Marlboro faculty come to the college from around the world, bringing with them knowledge gained from extensive research, travel, and practical experience, as well as schooling at the world's top institutions.
What brings such talented people to Marlboro? They like the autonomy and the freedom to teach as they see fit within their areas of expertise. They appreciate the absence of departmental politics and bureaucracy. They like the unpretentious atmosphere at Marlboro.
Gloria Biamonte • Literature, Writing
"You can't grow as a writer, or as a reader really, unless you're willing to take risks," says Gloria Biamonte, who teaches both writing and literature. Gloria's background in 19th and 20th century women's literature and popular culture enriches her own writing interests and her classes at Marlboro. "I am really grateful that here I get to do both things I love. They inform each other so much." She likes working with students who are curious, and also those who are tentative but really want to go someplace with their writing.
"Writing is a vehicle for discovery," says Gloria. "You don't write about what you know, you write in order to find out what you know." Encouraging students to find their voices as writers, she creates an environment in her classes that fosters openness and risk-taking. "Trying to give shape to your thoughts and perceptions on paper can be both scary and exciting. You are reaching inward to understand and form your ideas, while reaching outward to communicate with your readers."
Believing that writers are, most importantly, readers, Gloria teaches students to read and think about literature while helping them explore their options as writers. In her writing seminars, Gloria examines authors ranging from Mark Twain to Zora Neale Hurston to Elie Weisel, grapples with texts that blur the line between fact and fiction and even considers what makes a good mystery novel. "My writing seminars on autobiographical narratives allow students to explore the meeting ground of memory and imagination and to move toward understanding their own writing as a site for learning.
Gloria is a reader for the journal Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, and recently published her own work, an essay called "Things I carry...", in the Winter 2009 issue of Peregrine. She has presented papers and moderated panels on literature at the conferences of the Northeast Modern Language Association and the New England Popular Culture Association. Gloria is currently working on a book about her father's struggle with Altzheimer's disease, inspired by a class on creative nonfiction she team-taught with writing professor John Sheehy. "The one thing that links all of my work comes from my seminar called Ways of Telling: how writers put words to things that seem unspeakable."
B.A., M.A., Montclair State University, 1982; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, 1991; Marlboro College, 1996
Mahmoud Boray Fulbright Arabic Fellow • Languages
"I believe teaching isn't something I do for a living, but something I do to be part of the future," says Mahmoud Boray, this year's Fulbright Fellow for Arabic language. As a college student, Mahmoud helped launch the Bridging Global Humanity project, which used Facebook and Skype to establish dialog with American students and promote an understanding of differences and common ground. Following the Egyptian revolution he participated in caravans to teach English to the rural poor and hold political discussions on the meaning of parliamentary elections, and launched dialogues with students at the American University of Cairo. Before coming to Marlboro, Mahmoud was teaching English at a secondary school in Egypt's upper valley.
B.A., South Valley University, Egypt, 2012
A composer and performer of note, Stan Charkey is a former member of the New York Pro Musica, the Renaissance Consort and the Music For A While ensemble. Stan has played as a soloist and chamber musician at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and as a guest artist at the Marlboro Music Festival, and has written scores for dance, theater and chamber ensembles. "Teaching has made me care more about music," says Stan. "A piece I'm performing may take on a whole new dimension because we've analyzed it in class and I've suddenly become aware of something I never noticed before." He likes working with students who are passionate and curious about learning all types of music. "I like those who are open to new musical experience, which ironically often means for young musicians getting to know older music."
Stan perceives the development of musical skills as the honing of a craft. He is fascinated by the changing attitudes musicians have had toward their art. "In history classes, I emphasize the artists' relationships with society as well as the development of forms on a purely musical level." This enthusiastic mentor finds that immersion in the liberal arts at Marlboro helps him maintain a broad outlook on his discipline. "Being able to discuss Nietzsche over a cup of coffee somehow works its way back into the music. And it also does a lot for my teaching."
Stan continues his work as a composer, and has had premieres of new works recently performed in Paris, Los Angeles, Washington and at the Marlboro Music Festival. He spent his last sabbatical composing and playing at the Kimmel-Harding Center for the Arts, where he was an artist in residence. He is presently working on compositions for six-string electric cello in collaboration with California cellist Paul Cohen, and a film is being made about this process. Stan has recently become more interested in jazz, and plays a seven-string electric guitar retuned as an Elizabethan lute, his most familiar instrument.
B.M., Hartt College of Music, 1970; M.M., University of Massachusetts, 1977; Marlboro College, 1977 -
Jay Craven • Film-Video Studies
Filmmaker Jay Craven launched the Catamount Arts performing arts program, northern New England’s largest independent arts producer and presenter. Jay creates award-winning films on modest budgets, combining the talents of a regular ensemble with well-known actors like Michael J. Fox, Rip Torn, Ernie Hudson, Treat Williams, Martin Sheen, Kris Kristofferson and Genevieve Bujold. Jay’s awards include the Producers’ Guild of America’s 1995 NOVA Award for most promising new theatrical motion picture producer. His films, such as A Stranger in the Kingdom (1998), The Year that Trembled (2002) and Disappearances (2006), have played at more than 40 festivals, including Sundance. Jay says he likes working with "imaginative students who are ready to try new things and want to get to work."
"My goal is to tell an inventive and original story," says Jay of his filmmaking approach that he passes along to his students. “It’s not just about equipment or being able to imitate Hollywood. Marlboro students practice and excel as narrative, documentary and experimental filmmakers.” In the classroom, he focuses on the same basics to which he attributes his own success: writing and directing. He also emphasizes the importance of collaboration—with lighting specialists, actors, cinematographers and designers. “I’m working to build a cross-collaborative film program that draws on Marlboro’s impressive resources of filmmakers, actors, musicians, writers, photographers and visual artists,” he says.
Jay produced the 13-day 2009 Burlington International Waterfront Festival, commemorating the 400th anniversary of French explorer Samuel de Champlain's lake expedition. The festival featured more than 1,200 artists, including a commissioned dance performance by French-Algerian choreographer Heddy Maalem with 60 dancers from France, Quebec, Vermont (including dance professor Kristin Horrigan) and Native American nations. He has recently completed two new screenplays, a rural country "film noir" based on the novel by James Ross, They Don't Dance Much, and a psychological crime drama based on Judgement Ridge, by Dick Lehr and Mitchell Zuckoff. Jay is also working on a memoir about his 35 years of work as a Vermont indie filmmaker and grass-roots impresario.
M.F.A., Goddard College, 1977; Honorary B.A., Sterling College, 2006; Marlboro College, 1998 –
Rosario de Swanson • Gender Studies, Languages
Growing up in a rural town in Mexico's Jalisco state gave Rosario de Swanson a unique perspective as a student of Spanish American literature. Studying the culture she grew up in while living in the U.S. made her more aware of contradictions and forced her to confront ideas that she had never questioned. Rosario considers the study of Spanish as highly relevant, even in rural Vermont. "Perhaps we have not been the best of neighbors, but the stories of Americans and Latin Americans are tied, historically and otherwise. There are also so many people in the U.S. of Hispanic descent that knowing about their language, their culture and their stories of immigration and arrival is relevant to all of us because it is part of our histories.
Since 2008, Rosario has led a Spanish language and literature program for promising students in the Dominican Republic. She designed the curriculum as part of MACILE (Matemáticas, Ciencias y Lenguaje), a program dedicated to improving the quality of education for K-12 students in less advantaged communities. "I had great teachers who really loved our culture and language," she says. "I want these students to have the same experience."
"I want to always present ideas in a fresh way, and always present new ideas," says Rosario. "I usually go for the nontraditional," such as her course called Gender Trouble, about modern women writers in Latin America and the Afro-Hispanic diaspora. As a professor of Spanish she expects a lot of her students, but in a laid back atmosphere. She strives to help students to test and trust their own ideas and find their own voice, "which most of the students already have in English; it's hard to find in a second language."
Rosario's tendency to explore uncharted academic territory is exemplified by her dissertation topic, "Afro-Hispanic difference in continental Spanish American literature." In addition to Afro-Hispanic literature, culture and music, she specializes in women writers, contemporary indigenous literature and feminist and post-colonial theory. "There are 21 nations and multiple cultures represented in the linguistic universe of Spanish," says Rosario. "With each community adding something to the language, culture and literature, studying Spanish is very rewarding." In March 2010, she traveled to Equatorial Guinea, the only African nation where Spanish is the official language, to research a paper on the nationally celebrated writer Juan Tomas Avila Laurel.
B.A., Smith College, 1998; M.A., University of Massachusetts-Amherst, 2003; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst, 2008; Marlboro College, 2009 -
William Edelglass • Environmental Studies, Philosophy
William has been a teacher in a variety of settings, including a federal prison in New York, a Tibetan refugee settlement in Nepal, and for many years as a wilderness guide at Outward Bound. Before coming to Marlboro, William taught philosophy at Colby College and at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala, India, where he taught Western philosophy to Tibetan monks and Buddhist philosophy to American college students on a Tibetan studies program. He was attracted to Marlboro by its commitment to preparing students with the skills, methods and background to take responsibility for their own work, and by the vibrant intellectual and artistic community this makes possible.
William's areas of expertise include 20th-century European philosophy—phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, poststructuralism and postmodernism—Buddhist philosophy and environmental philosophy. He is particularly interested in questions of ethics, aesthetics and meaning. William’s courses often engage disciplines outside of philosophy, including art history and the visual and performing arts, Asian studies, religious studies and environmental studies. "Marlboro's interdisciplinary approach is deeply appealing to me," he said. "I value working with students and colleagues who do not feel bound by narrow disciplinary expectations that limit intellectual exploration."
