person accounts, and historical documents to examine disability and the politics of representation. Representative films include: Freaks, The Shape of Water, The Station Agent, Monica and David, and The Greatest Showman.

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Whittemore Theater/Theater
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Whittemore Theater/Theater

The Ten-Minute Play Festival is an opportunity to act. The festival will be a series of ten minute plays to be performed in one evening. Each play will have a different director with rehearsals happening in the evenings and sometimes on weekends. You must audition to be a part of the course and the play festival. Students from all different backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, and abilities are encouraged to audition.

• auditions

• Thursday 3:00pm-5:00pm in Whittemore Theater/Theater

Students will spend the semester exploring in depth the three stages of narrative video production: preproduction, production, and postproduction. Topics studied will include script development, planning and scheduling, casting, directing actors, shooting a script, lighting, sound, camera, editing, color correction, color grading, and audio mixing. Students will work in groups to create short videos and rotate on-set rolls. Lower Baber on Wednesdays from 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM

• Wednesday 11:45am-1:15pm in Lower Baber/Baber Art

This course provides a forum for students to share their Plan work with each other and to engage in critical dialogue. Student will share work and writing as well as present on artists of influence. An overview of professional practices will also be included. This is a required course for seniors on Plan in the Visual Arts. The class meets Tuesdays from 3:30 - 5:20 except the five days there will be visiting artists when the meeting time is 4:00 - 8:00 p.m.

• Preliminary or Final Plan Application on file or by instructors permission

• Tuesday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-112
• Friday 3:30pm-4:50pm in Snyder Center for the Visual Arts/SNY-112

This advanced studio class invites artists working in drawing and painting to work and critique alongside each other. Each week new techniques, artists, and concepts will be offered to students as “food for thought.” Ultimately, our goal will be seeing self-initiated ideas through to completion. Over the course of the semester, each student will complete work in response to four prompts (either created by the instructor or self-initiated), four written responses to their own work, and one research presentation of a group of artists relevant to their interests. Materials fee required. Students should bring whatever materials they already own and one work of art (either the actual work or an image for projection) to the first class. Painting and drawing plan students are strongly encouraged to enroll. Prerequisite: Drawing I, Painting I or permission of the instructor. 

Additional Fee:$75.00

• Drawing I or Painting I

• Wednesday 3:30pm-5:50pm in Lower Baber/Baber-Up
• Friday 3:30pm-5:50pm in Lower Baber/Baber-Up

The World Studies Colloquium seeks to introduce students both to the World Studies Program and to other international opportunities and resources at Marlboro. Through discussions with Marlboro staff, faculty, and other students, Colloquium students will learn the intellectual and experiential objectives of the World Studies Program, what services the Office of International Services offers, and how best they might venture into the world to pursue their academic interests.   Additional Fee:$0

• Wednesday 4:15pm-5:35pm in Rice-Aron Library/102

The World Studies Senior Seminar is required for World Studies Program students.  It is open to all students who are returning from significant fieldwork and need to consider how best to convert these experiences into Plan.

Time: TBD

Room: Library 202

• Friday 10:30am-11:30am in Brown Science/Sci 216

This workshop course introduces students to the diverse voices, styles, and techniques of contemporary poetry. We will spend the first half of the course reading work by Claudia Rankine, C.D. Wright, Terrance Hayes, Ana Bozicevic and others, discussing why these writers choose to engage with love, loss, history, queer identity, technological alienation, mass incarceration, or systemic racism through poetry. In particular, we will look at how these poems work on the eye, the ear, the mind, the heart. Students will write original poems modeled after work we read to expand their toolkits as writers and discover new possibilities for their own poems. For the second half of the course, students will write, workshop, and revise a sustained body of poems supported by guided independent reading of the voices and styles they find most compelling. 

• Monday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E
• Thursday 1:30pm-2:50pm in Dalrymple/D33E

“To carry memory is also to bring it to someone. Witnessing is not, or not only, a tie of a certain kind to what is borne in memory, but is also a tie to those to whom it is brought. It is a memory act within the framework of an enduring community” writes Wayne Booth in Communities of Memory. Our coursework will involve a close analysis of how literature from different cultures and genres engages with witnessing and memory work. Our readings will probe what it means to remember individually and collectively, especially where the subject of memory is difficult and contested. We will explore how the act of remembering not only illuminates the ways in which the past continues to shape the present, but also shapes our ideas and practices of justice. The theoretical lenses of trauma, witnessing, and decolonization (among others) employed by the course will help us think through violence and memory in multiple transnational contexts.

 Texts analyzed will include testimonial narratives, graphic memoirs, correspondence, legal testimony, poems, short fiction, short documentary films etc. As a writing seminar, we will focus equally on the discussion and analysis of texts and on our writing processes. Through frequent writing (shorter and longer assignments), ample feedback via workshops and conferences, and opportunities for revision and reflection, this course offers students a chance to hone research and writing skills useful for work across the humanities and social sciences.

