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Since its foundation in 1993, the BGC has aimed to become the leading graduate
institution in American higher education for the study of the cultural history of the
material world. The BGC, a graduate institute affiliated with Bard College, is committed
to the encyclopedic study of things, drawing on methodologies and
approaches from art and design history, economic history, history of technology,
philosophy, anthropology, and archaeology.
The central project of the institution has been to establish a coherent field of
historical study that sees in the material remains of the everyday life
of the past —from works of the greatest virtuosity to the commonplace
and ephemeral— a significant form of social-, cultural-,
and art historical enquiry. Students enrolled in the Center's
M.A. and Ph.D. programs work closely with a distinguished
faculty of active scholars in exploring the interrelationships
between works of art and craft, design, places, ideas,
and social and cultural practice, in courses ranging from
the Ancient World to the Twenty-First Century. Our aim
is to bring the study of the applied arts and design to
the forefront of historical inquiry, to encourage new
levels of scholarship in the field, and to improve
the training of emerging professionals.
The BGC's facilities include exhibition galleries; a 40,000-
volume research library on all aspects of the decorative arts,
design, the history of culture, garden and landscape history,
and related disciplines; an extensive collection of periodicals,
slides, and videotapes; classrooms; a student lounge; and faculty
and administrative offices.
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