William has published widely in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, environmental philosophy, and 20th-century European philosophy. He is co-director of the International Association of Environmental Philosophy and co-editor of the journal Environmental Philosophy. William is also co-editor of Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings (Oxford University Press, 2009), the Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2011), and Facing Nature: Levinas and Environmental Thought.
B.A., St. John's College, 1993; M.A., Emory University, 1999, Ph.D., Emory University, 2004; Marlboro College, 2008 -
Kat Fabel • Environmental Studies, Gender Studies, Sociology
As a faculty member at Marlboro, Kat Fabel uses her field experience to develop community-academic relationships that will serve her students, the college, and the community. Much of her work has focused on engaging low-income communities with the plethora of environmental and climate-related issues that often impact them most directly. Kat believes in a hands-on approach to teaching sociology, where students are encouraged to undertake independent research projects. Kat says "I firmly believe that sociologists must have one foot in academia and one foot in the field in order to produce relevant, applicable work, and that students learn best when they're allowed to take ownership of their education."
Kat notes that threads of inequality and social justice link all her topics of focus. She says that "my aim as an instructor is to inspire in students a strong capacity for critical analysis, as well as a socially aware world perspective. In my research, I seek projects that have practical applications and rich theoretical grounding, and strive to help my students develop a similar enthusiasm for interdisciplinary, socially conscious research."
Kat integrates online components into all of her courses, from maintaining an active course page to having students post to an interactive message board as part of their class participation. She has found that the most memorable learning often occurs outside the classroom, when one applies knowledge to practice. She aims to send students into the community when possible, to bridge the gap between theory and the 'real world." In addition, she believes that learning happens most effectively when students feel a sense of ownership with a course, and thus allows students to help shape the syllabus, and incorporates student feedback into the course.
Kat's research interests span the discipline, ranging in scale from small-scale studies of urban greening projects to larger considerations of gender, inequality, and social change. She says that "my primary research interest is the impact that small, community level urban greening projects can have on social networks and the built environment. In particular, I am interested in how fear and desire simultaneously factor into decisions around urban planning, and the conversations and outcomes that arise from these opposing but concurrent discourses. This research ranges in scope from conversations with community members to observation of grassroots organizations, to an examination of the larger social, political and economic structures that impact urban greening projects. This research has applications far beyond the neighborhood, and is crucial in understanding how an environmental justice perspective can be applied to urban redevelopment on any scale."
Kat's interest in community organizations and social change spans beyond her research. For the past several years, she has been working closely with the Massachusetts Climate Action Network on both state and national level policy related to climate change, and on their small-scale grassroots efforts to lower the carbon footprint of various towns and cities statewide. She has a firm commitment to social activism, particularly as it relates to environmental justice. Kate notes that "at the foundation of my research is the interplay of policy and practice – as a research/activist, I believe that pragmatic research which takes into account the realities of community organizing stands the best chance of creating useful, informed policies."
B.A., Smith College, 2004; M.A., Northeastern University, 2007; Ph.D., Northeastern University, 2011; Marlboro College, 2012 -
Brenda Foley • Gender Studies, Theater
A scholar with diverse and eclectic theatrical interests, Brenda Foley is as happy teaching Jacobean tragedy as she is rehearsing Tennessee Williams or Sarah Kane, or searching for the correspondences between female characters in 18th-century plays and the rhetoric of masking so prevalent onstage in that period. “Studying and practicing theater,” says Brenda, “gives us an extraordinarily visceral opportunity to experience human behavior from a perspective other than our own.” She has worked at a number of Equity theaters herself, including The Roundabout, La Jolla Playhouse, GeVa, Studio Arena, StageWest, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Florida Stage (where she won the 1994 Carbonell Award for Best Actress in Keely and Du) and Vienna’s English theater.
Performance theorist Alan Read’s contention, “theater begins from a point of coalescence, not polarity,” best articulates Brenda Foley ’s approach to the practice, study and teaching of theater. She has always been interested in how forms and performances intersect; convergence has become a recurring aspect of her scholarship and pedagogy.
For Brenda, teaching and scholarship are a logical extension of her work in the professional theater. “At Marlboro, I have the chance to share my belief that scholarship is a creative endeavor with smart and diligent students who embrace an interdisciplinary model of liberal arts education with a passion that equals my own," she says. "Together our interests find expression in wide-ranging courses that explore and interrogate the social practice of theater, in all its variations.”
Brenda’s research areas of interest are performance studies, pop culture, feminism and performance, contemporary theater and disability studies. Her past scholarship includes a book, Undressed for Success: Beauty Contestants and Exotic Dancers as Merchants of Morality, and essays in journals such as Nordic Theater Studies and The National Women’s Studies Association Journal. Brenda’s current research project explores the historical treatment of women who were patients in asylums and institutions throughout the Northeast U.S. from 19th to the early 20th century. The results of the research will lead to an interdisciplinary seminar in original source research, performance project, and publication.
B.A., University of Santa Clara, 1982; M.F.A., California Institute of the Arts, 1984; A.M., Brown University, 2000; Ph.D., Brown University, 2004; Marlboro College, 2007 –
Casey Ford (visiting) • Philosophy, Religion
cford@marlboro.edu
“I am motivated by the idea that philosophy provides the opportunity to think differently and more profoundly about the concrete world in which we live,” says Casey Ford, who is teaching philosophy and religion at Marlboro in the spring 2015 semester. Casey is a doctoral candidate at the University of Guelph, working on a dissertation on the ontological projects of G.W.F. Hegel and Gilles Deleuze. “What my project aims to contribute is an argument for greater continuity in the relationship between contemporary French philosophies of difference and the German Idealist tradition.” His areas of specialization are Hegel and 19th-century philosophy, contemporary continental philosophy, and the history of philosophy. He considers teaching an integral part of his philosophical practice, and for his work as both a lecturer and teaching assistant at Guelph he was awarded the PhD Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Arts in 2012.
B.A., DePaul University, 2009; Ph.D. candidate, University of Guelph, 2010–
Adam Franklin-Lyons • Environmental Studies, History
Having a long-standing interest in teaching at the undergraduate level, Adam Franklin-Lyons was not drawn to colleges where research is the goal and teaching is secondary. At Marlboro College, he knew he found a place where education was paramount. "The students here are very dedicated," says Adam. "I was surprised at first how curious they are in class. One hopes that students will be, but even the students at great universities aren't always curious." Adam, who got his master's and doctorate degrees in history at Yale, also has degrees in philosophy, musicology and religion, liturgy and the arts.
Adam strives to provide his students with the tools they need to pursue their personal passion, working to connect history to all aspects of the liberal arts curriculum. "History is at the heart of a lot of contemporary discourse, both political and social," he says. "In a more-or-less secular society, lacking a certain unified set of beliefs, we tend to argue based on our past." Adam is inspired by the level of autonomy faculty members have in designing their curriculum. "I like how Marlboro thinks."
Adam's own academic passions include the environmental, economic and social history of the Middle Ages. "My dissertation focuses on social constraints in the responses to famines in medieval Catalonia and the western Mediterranean," he says. "The work brings to light a variety of previously under-researched causes and responses in medieval food shortages including aesthetic preferences, legal restrictions on trade and agriculture, protectionist practices and the treatment of the poor." Other areas of research include the history of poverty, liturgical practice, cuisine, medieval trade and the development of agricultural technology, both European and Islamic. "Although I am a medievalist, I am also interested in global perspectives on food supply, diet and modern methods of agricultural production." He has pursued these interests internationally, studying the history of famines and experimental archeology in Spain and Arabic in Tunisia.
Adam runs a podcast series of history interviews, lectures, and thoughts. He has also made available an introduction and many of the lectures from his Introduction to Medieval Studies class.
B.A. and B.M., Oberlin College, 2000; M.A., Yale University, 2006, Ph.D., Yale University, 2009; Marlboro College, 2009 -
Richard Glejzer came to Marlboro after teaching at North Central College in Illinois and College of Idaho. "I have always admired Marlboro's approach to teaching and service, where students work closely with faculty to develop their own academic path and where students, faculty, and staff work together in a shared community," he says. Richard is especially excited to be working in an environment where he can continue to work across traditional disciplinary divides, and even teach yoga.
Richard's teaching has ranged widely in the areas of medieval literature, rhetoric and cultural theory, while also focusing more precisely on representations of the Holocaust and other traumatic events. "In all of my courses, students grapple with difficult questions about representation and knowledge, considering explicitly the ethics of memory and history," says Richard. "More importantly, I ask my students to address the limits of knowledge that representation often demonstrates, considering the ethical challenges of the Holocaust, for example, within disciplinary frames that determine what we can understand and how we then act."
Richard's research follows an arc similar to his teaching, from considering the ways that bearing witness both constructs and limits our understanding of the Holocaust to examinations of many kinds of Holocaust representation—the memoirs and fiction of Aaron Appelfeld, Art Spiegelman and Cynthia Ozick; films ranging from Claude Lanzmann's Shoah to Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem. His most recent publications have expanded on these issues within the context of 9/11 while also moving into more focused work on the rhetorical grounding of representations of disaster.
B.A., University of New Hampshire, 1986; M.A., University of New Hampshire, 1989; PhD., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1994; Marlboro College 2010 -
Sean Harrigan Classics Fellow • Classics
“I enjoy the way tutorials bring me into contact with things I wouldn’t necessarily be reading or thinking about if left to my own devices," says Sean Harrigan, Marlboro’s Classics Fellow for the academic year. Sean completed his doctorate degree in classics from Yale in 2013, and teaches both Greek and Latin as well as classical history. His research focus is on the poetry of Archaic Greece, specifically how it was performed. “The fact that our texts survive as ink on paper obscures the amazing reality that what we tend to call poetry is almost always better thought of as song. I’m especially interested in songs that were performed as part of religious ceremonies, where the words may tell us something about the rituals in which people were taking part.”
