Students may take courses at our consortium partner institutions which include Columbia University (COL), Cooper Hewitt, Parsons School of Design (CH), the City University of …

Independent study offers students the opportunity to pursue research in areas beyond the range of the standard curriculum. Through independent study, students further their knowledge …

This two-and-a-half week August session includes introductions to resources at Bard Graduate Center, as well as required digital and writing seminars, and language classes, if …

From works of ancient mythography (Hesiod’s Works and Days) to modern archaeology (Thomsen’s Three-Age system), metals have long been considered a central feature …

This course will draw from the fields of medical anthropology and material culture studies to consider the importance of materiality in healing practices in a …

Glasses, ceramics, rock crystal, glazes, enamels, gemstones, and smalts are just some of the aluminosilicates that have brightened our lives from the Bronze Age to …

For much of antiquity Athens was one of the foremost cities of the Mediterranean world, famed for its power and creativity. Modern accounts tend to …

This course explores the history of research, its meaning and its places. Some distinction will be made, as part of the story, between the broad …

This two-semester, team-taught course introduces incoming students to major historical developments in the decorative and applied arts, design, and material culture from antiquity to the …

This fall-term course is required for entering MA students, and for PhD students who have not taken a course deemed comparable. Drawing on the expertise …

This two-semester practicum on Tuesday afternoons develops techniques for effective graduate-level writing through practical exercises and workshop sessions. Drawing on the assignments and readings in 500…

All MA students are required, during the course of the two-year program, to attend in person at least 10 lectures, symposia, or talks given by leading …

This seminar examines eighteenth-century fashionable dress within the context of the social, cultural, and political history of the period. The emphasis is on France as …

This seminar surveys the emergence of women designers and their contributions to American design from 1900 to 2020. It draws upon Pat Kirkham’s groundbreaking edited volume, …

This course explores habits of collecting in Europe from about 1500 to 1650, and traces the development of the Kunstkammer and the cabinet of curiosities in the …

This seminar explores the intercultural dimensions of China’s material culture. Starting from the premise that cultural change is driven in part by intercultural exchange, …

In the past century scholarship in art and material culture have benefited greatly from the discussion of the materials and ideas relating to the Mediterranean …

This jointly-led seminar introduces students to selected perspectives in the study of European visual and material culture from roughly 1500 to 1800. Our readings will include both …

This seminar explores the intersection of craft, design, and ‘folk’ art in the United States during the years between World War I and II, specifically …

Over the last six years, building on past strength, the American Wing has gained a reputation for its innovative initiatives. Without neglecting established areas of …

What is the purpose of design? All design aspires, at some level, to change the world in which we live, and with it, our experience …

The temporary exhibition, where objects are grouped together for a limited time to elucidate a particular thesis or argument, has been a key curatorial practice …