• Monday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D38
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D38

Virginia Woolf describes the essay as a form that "must lap us about and draw its curtain across the world." But what, she questions, "can the essayist use in these short lengths of prose to sting us awake and fix us in a trance which is not sleep but rather an intensification of life--a basking, with every faculty alert, in the sun of pleasure?" Her answer is a simple one: "He [they] must know--that is the first essential--how to write." From David Quamman's "The Face of the Spider" to Scott Russell Sanders' "Under the Influence" to Susan Orlean's "The American Man, Age 10" to Annie Dillard's "Sight and Insight" to George Saunders' "The Braindead Megaphone," we will explore how contemporary essayists--in personal essays, nature writing, literary journalism, and science writing--look closely at everyday objects, practices, and experiences. We will analyze what makes these essayists effective, entertaining and enlightening. And, of course, we will be writing about all of this in several formats: in-class exercises and shorter assignments leading up to two 5 page papers and one 8-10 page documented essay. Peer response workshops, writing conferences and in-class work on style, revision and editing will alternate with our class discussion of the essays. Prerequisite: None

• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D43
• Friday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D43

In this class we will examine the biological principles that underlie some controversial issues in today's society. Students will gain an understanding of the scientific approach and learn to think critically about issues that affect our lives. Topics may include GMO's, vaccines, climate change, endocrine disruptors, stem cell research, and identity. Prerequisite: None

• Monday 11:30am-12:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221
• Friday 11:30am-12:20pm in Brown Science/Sci 221

Description: What is a “good” life?  What makes an action “good”?  What is the foundation for moral action and ethics?  Or, is there in fact no adequate foundation for morality?  Through careful readings of classic and contemporary texts we will consider these questions, and other themes, including: the role of character, virtue, and vice in a good life; the properties of right or wrong actions; how our understanding of what it means to be human guides our understanding of the good; the relation between reason and emotion in ethics; morality and happiness; ethics and the rejection of objective moral value; our obligations to distant others and to nonhuman animals; and the nature of normative reasoning.  Most of the course will be devoted to the most influential Western moral theories through the works of Aristotle (virtue theory), Epictetus (Stoicism), Hobbes (social contract theory), Hume (moral sentiment theory), Kant (deontology), Mill and Bentham (utilitarianism), and Nietzsche (critical genealogy).  These will figures will be supplemented by contemporary work that engages these theories from multiple perspectives, including some which is informed by recent empirical findings in the behavioral and brain sciences, and evolutionary science. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor  

• Permission of the Instructor

• Monday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D42
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D42

“To carry memory is also to bring it to someone. Witnessing is not, or not only, a tie of a certain kind to what is borne in memory, but is also a tie to those to whom it is brought. It is a memory act within the framework of an enduring community” writes Wayne Booth in Communities of Memory. Our coursework will involve a close analysis of how literature from different cultures and genres engages with witnessing and memory work. Our readings will probe what it means to remember individually and collectively, especially where the subject of memory is difficult and contested. We will explore how the act of remembering not only illuminates the ways in which the past continues to shape the present, but also shapes our ideas and practices of justice. The theoretical lenses of trauma, witnessing, and decolonization (among others) employed by the course will help us think through violence and memory in multiple transnational contexts.

 Texts analyzed will include testimonial narratives, graphic memoirs, correspondence, legal testimony, poems, short fiction, short documentary films etc. As a writing seminar, we will focus equally on the discussion and analysis of texts and on our writing processes. Through frequent writing (shorter and longer assignments), ample feedback via workshops and conferences, and opportunities for revision and reflection, this course offers students a chance to hone research and writing skills useful for work across the humanities and social sciences.

• Monday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D38
• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D38

Virginia Woolf describes the essay as a form that "must lap us about and draw its curtain across the world." But what, she questions, "can the essayist use in these short lengths of prose to sting us awake and fix us in a trance which is not sleep but rather an intensification of life--a basking, with every faculty alert, in the sun of pleasure?" Her answer is a simple one: "He [they] must know--that is the first essential--how to write." From David Quamman's "The Face of the Spider" to Scott Russell Sanders' "Under the Influence" to Susan Orlean's "The American Man, Age 10" to Annie Dillard's "Sight and Insight" to George Saunders' "The Braindead Megaphone," we will explore how contemporary essayists--in personal essays, nature writing, literary journalism, and science writing--look closely at everyday objects, practices, and experiences. We will analyze what makes these essayists effective, entertaining and enlightening. And, of course, we will be writing about all of this in several formats: in-class exercises and shorter assignments leading up to two 5 page papers and one 8-10 page documented essay. Peer response workshops, writing conferences and in-class work on style, revision and editing will alternate with our class discussion of the essays. Prerequisite: None

• Wednesday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D43
• Friday 11:30am-12:50pm in Dalrymple/D43

Can a book change your life?  In this course, students will draw on their own experiences as readers to explore deeply rooted debates between didactic virtues and aesthetic aims, take a stand on the value of the classic or irrelevance of the canon, and test the pleasures of rereading, the perils of corruption, and the ethics of empathy. As we read Longinus’s “On the Sublime” and Sir Philip Sidney’s “The Defense of Poesy” alongside Italo Calvino’s “Why Read the Classics?” and Rita Felski’s Uses of Literature, we will examine the many claims made on literature’s behalf over the course of history. Works of fiction and poetry will provide shared context for discussion and serve as test cases for the claims we encounter. Through frequent writing, ample feedback in workshops and conferences, and opportunities for revision and reflection, this course offers students a chance to hone research and writing skills on topics ranging from Fanfic and reading communities to the cognitive science of your brain on books. 

• Tuesday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D33E
• Thursday 10:00am-11:20am in Dalrymple/D33E