Seth Harter • Asian Studies, History
"Recently there has been a lot of talk, in connection with globalization, about the importance of understanding Asia," says Seth Harter. "I couldn’t agree more, but I think that discussions of globalization in the media often promote two misconceptions: first, that global economic interdependence is a recent phenomenon; and second, that globalization has created a culturally homogenous world. One of the greatest contributions that Asian studies can make, in the liberal arts context, is to counter these two misconceptions."
"I want to use the heterogeneity of Asian history to get students to think about seemingly familiar phenomena—gender relations, migration, time, money—in new ways," says Seth. He looks forward to working with students with creativity and determination, as well as great research and writing skills. "I feel like the open-ended nature of our curricular structure—particularly at the Plan level—means that students' creativity and determination can take them places they couldn't go at other schools. It also makes the work of the Plan sponsor more delightful."
Seth plunged into Asian studies after teaching in Hong Kong, which captivated him with its energy and its resistance to simple categorization: "The city was simultaneously a colony and not colonial, both individualistic and family-oriented, at once cosmopolitan and parochial." Fascinated by the paradoxes he saw there, he used them as the basis of his dissertation in history, which examines the relationship between Hong Kong and China in the mid-20th century.
In recent years Seth has developed an interest in Daoism, and he serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Daoist Studies. His research has led to an experimental seminar that explores Daoist traditions while raising questions about the place of physical practice in the classroom. Out of this experiment came a paper presented at the Fifth International Daoist Studies Conference in 2009 at Wudangshan, China. Seth is currently exploring the concept of embodied learning in Asia and the West, exploring the ways in which our minds are inseparable from our bodies and how our materiality bears on our epistemology.
"Practice in the classroom: To taiji or not to taiji?" Journal of Daoist Studies 3 (2010).
B.A., Yale University, 1989; M.A.,University of Michigan, 1996; PhD., University of Michigan, 2006; Marlboro College, 2000 –
Carol Hendrickson • Anthropology
When she is not teaching popular classes like Ethnobiology and Senses of Place, Carol Hendrickson conducts field research on Maya identity issues in the central highlands of Guatemala as she has for more than 30 years. An expert on traje (Maya dress), her research focuses on the ways in which material culture non-verbally relates cultural meanings and provides insight into local understandings of ethnicity, gender, class, politics, national identity and global flows of information. In addition to using conventional field methods such as interviews, participant observation and photography, Carol advocates taking “visual field notes” as an important means for seeing—in the double sense of observing and understanding—in the field.
According to Carol, the study of anthropology is important "because it pushes us to see beyond ourselves.” In the classroom she wants students to "learn to question our assumptions about our own world and come to understand people’s lives that initially might seem very different from ours." She also encourages her students to study abroad because “learning is a total experience, engaging a person’s mind, body, emotions and social relations on and away from campus.”
Carol's book, Weaving Identities: Construction of Dress and Self in a Highland Guatemala Town (University of Texas Press), was selected by Choice as one of the best new books in anthropology in 1995. With Edward Fischer she co-wrote Tecpán Guatemala: A Modern Maya Town in Global and Local Context (Westview, 2002), which is currently being translated for publication in Spanish. In 1999 Carol was awarded a coveted Fulbright-Hays faculty research grant for her work in Guatemala. In addition to her own research trips, she has participated in several Marlboro faculty-student field study trips, including one to Vietnam in 2005 and one to South India in 2007, both sponsored by a grant from the Freeman Foundation. In 2006, 2002 and 2000, Carol was a faculty member for the NEH Summer Institute on the Maya, and in 2009 she was a faculty member on a field study trip to China sponsored by the East-West Center and the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Carol has served on the board of the Maya Educational Foundation since 2005
B.S., Bates College, 1971; M.A., University of Chicago, 1979, 1983; Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1986; Marlboro, 1989 -
Kristin Horrigan (sabbatical fall 2014) • Dance, Gender Studies
Dance professor Kristin Horrigan knows that a balanced liberal arts education can be greatly enhanced by an exploration of dance, as reflected in her own academic history. Kristin's graduate studies at Ohio State focused the intersection between concert dance and social activism. Her major as an undergraduate at Princeton was actually in chemistry, with a minor in dance. Kristin's broad educational background allows her to provide for students whose academic work is interdisciplinary. She specializes in teaching modern dance, choreography and improvisation, and special topics in dance history and theory.
“I want students to understand dance as an art form—its history, its theory, its methods, it's relationship to other aspects of culture—and to develop critical frameworks for understanding dance in a larger social context,” says Kristin. She also expects students to be able to apply paradigms from their dance studies to their work in other fields and their experiences in other parts of life. "I want students to develop tools for creative and analytical thought, from an embodied perspective, that they can carry out into their other studies.”
"One of the things I enjoy about teaching at Marlboro is that the students are individuals and student success takes many different forms," says Kristin. She is continually surprised by the beauty of particular strengths that students bring, strengths she cannot always see at the outset. "The students I most enjoy bring curiosity, enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard and a balance of open-mindedness and critical thinking skills in their approach to new ideas."
Kristin's work has been published in academic journals such as Dance Magazine and Contact Quarterly. Her current research regards intergenerational dance, and she directs a company of dancers who range in age from 23 to 88 in Northampton, Massachusetts, called the Dance Generators. They perform five to ten shows a year in theaters, schools and senior homes in western Massachusetts. In spring of 2010 they brought a full-length show to Marlboro for the first time. In 2009, Kristin traveled to Stolzenhaagen, Germany, a small village on the Polish border where she collaborated with other artists in choreographing a community-based dance project, including children, adults and elders. The project celebrated the history of the town and its diverse population, while creating understanding between residents of various backgrounds. She also performed in Burlington, Vermont, as part of a new dance by French choreographer Heddy Malem commissioned for the Champlain Quadracentennial Project.
A.B., Princeton University, 1999; M.F.A., Ohio State University, 2002. Marlboro College, 2006-
Dana Howell • Cultural History
A cultural historian with an area specialty in Soviet studies, Dana Howell came to Marlboro in 1985 to help build the new World Studies Program. She directed the program for five years, and helped Marlboro students, across the curriculum, take on internships all over the map. She also directed the first Marlboro Asia Project, with support from the National Endowment on the Humanities, and helped to add faculty in international studies. Dana teaches area courses in Eurasian studies and courses on contemporary topics like war reporting, tourism and public culture.
In her classes, Dana looks at contemporary life through the lens of cultural traditions and history. "I'm interested in situations where people see their lives as part of large events and changes, where they are thinking about the connection to history," she says. "This must explain my fascination with Soviet and post-Soviet societies." Dana prefers using primary materials, which offer students an immediate exposure to cultural perspectives and invite further reading. "I like a recent comment by a British historian, 'I read until I can hear the people talking.'" Dana's international perspective has allowed her to work with Plan students on a broad range of topics, from seafaring in Newfoundland to Japanese fashion. "I'm always surprised by the creativity of Marlboro students and the diversity in this small community."
Dana's book The Development of Soviet Folkloristics addresses Soviet views of peasant and minority cultures. Since 2000, Dana has worked for the Higher Education Support Program of the Open Society Institute. She chairs the academic committee for OSI's Regional Seminar for Excellence in Teaching. "Our goal is to promote 'scholarly teaching' that engages undergraduate students and promotes democratic change in higher education in the post-Soviet region," Dana says. "It's exciting work with international scholars and young academics committed to innovation. It also lets me travel to pursue my research interests in historical tourism and cultural remembrances of war."
B.A., Barnard College, 1970; M.A., University of Pennsylvania, 1974; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1984; Marlboro College, 1985 –
Martina Lantin (leave fall 2014/spring 2015) • Ceramics
"I see ceramics, and all art-making, as integral to a liberal arts curriculum," says Martina Lantin. "The determination to develop skill in ceramics is akin to learning the art of writing and critical thinking." Martina's knowledge of ceramics has been fostered—both technically and professionally—by numerous international work and study experiences, including an apprenticeship in England and graduate study in Denmark. These periods strongly influenced her aesthetic development and functional sensibility by raising a new awareness of the cultural differences in approaches to ceramics as a medium. Martina's years employed as a production potter and maintaining her own studio practice strengthened her technical abilities on the wheel and with a variety of firing techniques.
Martina's courses inspire students toward a deeper understanding of the material and the explication of their own ideas. As she teaches, she asks students to instigate their own challenges and be motivated to take risks with their work. She says, "Beyond the use of our hands, arts practice is supported by the engagement of our minds. I encourage students to incorporate a broad base of knowledge to catalyze their work." Martina's courses give equal attention to craftsmanship, technical understanding and conceptual development, and encourages students to look broadly and critically at what has come before to develop their own vocabulary. She also expects to learn from students: "I open myself to students through the act of teaching, and this openness in return exposes me to new ideas and perspectives that serve to inform my studio work. My own cycle of articulating and evaluating what I make is affirmed by the energy and enthusiasm generated through the interaction with students who are likewise engrossed in their work. I strive to share this spirit of consideration, exploration and discovery of the creative process with each of my students."
In her own work, Martina draws inspiration from aspects of material culture and the story of how populations have moved around the globe through history. She has had shows across the United States and in Canada, and is represented in several galleries. In 2010 she received an artist fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission and was featured in the October issue of Ceramics Monthly. "I am always striving to develop new forms in the studio, and have been fascinated with 'flower bricks' (vases that hold several separate stems) in past year—they offer a unique connection to ceramic history while also offering the dual potential of utilitarian and decorative functions."
B.A., Earlham College, 1996; M.F.A., Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, 2009; Marlboro College 2010 -
Amer Latif (sabbatical spring 2015) • Religion
When he left his home in Islamabad, Pakistan, Amer Latif hoped to find some answers to his many questions about the universe in science. But by the time he graduated with a degree in physics from Bard College, Amer knew that the answers to his questions—and often the questions themselves—transcended science. His liberal arts education had allowed other questions to surface: "questions of beauty and meaning," he says. He found himself driven by a desire to know the deeper significance of things in addition to the measurement of them. "The first place I found that did not shy away from these questions was in the writings of Rumi," says Amer.
Amer feels that religious studies can be viewed much like learning a language. Religion is expressed through the languages of myth, ritual and symbol. "These languages give a structure to one’s thoughts and provide categories that shape one’s perception and experience of the world." Amer’s goal is to allow students to understand and enter the conceptual universe of different religions through the combined use of art, literature, ethnography and historical studies. "For me, knowledge is one," says Amer. "There are ways of making sense of things, and how they relate to each other, in a unified vision; that appeals to me."
Amer completed his doctoral degree at Stony Brook University in 2009, with a dissertation examining the interpretations of the Qur'anic narratives of Pharaoh by Rumi—the 13th-century Muslim scholar and mystic. "What interests me is how some people are able to move from one system of 'signs' to another," says Amer, who is working on turning his dissertation into a book. "Rumi is like a translator. He takes stories of Pharoah and Moses in the Qur'an, and tells people that this is something that is happening right within you." Amer's work also involves translating texts from Persian, Arabic, Urdu and Turkish.
B.A., Bard College, 1995; Ph.D. SUNY-Stony Brook, 2009; Marlboro College, 2003–
Grant Li (sabbatical fall 2014) • Languages
"I am interested in language & culture and how languages work," said Grant Li, who has a deep appreciation for the fundamental similarities between languages. Grant was born and grew up in the northeast of China, where standard Chinese is spoken. After receiving his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California, Irvine, he turned his attention to teaching Chinese. At Marlboro College, Grant teaches all levels of Chinese and theoretical linguistics.
“To many people Chinese is a hard language to learn. That may be true, but I try to make the language accessible to students with activities in class conducive to developing their communicative skills,” said Grant, who always brings fun and joy to language learning. In linguistics, he emphasizes the theoretical and formal approaches to the nature of language, reflecting his view that fundamentally all languages are the same. He believes that languages differ on the surface due to various interactions of a finite set of surprisingly simple grammatical principles. "Because of the nature of linguistics, students interested in any language can work with me—not only their own native language(s), but any other languages as well. A comparative study across languages is particularly fascinating, as it often helps reveal the nature of language."
Grant's research interests are Chinese language and culture, syntactic theory and comparative linguistics. Grant helps students to work on a particular language-Chinese or to develop analyses of some language phenomena from the theoretical perspective. His view on syntactic nature of distributivity is summarized in his book, 分之道/Tao of Division (2009) and a book chapter “Distributivity: A Parametric View” (2011).
B.A., Heilongjiang University, 1982; M.A., Heilongjiang University, 1987; M.A., University of California, Irvine, 1995; Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1997; Marlboro College, 2008 –
Kyhl Lyndgaard • Environmental Studies, Literature, Writing
"The reason I became a professor is a bit elusive," says Kyhl Lyndgaard, who teaches writing, often with a focus on environmental studies. "My desire first found voice when I read Richard Hugo's The Triggering Town." Hugo writes that "[w]hen we are told in dozens of insidious ways that our lives don't matter, we may be forced to insist, often far too loudly, that they do. . . [A] writing class may be one of the last places you can go where your life still matters."
Kyhl suggests that "even beyond my goals to improve my students' writing and to help them develop critical thinking skills, I hope to create a classroom that fosters a sense of personal importance and responsibility." He believes that good writing and academic success depends upon confidence and the freedom to speak your own mind. "Individuality in thought and expression is all too rare and undervalued these days, and I can't imagine working anywhere but a small liberal arts college."
Kyhl came to Marlboro from Luther College, in Iowa, where he was an Associated Colleges of the Midwest-Mellon post-doctoral fellow in English and environmental studies. He received his Ph.D. in English with an emphasis in literature and environment from the University of Nevada at Reno, and has written widely on literature, writing pedagogy and the natural world. He has been an environmental educator in Minnesota, has taught English in Taiwan and is also an accomplished poet.
Kyhl has a substantial publication record of books, articles and chapters, essays, book reviews and nonfiction writing that attests to his interdisciplinary interests and abilities. His environmental writing interests come together in his dissertation, "Landscape of removal and renewal: Cross-cultural resistance in 19th-century American captivity narratives." This project connects the insights of the environmental and social justice movements to a series of captivity narratives written before, concurrently with and immediately after the Indian Relocation Act of 1830.
B.A., Saint John's University, 1999; M.A., University of California at Davis, 2002; Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno 2010; Marlboro College, 2011 -
Jim Mahoney • Computer Science
As a teenager in the 1970s, Jim Mahoney taught his calculator to play minesweeper, and he never looked back. As a radio astronomer in the 1980s, he programmed telescopes and modeled galaxies. And in the 1990s, watching the growth of the internet, he set up Marlboro College’s first website. These days Jim tries to connect computer science to various disciplines across the curriculum, including computer music, dance technology, linguistics, digital image and video projects, bioformatics, geographical information systems and scientific data analysis and modeling.
Jim finds that the field of computer science is ideal for interdisciplinary work, and his own interests are a perfect example. "I guess I like best working with students who want to find ways to use a computer to work in other areas—physics, music, dance, whatever—and who put the time in to really dig into things," he says. "I've also had a lot of fun with students who've worked just within computer science, with various internet projects or numerical computations." Jim finds computer science fertile ground for exploring everything from web technology to the nature of thought itself.
Jim's academic career began with physics, but he has always worked with computers as an important tool, both for various kinds of data analysis and for theoretical work. Over the years, however, his fascination with computers and with programming grew into the place where physics and computer science collide—and where computer science overlaps with other disciplines. In 2002, after teaching physics at Marlboro for 14 years, Jim eagerly filled a vacant position for a computer science professor.
Most of Jim's own research has centered on the internet, including the use of web applications in education. At the 2006 Wikimania, Wikipedia's annual conference, Jim presented a poster on an academic wiki used by many Marlboro science professors to organize their courses. In 2009, Jim developed a computerized scripting system for dance, another avid interest. For several years, Jim has also worked as an internet consultant, most recently helping the Connecticut Association of Directors of Health develop a "health equity index." This online tool charts the relationship between health and wealth demographics in the state.
Jim's academic website has links to all his courses for the next few years.
B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1981; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1987; Physics Staff, MIT Environmental Study Group, 1986 - 1988; NASA Summer Faculty Fellow, 1991 - 1992; Marlboro Graduate Center faculty, 2001 - ; Internet consultant, 2004 – ; Marlboro College, 1988 –
Megan Mitchell (visiting) • Ceramics
Originally from New Hampshire, Megan Mitchell has also lived and made art in Alaska, Minnesota, Montana, California, and Utah. Megan earned her bachelor's degree in studio art from Carleton College, in Northfield, Minnesota, with an emphasis in painting and printmaking. She was a studio assistant at Whitefish Pottery, in Whitefish, Montana, and the Hoyman Browe Studio, in Ukiah California. She earned her MFA in ceramics from Utah State University, and was named USU's Graduate Researcher of the Year. Her work has been exhibited in numerous national exhibitions, and was featured in Ceramics Monthly in December 2011. In July 2013, Megan completed a year-long residency at the Red Lodge Clay Center, in Red Lodge Montana. She was the Mellon Fellow in Ceramics at Marlboro College in the fall of 2013, and the Rosenquist Resident Artist at North Dakota State University in the spring of 2014.
B.A., Carlton College; MFA, Utah State University, 2012
Alison Montgomery Social Science Fellow • Anthropology
Alison Montgomery has several years of experience exploring the impact of power and policy on agricultural communities in South Africa from an anthropological perspective. Her doctoral dissertation, "Negotiating the Spaces of Fair Trade in South Africa's Wine Industry," explores the dynamics of market-driven social justice and black economic empowerment in the lucrative wine industry. Alison has also investigated the effect of land reform on the citrus industry in South Africa, and the migration of diasporic Zimbabwean farmers. She has taught anthropology at the University of Florida, and speaks Afrikaans and Swahili.
B.A., University of Oklahoma, 2003; M.A., University of Oklahoma, 2007; Ph.D., University of Florida, 2014
Meg Mott • Environmental Studies, Gender Studies, Politics
Meg Mott became interested in political theory while working as a court advocate for a battered women’s shelter. Having worked as a paralegal in the 1980s, she was confused by some of the practices emerging in family and criminal courts. "I had been trained to put the burden of proof on the accuser’s testimony, but in family court, the accusers only had to prove they suffered from a reasonable fear," says Meg. "The part of me that was a feminist was delighted to see women’s testimony taken so seriously. The part of me that was a paralegal was worried about the erosion of due process."This same kind of tension fueled her doctoral research on the role of "natural law" in the Spanish Inquisition.
Marlboro’s emphasis on writing is central to Meg’s project of teaching theory. "I don’t want students to just read theory, I want them to practice theorizing. That activity can only happen through the practice of writing, of moving out of held beliefs and into democratic and pluralistic spaces." She wants to work with students who are perplexed and perturbed by the state of the world and who have enough curiosity to want to write about it.
Marlboro College, with its Town Meeting form of campus governance, provides Meg with a perfect laboratory for exploring the reality of democratic theory. "Town Meeting teaches us the virtues and vices of living in a democracy," she says. "Sometimes we reach consensus after a persuasive and poetic argument and sometimes we get lost in the details. Democracy is probably the most frustrating form of government and also the most rewarding."
More recently, Meg has become interested in how the federal government is addressing sexual assaults on college campuses, and how environmental crises are challenging basic assumptions about political life. "The local food movement is a good example. As towns and cities become more adept at taking charge of its own food, they also become more adept at taking care of other basic needs."
B.A., Norwich University, 1992; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2001; Marlboro, 1999—
Jean O'Hara (leave fall 2014) • Gender Studies, Theater
With almost two decades of experience as a professional director, Jean O’Hara’s practice and theoretical work is informed by her desire to address marginalized voices. She has directed everything from professional theater to community performances, from Dell’ Arte International School of Physical Theatre student productions to Inuit performances at the Alianait Festival, Nanavut. In every venue she has pursued performances that critically examine cultural diversity, gender, and sexuality. She has also founded and directed three ensemble-based theater troupes that address issues of social justice. “I see theater and storytelling as an important way to connect, build community, and create a much-needed space for the variant voices in and outside the college to be heard.”
Jean sees the relationship between professors and students as dynamic and constantly unfolding. “I understand that I am not the only teacher in the classroom, and that if I create a safe space for learning, others will share their knowledge and insights,” she says. In her experience, teaching with enthusiasm and open-mindedness nurtures imagination and expands both students’ and teachers’ sense of what is possible. “I am always excited to be a part of stimulating artistic and intellectual discovery.” She has taught classes in acting, commedia, melodrama, clown, improvisation, physical theater, movement, theater of the oppressed, and world theater literature.
Jean’s doctoral dissertation, “Up/Staging Two-Spirit Plays: Unsettling Sexuality and Gender” is a literary and historical analysis of two-spirit plays through a queer indigenous studies lens. She says, “My research critically examines the ‘imaginary Indian’ created by the colonial imperialist project, while investigating how two-spirit artists challenge and subvert such colonial imaginings.” Jean is the editor of the anthology, Two-Spirit Acts: Indigenous Queer Performances, and published “The Journey Home” in Salmon is Everything: Community-Based Theatre in the Klamath Watershed. She has presented several conference papers, and participated on panels, most recently at the Performance Studies International Conference, Stanford University.
B.S., Rhode Island College, 1992; M.A., Humboldt State University, 2005; Ph.D., York University, 2013; Marlboro College, 2014 -
Matt Ollis • Environmental Studies, Mathematics
A native of Birmingham, England, math professor Matt Ollis appreciates that Marlboro’s small classes allow him to give close attention to each student’s strengths and weaknesses, from teaching introductory courses to working in an advanced tutorial with a senior. “It has been more interesting teaching here from the start," he says. "Marlboro students are passionate about their work, whether it's someone delving deeply into a very specific math question or making interesting connections to other disciplines."
Matt doesn’t expect a flock of Marlboro students to embrace mathematics the way he has, but he does work to make it more accessible for non-mathematicians, particularly among those studying science. "To study mathematics," he says, "you have to arrange your thoughts in a specific way, and that can be very helpful in anything. In science, understanding the math that underlies the science can be especially helpful."
Matt has a long-standing interest in combinatorics, also known as "the science of counting," which explores the different possible combinations of numbers within sets. Matt worked on combinatorial methods that can be used for everything from drug trials to cheese tastings. And then, of course, "It’s a great help for juggling," he says. "It gives you patterns you can follow." Matt is an active member of the Environmental Advisory Board, and introduced a class called How Environmentally Sustainable is Marlboro College? to engage students in the research and analysis needed to optimize the college's use of resources. He recently presented a talk at Middlebury college entitled, "The terrace: A useful tool for wine tasters, dancing children and hungry mathematicians."
M.Sci., Queen Mary University of London, 1999; Ph.D., Queen Mary University of London, 2003; Marlboro College, 2003 –
Cathy Osman • Painting, Visual Arts
An artist well-versed in diverse media, from painting and drawing to printmaking and experimental works, Cathy Osman taught at Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire Colleges before coming to Marlboro. Her perspective on the visual arts, as both a creative and a problem-solving process, ties in well with Marlboro's approach to liberal studies. "One learns to balance success with experimentation, and work through the discomfort of not knowing," says Cathy. "This unknowing, as mysterious as it sounds, is critical to the defining elements of art. One must have patience and curiosity for this course of action, which yields not only a tangible object but also skills for engaging in complex thinking and connection to the outside world."
"My approach to teaching is to encourage students to see themselves as makers," says Cathy. "The prime skill that we all need in that search is hard work—coming to the challenge of art making each day whether or not one feels inspired, with the goal of acting and thinking at once. Making is thinking." Critical to Cathy's teaching is establishing strong foundations for art students. "Although we are in a climate of continual change, a climate in which traditional values in art are in constant question, students need to be given solid skills in perception, close observation and careful analytic thinking."
Cathy continues to be active in her own studio and present her work in group and solo exhibitions throughout New England and New York. "I make images that gather and reorganize information from nature," she says. "I like picking up and discarding, weaving and unraveling an image until I am surprised." Her work was featured in the Winter-Spring 2003 Potash Hill and on the cover of The Massachusetts Review Winter 2003. In recent years she has collaborated with other faculty and students on grant-funded trips to Cambodia and Vietnam, where they participated in service learning projects and shared with local artists and artisans.
B.F.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1977; M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1979. Marlboro College, 1997 -
Fuyang Peng (visiting, part-time) • Languages
A graduate student in Chinese language and literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Fuyang Peng has been teaching Chinese language courses at the university since 2012. She was also a language instructor for Princeton in Beijing, a program at Beijing Normal University for American students, in the summer of 2013. She received her bachelor's degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at Northwest University, in Xi'an, China. In addition to Mandarin, Fuyang speaks conversational Japanese and Korean.
B.A., Northwest University, 2011; University of Massachusettes Amherst, 2012 -
Geraldine Pittman de Batlle (sabbatical spring 2015) • Literature
While she was agraduate student at the University of Southern Illinois, Geraldine helped to establish an undergraduate Honors Program that was roughly equivalent in size to the whole of Marlboro College. "It was there that I experienced the kind of teaching that I prize here at Marlboro: the opportunity to work very closely with a student on a project in which we are both interested," she said.
She has based her teaching on a quotation from one of her own teachers, Mark Van Doren: "The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." Geraldine’s courses range in scope from English Romantic Poetry to modern fiction, often with a focus on women’s roles, both as characters and as authors. She has directed senior Plan projects examining a wide variety of themes in the 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century novel. Geraldine frequently works with faculty members from diverse areas of the curriculum, exploring literature in its historical, philosophical or religious context. In recent years her courses on Latin American fiction have inspired a number of Plans involving languages and social history as well as literature.
Long active with the National Endowment for the Humanities, Geraldine is past president of the Vermont Council on the Humanities. She is also a citizen member of the Vermont Bar Association. She has studied at Columbia, Stanford and Harvard Universities. She spent the summer of 1987 as a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at Dartmouth’s Dante Institute.
B.A., Southern Illinois University, 1958; M.A., Southern Illinois University, 1965; Advanced graduate study, Southern Illinois University and Columbia University; Marlboro College, 1969 –
Rosalie Purvis (visiting) • Theater
Rosalie Purvis has been performing, directing, and teaching theater since her undergraduate degree in languages/literature and drama/dance from Bard College in 1998. She has taught at various colleges, summer programs, and conservatories, most recently City University of New York, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and the Putney School Summer Program just down the road from Marlboro. She teaches directing, acting, theater studies, theater composition, as well as creative writing, literature, and cultural/gender studies. Rosalie's own theater work includes directing plays and experimental theater, specializing in new plays, solo show development, and poly-glott or multi-disciplinary work. She also creates and performs her own experimental, multi-media, multi-disciplinary work, most recently "Persephone's Banquet," performed at the TinyDANGEROUSfun experimental theater festival in 2011.
B.A., Bard College, 1998; M.F.A., Brooklyn College, 2005
Jenny Ramstetter • Biology, Environmental Studies
A biologist with a passion for rare plant conservation, Jenny Ramstetter graduated from Marlboro College herself. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, with a dissertation on the dynamics of pollination and fertilization in two wild plant species, and did postdoctoral research on rare plants in France. Jenny recognizes that biology is only one of many pieces to the conservation ‘puzzle.’ "One of the most exciting things about being at Marlboro is that it offers so many opportunities to integrate biology with policy issues and cultural considerations," says Jenny, who has team-taught a course in Conservation Biology with economics professor Jim Tober.
In all of her courses, from general biology (which she co-teaches with biologist Jaime Tanner) to plant physiology or evolution, Jenny seeks to impart not merely detail, but an understanding of processes and relationships. "I also try to help students understand what constitutes a good question in biology," she says. "Some of the questions that seem most fascinating are broad and unmanageable The biologist’s job is to ask smaller questions, and use the answers to address larger questions."
Jenny’s abiding concern is for protecting biodiversity at multiple levels—populations, species, communities and ecosystems—and understanding the biology of these systems is crucial to that effort. She has done extensive fieldwork to conserve three rare plant species in New England: Ludwigia polycarpa, Cynoglossum virginianum and Triphora trianthophora, or three birds orchid. Jenny was recognized for this work by the New England Wild Flower Society, which presented her with the Vermont State Award in 2005.
Jenny has providing guidance on rare plants in Vermont's Flora Advisory Group (FLAG) and served on the Vermont Endangered Species Committee, advising the Natural Resources Agency on conservation. As a member of the conservation commission in the town of Marlboro, she helped initiated conservation of a 500-acre conservation area on Hogback Mountain. She continues to contribute to the conservation of this vital area through class field studies and collaborations with the local elementary school.
B.S., Marlboro College, 1981; M.A., University of Montana, 1983; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1988; Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Montpellier, France, 1988 - 1989, Marlboro College, 1989 -
Julie Rana Mathematics Fellow • Mathematics
Julie Rana '06 is excited to return to Marlboro as a mathematics fellow, along with her husband (also a 2006 graduate of Marlboro) and family. She notes that her familiarity with the challenges and responsibilities of the position began when she was a student here and served as a math tutor. One of her projects was to organize and update the modules for Topics in Algebra, Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus. She is excited about the prospect of completing this project, and "even more so about the opportunity to actually teach these topics to individuals and groups."
One of the most unique aspects of Marlboro is the close student-faculty relationships, with faculty not only being great teachers but outstanding mentors as well. Julie suggests that she will be an outstanding mentor because she is "enthusiastic, personable, adaptable, inquisitive, and excited to learn and grow with the students." Many of these characteristics come from over 10 years of experience tutoring students of all levels and interests. Julie loves to challenge herself by teaching and tutoring topics that push the boundaries of her mathematical knowledge.
Julie knows that Marlboro has an exceptionally tight-knit community and students turn to their peers for academic as well as emotional support. But she notes that "math students sometimes have difficulty truly connecting with peers on an intellectual leval. Such academic discussions are valuable not only because they are enjoyable, but also because they deepen one's understanding of mathematics." Julie believes that the best way to overcome this obstacle is to encourage students to attend math conferences and seminars in the region.
B.S., Marlboro College, 2006; M.S.; University of Massachusetts, 2011; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, 2013; Marlboro College 2013 -
Kate Ratcliff • American Studies, Gender Studies
When Kate Ratcliff was finishing her doctorate in American studies at the University of Minnesota she wanted to find a position where teaching was the institutional priority and where faculty members were encouraged to teach broadly. "My faculty mentors told me the college I dreamed of did not exist," says Kate. "They did not know about Marlboro." Kate's teaching ranges from the Federalist Papers to post–World War II television sitcoms, and she team-teaches courses with colleagues in the visual arts and natural sciences. "The historically informed, interdisciplinary orientation of American studies offers an important counterpoint to the radically ahistorical and decontextualized nature of so much of our contemporary public discourse," she says.
All of Kate's courses engage critically with the concept of "America" and with the diversity of the American experience, especially in terms of race, ethnicity, class and gender. "My students grapple with the profound tension in U.S. national identity between an ideal of inclusion based on a shared commitment to the principles of freedom, equality and democracy, and ongoing patterns of exclusion that have limited those 'universal' entitlements to particular groups of people," she says. Kate enjoys helping students identify and use the primary historical source materials that will bring their subject alive and make them appreciate what it means to practice history. "I want my students to understand the inherently creative nature of historical study," she says. "History is not simply a matter of learning what happened in the past; it is a process of selecting, ordering and interpreting past events and experiences. I want students to see that they have a stake in that process. The stories we tell about the past shape the way we perceive the present and envision the future."
Kate's doctoral work is a study of the rise of the American suburb and the emergence of a new middle class culture in the late 19th and 20th centuries, examining changes in family life and gender roles during the transition from the Victorian Age to a secular, consumer-oriented society. She was one of three finalists for the national Gabriel Prize for the best dissertation in American Studies, and was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities summer stipend. Kate has enjoyed giving public lectures over the years on topics ranging from immigration policy to Cold War American culture to suburban domestic architecture. She is collaborating with choreographer Candice Salyers on a joint presentation to appear the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, titled "Reading the Female Body: Gender and the Politics of Viewing," sponsored by the Vermont Performance Lab.
B.A., Colgate University, 1980; M.A., University of Minnesota, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1989; University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, 1987 - 1988; Marlboro College, 1989 -
Felicity Ratté teaches across the discipline of art history from antiquity to modern times and from New York to Istanbul. Although specializing in 13th and 14th century Italian painting and architecture, over the course of her time at Marlboro she has developed an interest in Southeast Asian art and architecture, Islamic Art and Architecture of the Mediterranean world and contemporary public art all over. Felicity is continuously striving to make her art history offerings globally inclusive. "I have begun to think of my discipline in a much more cross-disciplinary way," she says. She served as dean of faculty and graduate education from 2005 to 2010 and director of world studies from 2003 to 2005.
"I think about the art history curriculum as serving two related but distinct purposes," says Felicity. Her first objective is to impart to her students an understanding of the methodologies and issues that surround the discipline. The second is to give her students "a sense of the power of visual images for their lives and for history." By providing "a whole array of courses that deal with the question of how images function in society at different historical moments," Felicity endeavors to meet these two aims.
Felicity is the author of the book Picturing The City in Medieval Italian Painting (McFarland Press: 2006) and numerous articles. She contributed an article to Potash Hill about her research on public art found on trucks in Calcutta, India in 2005 and another on her recent research into urban design in the Islamic Mediterranean in 2011.
B.A., Tufts University, 1985; M.A., New York University Institute of Fine Arts, 1988; Ph.D., New York University Institute of Fine Arts, 1995. Marlboro College, 1997 -
Matan Rubinstein says he thinks of his role as a teacher "primarily as an enabler and facilitator of my students' ideas, providing them with information and my own insight, and encouraging them to attain their own. Above all, I find satisfaction when interacting on the basis of curiosity, passion for ideas and creative connection-making between disparate notions into coherent, reasoned structures."
Matan comes to Marlboro after four years as a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. He brings a wide range of talents and experiences: he's an accomplished composer of electronic music, a talented and well respected improvising pianist, and a scholar with a wide background in music theory and history. And he is a passionate teacher with wide interdisciplinary interests.
Matan believes that "ideally, musical learning should be grounded in practice. Whether singing species counterpoint, harmonizing melodies at the piano, or conducting one's own compositions, the strongest possible understanding of music comes from doing." He also believes that there should be no fundamental separation between the skills, craft and theory of musical study. Rather, they form an aggregate, each aspect enforcing the other. Thus, he wishes to integrate composition, improvisation and performance, taking care to introduce the practice of music like singing and conducting into classes, and provide some history and theory into practice- or skill-oriented classes. Matan approaches music teaching as an exercise in dialogue in which both teacher and student explore more and better ways in which to make and hear music. He thrives on such dialogue with his students and promotes active engagement in classroom activities and discussion. Matan's expectations of students, while high, are centered on the measure of their improvement.
Matan is a prolific composer of music that is divergent in practice, medium and method. He is a frequent collaborator with makers in other disciplines, and he frequently makes music for dance and film. He is also active as a performer and has several recordings to his credit.
B.M., Manhattan School of Music, 1999; M.M., University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2003; D.M.A., University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2009: Marlboro College 2011 -
The infectious enthusiasm of politics professor Lynette Rummel builds on her valuable field experience in international, comparative, and area studies. She came to Marlboro following a three-year stint as a Fulbright-Hays lecturer in Tunisia, where she and her husband (also a Fulbright scholar) taught political science. Lynette earned her doctorate in political science from U.C.L.A., taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and served as a visiting fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, working on an African drought research project.
As an undergraduate, Lynette seriously considered enrolling at Marlboro, but instead attended a Midwestern school where she had to fight to develop the kind of customized curriculum for herself that all Marlboro students can take for granted. "What I did with so much difficulty...is what Marlboro is all about," she says. "That’s why I’m so excited to be here, in an institution that stresses independence and interdisciplinary work." While Lynette encourages theoretical rigor and sophistication in her students, her own intellectual passion grows out of a commitment to empirical research and fieldwork. "At the bottom line, I hope to help each student not only better understand the world in which they live, but think about what they might do to make a difference as they go forward."
Lynette’s graduate experience was a mix of political science and African studies. Her master’s work focused on the history and politics of sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on East and West Africa. For her doctoral dissertation she turned her attention to North Africa, with a study of privatization in Algeria. "My research interests pivot around the questions of global inequality in the world, both economic and political, and for the most part are regionally grounded in Africa and the Middle East," she says. She recently received a faculty curriculum development grant to conduct research on ethnicity, identity and nationalism in the fledgling nation of Macedonia.
B.A., Manchester College, 1976; M.A., 1979, C.Phil., 1983, Ph.D., 1989, U.C.L.A.; Visiting Fulbright Professor, Tunisia, 1990-1993; Marlboro College, 1993 –
Students who think economics is all about business and money are pleasantly surprised with John Rush’s classes, which delve into the deeper and more nuanced meaning of economics. "For every student that comes into my classroom, I work to create an environment that broadens her view of what economics is about and deepens her understanding of what economic reasoning can discover about us and our world," says John. His primary field of interest is economic development, and has conducted research on Indonesia and El Salvador, but he has taught courses in everything from Political Economy to International Microeconomics.
"As an educator, I aim to find creative ways to help students connect the subject matter with their lives, goals, and interests," says John. "Helping students do this is what I find to be the most exciting thing about teaching." He understands the unique value a liberal arts education provides its students, and is interested in connecting economics with other areas of study at Marlboro College. "My experience has left me with a deep interest in promoting liberal arts education and an approach to economics that values history and context."
John’s research focuses on poverty and education, particularly the influence of natural disasters on poverty and inequality in developing countries. His dissertation on the subject is in the form of three essays reflecting his research on El Salvador and Indonesia. He is working on several related papers, and has presented on the subject at international conferences, including most recently an invited paper at the 2014 East-West Center International Graduate Student Conference, Honolulu.
A.A., Columbia College, 2003; B.A., Whitworth University, 2005; M.I.M., Whitworth University, 2007; M.A., University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2009; Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014; Marlboro College 2014 -
Sara Salimbeni • Astronomy, Physics
Observations & Interpretations: Solar physics and the quantum foundations. Trevor Bowen '12, physics.
"I think that Marlboro is the perfect environment for my teaching career," says Sara Salimbeni. "The wide range of physics topics I need to teach is a welcome challenge. I feel particularly comfortable working with small groups of students and in a one to one setting. This is the most effective environment to share my knowledge, skills and experiences with students. Each day that I spend at Marlboro I learn something as a teacher and as a human being, and I believe that this has a strong, positive effect on my teaching."
"I started my career focusing on research," says Sara. "For years, I explored astrophysical research, and in particular focused on galaxy evolution. Research is rewarding - physics and in particular astrophysics are the engine of my desire for knowledge. But recently, undergraduate students became involved in my research. Working and interacting with them reminded me of my childhood dream to teach. It made me realize how the reward that comes from mere research work cannot compare with the strong feelings that come from sharing my knowledge with other human beings. No beautiful galaxy or intriguing question can give me the same energy as that of a curious student eager to learn." Sara has taught courses for science and non-science students, and while developing a new foundation course in astronomy, developed the structure, experiments and activities that constituted that class. She says that "this creative process made me understand that the interaction with the students is not the only aspect that I really enjoy about teaching. The process of inventing curriculum which precedes the class is food for my mind."
Observations of the nearby universe show a variety of galaxy types, morphologies, colors, etc. The galaxy
spatial distribution looks like a spider web, with emptier regions (called voids), and regions where the density of
galaxies is higher (this is, galaxy filaments, walls, groups and clusters). Many studies have been done so far to
understand how our universe has evolved into its current configuration.
Sara says that "within this broad view some of the key questions that drive my research are: What are the physical mechanisms that trigger and shut down the star formation in galaxies? What drives the galaxy stellar mass assembly through cosmic time? How do primeval galaxies evolve to form the morphological variety (Hubble sequence) that we observe today? How does the local density of a galaxy’s birth place influence its evolution? During my research career I have investigated a number of these topics, using various methodologies. One method of investigation I adopted, is to track the evolution of statistical properties of galaxy samples as a function of cosmic time. Because the velocity of light is finite, by watching the universe at various distances from us, we are able to observe a range of times throughout its history. Using statistical properties, it is possible to untangle the dierent star formation histories of galaxies."
Laurea, The Sapienza University of Rome, 2003; Ph.D., Tor Vergata University of Rome, 2007; Marlboro College, 2011-
Boukary Sawadogo, a native French speaker from Burkina Faso in West Africa, comes to Marlboro with additional experiences of North American Francophone culture and literature through the French heritage in southern Louisiana. He also has experience with student-faculty projects that feature diversity in the Francophone world. As an example, for two years he was involved in planning an event for a recent La Journee International de la Francophonie, which celebrated the diversity inherent in the French-speaking world. He plans to continue to organize such events, including cinema soirees, at Marlboro. In addition to teaching language courses, Boukary may offer courses in the literatures and cultures of the contemporary French-speaking world, and advanced work on sexuality, gender, and Francophone cinema.
Boukary notes that his five previous years as a French instructor at the college level "has steadily deepened and refined my commitment to two liberal arts education ideals: first, that true learning is a collaborative and reflexive process; and second, that language education serves that process when it leads to intellectual inquiry and understanding of different cultures of the world." In addition, he believes that close student-faculty interaction is a key component of undergraduate liberal arts education.
Boukary’s work primarily concerns African cinemas, particularly the role of sexuality and gender in cultural representations and the distribution of power in African societies. He also explores autobiographical narratives of Francophone West African women in literature. Most recently, Boukary’s research has been moving into new directions, including the study of comedy in African cinemas, African television series, and the exploration of questions of identity and immigration in Francophone literature.
B.A., University of Dakar, 2001; M.A., University of Northern Iowa, 2008; Ph.D., University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2012' Marlboro College, 2012 -
Tim Segar • Environmental Studies, Sculpture, Visual Arts
Teaching art as part of a liberal education, as well as a discipline of its own, is important to Tim Segar. This has led him to teach courses both across the arts, collaborating with music and theater faculty, and with teachers of history, anthropology and poetry. His teaching reflects the work he does in his own studio insofar as he spends a roughly equal time working in two and three dimensions. "The teaching of drawing is a partner to the teaching of sculpture. While sculpture proceeds slowly and technically, drawing can more nimbly seek ideas and forms."
Tim says that the most delicate and important thing about teaching art is striking the right balance for students between information, inspiration, and permission. "Students of art need enough technique and process to act on their ideas. They also need to be inspired by the example of other artists—both historical and contemporary. They equally need permission to follow their own impulses and designs in order to test their work against the range of work they come to know. In the end that balance is a matter of paying attention to individuals and helping them find their own way." Tim maintains that even though sculpture is a technical medium, so much can be learned from humble materials and simple techniques, using cardboard, clay, plaster and wood. "The development of a vocabulary of form is far more important, in the beginning, than a range of complex techniques," he says. Tim welcomes students with Plans of Concentration in sculpture, installation art, video, printmaking, kinetic art, art from recycled materials, architecture, landscape design, sculpture-based photography, drawing and environmental studies. "I encourage inventiveness, the connection of subject matter to form and the developed sense of craft for all students who enter on Plan with me."
Tim has exhibited his work regularly throughout the Northeast, in California and in France. Recently, Tim showed his work at the Oxbow Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 2008, and at the Open Square in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 2009. At the latter he presented work entitled "Almost Machines," geared and wheeled sculptures that are kinetic, or appear to be. In 2010, Tim had an exhibit that used some of the same wood-bending techniques but presented forms that became surfaces on which to draw.
In 2007, Tim collaborated with theater professor Paul Nelsen and music professor Stan Charkey to initiate the Summer Arts Intensive program, a summer semester focused on experiential learning both here in Marlboro and in London. Over a period of seven weeks, students attended more than 80 museums, concerts, films, plays, operas, ballets and artists' studios, culminating with independent projects in the medium of their choice.
In 2009, Tim led a trip to central Vietnam with several students to study the architecture, sculpture and culture of Champa, a Hindu kingdom prominent in the region for 16 centuries until the 1800s. Since returning he has lectured on this subject locally and in Northampton, Massachusetts. He plans to present this work at the 2011 meeting of the College Art Association.
B.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design, 1975; M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1978; M.F.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1979, Marlboro College, 1998-
John Sheehy • Literature, Writing
"Writing is absolutely necessary if you want to know something,” says John Sheehy, who came to Marlboro after teaching composition and literature at University of Washington. He explains that writing is an essential part of the learning process because it forces people to organize and present their thoughts with a discipline, something people don’t always do when they are simply reading or talking about what they’ve read. John's literature seminars cover everything from Faulkner to Emerson, Toni Morrison, Norman MacLean and Cormac McCarthy.
John helps students determine the strengths of their writing, whether those strengths are found in academic papers or emails to friends, and then capitalize on them, using them as a basis for improving all facets of their writing. "Good writing comes from everywhere," he says. "Most bad writing comes from bad teaching." John maintains that email writing discussion groups are an excellent forum for students to critique each others’ work and to present their own. "In email," he says, "people are unconsciously particular about their tone, content, word choice—essentially their delivery—and they are very aware of their audience. These are really the foundations of all good writing. The job of the writing student is to become aware of these aspects of their writing and to learn how to control them."
John had a story included in the book The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood, edited by Tom Matlack. The book features personal essays by a broad range of men, describing their challenges, triumphs and life-changing moments and John's story, "Skeff," describes his relationship with his father. He also had a nonfiction story, titled "Red Line," published in the fall 2009 issue of Fourth Genre.
B.A., Montana State University, 1987; M.A., University of Washington, 1993; Ph.D., University of Washington, 1997; Marlboro College, 1998 -
Todd Smith • Biochemistry, Chemistry, Environmental Studies
"Some background in chemistry and biochemistry is useful to all of us," says Todd Smith. "For example current debates about genetic engineering and genetically-modified foods, and the arguments for and against them, can be quite technical. The same is true for concerns about pesticides and their effects on human health. If students have exposure to ideas in chemistry they are better prepared to evaluate the information they’re bombarded with. We get to see on a daily basis why it’s relevant." Todd teaches courses in chemistry, biochemistry, human physiology, and molecular biology, while working with students in tutorials on topics ranging from avian physiology to Alzheimer’s disease and neuronal function.
Todd likes "giving students as many ways to explore as they can,” with texts, current research articles, labs and fieldwork. "I want to show students that people are using these techniques in their cutting-edge research." In addition to encouraging understanding of the social relevance of chemistry and biochemistry, Todd helps his students see the relevance of sharing findings: "The goal of performing research is to relate it to other people. Being able to effectively communicate what you’ve found is integral to doing science." Todd enjoys students who are excited by the idea of a self-designed study involving lab work or field work, eager to work in an interdisciplinary fashion and willing to keep an open mind about where their studies may take them.
As a doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island, Todd studied heat-shock proteins, which provide cells temporary protection from environmental shocks. Todd’s current research focuses on anti-freeze proteins in fish, and how fish control the timing and production of those proteins. Todd has been an ad hoc reviewer for the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. In 2009, Todd taught a week-long biochemistry workshop at Hue University, Vietnam, regarding applications of biochemistry to organic pollutants in wastewater. He also led a Hill Center for World Studies "Empires & Science" workshop at the Watson Institute, Brown University, in 2008.
"RNA-DNA ratio in scales from juvenile cod (Gadus morhau) provides a non-lethal measure of feeding condition," (with L. Buckley). Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 132 (2003):9-17.
B.S., Middlebury College, 1986; M.S., University of Maine, 1991; Ph.D., University of Rhode Island, 1997; Marlboro College 1999 –
Jaime Tanner • Biology, Environmental Studies
With a doctoral degree in both zoology and ecology, evolutionary biology and behavior, Jaime Tanner has spent much of her academic career studying spotted hyenas in Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve. In addition to her field research in Kenya, Jaime taught a study-abroad program on the behavioral ecology of African mammals. She also received the College of Natural Science Excellence-In-Teaching Award at Michigan State University.
"I strive to equip students with the tools they'll need to answer questions about the natural world," says Jaime, who brings her appreciation of experiential and student-driven learning into the classroom. "I want them to know how to think critically about science and how to ask good scientific questions." She conducts discussion-based classes and works from real-life and field examples as much as possible. In 2010, Jaime's Biology of Mammals class joined her in Kenya to observe mammals in their natural habitat and to understand the relationships between humans and wildlife in and around Masai Mara.
"My research takes an integrative approach, combining behavioral, morphological and performance data to understand developmental changes in hyenas and other members of the Order Carnivora," says Jaime. Her field studies have included measuring the biting force of hyenas, not a task for the faint of heart, and comparing skull structure in hyenas of assorted ages. This research is part of a growing body of literature demonstrating that the relationship between morphology and performance changes as an animal grows and faces different challenges. In addition to her own publications, Jaime is a reviewer for Behaviour, Journal of Mammalogy, Journal of Morphology and Canadian Journal of Zoology.
B.S., University of Massachusetts, 1998; Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2007 Darwin Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts, 2008; Marlboro College, 2009 -
Jim Tober • Economics, Environmental Studies
Jim Tober’s comprehensive outlook on economics began when, as an undergraduate at Berkeley, he became fascinated with how societies organize their members for productive activity. Jim has gone on to make economics a vital element of interdisciplinary study at Marlboro, especially in the area of environmental studies.
"I like motivated, independent, curious, quick-witted students who appreciate the importance of disciplinary knowledge but who are attracted to the interesting questions that lie at the intersection of disciplines," says Jim. He organizes his teaching around two broad inquiries: the first concerns the analysis and comparison of economic systems, their histories and development; the second addresses public policy and collective decision-making, especially as related to the natural environment. To help Marlboro students probe these issues, he offers the basics of micro- and macro-economic theory, as well as courses and tutorials such as Philanthropy, Advocacy and Public Policy, Topics in U.S. Environmental History, Environmental Economics and Policy, Who Owns the Land? and Decision-Making: Individual, Interactive and Collective.
Jim’s long-term research on wildlife policy has led him to author two books: Who Owns the Wildlife? The Political Economy of Conservation in Nineteenth Century America (1981) and Wildlife and the Public Interest: Nonprofit Organizations and Federal Wildlife Policy (1989). His current research interests range from planning strategies among nonprofit human service agencies in rural Vermont to economic development in South Asia and the protection of global biodiversity. Several research trips, most recently to look at wildlife management in Namibia and study the nonprofit sector in Bangladesh, have enlarged his global perspective and informed his teaching.
Jim was instrumental in forming the first interdisciplinary environmental science program in the early 1970s. He is working with other faculty, including those at the graduate school, to offer a more broadly based, structured and vital area of study for environmental studies students.
Jim has been a longtime member (and former chair) of the Marlboro Planning Commission, which guides development decisions in the town. He was a board member of the Hogback Mountain Conservation Association during the acquisition of this town park property, and is now a member of the town commission governing it's management. These activities support Jim's past research and current teaching on land use and environmental policy, providing practical, place-based case studies for students.
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1968; Ph.D., Yale University, 1973; Marlboro College, 1973 –
Tom Toleno • Environmental Studies, Psychology
Tom Toleno has broad interests in psychology, from the history and theory of the science to educational, developmental and clinical psychology. His long-standing interest in perception is based on his graduate work at Cornell University under the tutelage of the late James J. Gibson. Tom believes the study of psychology is especially useful for liberal arts students, because it places so much emphasis on "the individual process," which students can apply to their own lives. "Psychology is distinguished from other fields by its emphasis on a person's individual experience in understanding phenomena."
Tom’s teaching of general psychology is inspired by the field’s historical and philosophical roots. A strong proponent of individualized education, he maintains that accessibility to faculty "provides the motivation and context for learning to take place." Tom adds, "Any project students undertake is secondary to the skills they learn and the way they integrate and synthesize what they have learned."
Tom’s current research proceeds from his two Fulbright teaching grants (2002-3) in Malawi, Africa, where he became head of the department of education and teaching studies at Mzuzu University. There he built up the research component of the university's educational psychology program, training professors and advising upperclassmen. He continues to travel with colleagues in Malawi to support research in child developmental studies, motivation and leadership in schools. Tom feels "honored to share his knowledge of research and to apply basic psychological principles to educating the Malawian people."
B.A., University of Nevada, 1966; Advanced Graduate Study, Cornell University, 1972; Marlboro College, 1972 -
Hana van der Kolk (visiting) • Dance
An independent choreographer, performer, and teacher, Hana van der Kolk works throughout the U.S. and in Europe. While her background is primarily in dance, her choreographic projects combine techniques of post-modern dance and theater with elements of performance and conceptual practice, taking place in sites ranging from galleries and warehouses to outdoor, public spaces. "My primary objective is to experientially research embodiment and community in ways that continuously challenge the notion of what dance can be and where it belongs," says Hana. "I believe that something exciting and profound happens when we are challenged to unhinge habit and question the capabilities of our minds/bodies, intelligently and delightfully engaged with the immediacy of the moment."
B.S., Skidmore College, 1998; M.F.A., UCLA, 2008
John Willis • Photography, Visual Arts
John Willis teaches photography to students who find interesting ways to combine fine arts photography with academic work. John’s teaching credits include the Boston Museum School, the Zone VI workshops, and Harvard University. He also co-founded In-sight, a Brattleboro-based project that uses photography as a medium for reaching out to local young people.
John sees the classroom as a place for constructive criticism. "The discipline of fine art photography requires a fine blend of technical and expressive concerns," he says. "As an artist and a teacher I am constantly seeking new ways to execute this blend." John challenges his students to take photographs that comment on the images they capture. A recent project for advanced students involved photographing residents in a local nursing home; an emotional assignment for some, but one that helped students appreciate the tragedy as well as the beauty that often lies on the other side of the lens.
John’s own work has been widely exhibited, and is in the permanent collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He describes his photography as "a mix of documentary and human images which comment on the human condition." In 2010 he published A View from the Rez (Center for American Places), a monograph of photographs and commentary developed in collaboration with people in the Oglala Lakota Sioux community at Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. He collaborated with artist Tom Young on Recycled Realities, also published by the Center for American Places and Columbia College, in 2006. John was a featured photographer in the February/March 20065 issue of Watershed Magazine, and was also featured in the book Place, Art, and Self by Yi-Fu Tuan. He has participated in several Freeman Foundation-supported academic trips to Asia, including Cambodia, Vietnam and Japan.
John is co-founder and executive director of In-Sight Photography Project, in Brattleboro, Vermont, a volunteer program offering free classes for area youth to explore self-expression through photography. Many Marlboro students have contributed over the years as interns at In-Sight. John also co-founded and co-directs Exposures: Cross Cultural Photographic Journeys for Youth, bringing participants from Vermont and the Bronx to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The participants shared photography lessons and life stories with each other in an effort to expand artistic and cultural horizons.
A.A., Franconia College, 1977; B.A., Evergreen State College, 1979; M.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design, 1986; Marlboro College, 1991 –
T. Hunter Wilson • Literature, Writing
After first teaching writing and literature at Marlboro in 1968-69, T. Wilson left the college for two years to work with International Voluntary Services in Laos, teaching English and carpentry in the Ecole Normale d'Instituteurs in Savannakhet. He has traveled extensively in Europe, Australia, Japan, India and especially in Southeast Asia, and has written nonfiction accounts of Vietnam and Laos for The Boston Globe and the Indochina Newsletter. In addition to teaching, he has done stints as dean of faculty and, twice, as director of the World Studies Program.
"In all that I teach," says T., "I am more concerned with helping students see how to do something—such as understand a poem, or write one—than with having them amass a collection of supposed facts." He recognizes that a grasp of cultural and literary traditions is obviously essential in any careful reading. "Yet if students can place the work firmly in context and can cite various critical interpretations, but lack the skills and confidence to a critical reading of their own, I don't think they can appreciate literature. I would far rather have students miss some of the references in a poem or a novel, and yet know how to read carefully enough to form their own analyses."
A careful critic of student's work, T. is a working poet himself, having published in a variety of magazines and journals, including The Massachusetts Review, Hunger Mountain and River City. In addition to a year-long fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, he has twice participated in NEH summer seminars.
T. takes seriously the college's emphasis on individual involvement in community: he has been elected as Town Meeting moderator, Community Court justice, and member of countless faculty and Town Meeting committees. His community involvement carries over into the town of Marlboro, where he serves as a Justice of the Peace, chairs the Board of Civil Authority and the Development Review Board, and is a representative on the Housing Rehabilitation Committee. He has also served on the board of trustees for the Vermont Council for Arts and on the board of directors for the New England Foundation of the Arts. For T., his civic activity is tied to his interest in words and their use. "A discerning sense of language—its possibilities and limitations—seems to me an essential tool in understanding and building our civil society, even our daily lives," he says. "We learn or fail to learn, share or fail to share, pass on or fail to pass on, largely through language."
B.A., Bowdoin College, 1966; M.A., University of Iowa, 1967; M.F.A., University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, 1968; Marlboro College, 1968-