The first year at Bard College begins with the Language and Thinking Program—a three-week intensive introduction to the liberal arts and sciences with a focus on writing. It is attended by all incoming students and is required for matriculation into the College. Students read extensively, work on a variety of projects in writing and other formats, and meet throughout the day in small groups and in one-on-one conferences with faculty. The work aims to cultivate habits of thoughtful reading, clear articulation, accurate self-critique, and productive collaboration.
Meet the Director of the Language and Thinking Program
Erica Kaufman
Erica Kaufman (PhD, CUNY Graduate Center; MFA, The New School) has taught in the Language and Thinking Program since 2007. She is the author of three books of poetry, POST CLASSIC (Roof Books, 2019), INSTANT CLASSIC (Roof Books, 2013), and censory impulse (Factory School, 2009). Kaufman is also coeditor of NO GENDER: Reflections on the Life and Work of kari edwards (2009) and a collection of archival pedagogical documents, Adrienne Rich: Teaching at CUNY, 1968–1974 (2014). Kaufman teaches in the Written Arts Program at Bard College and has also taught at Baruch College, Parsons School of Design, and Naropa University. Her current research interests include modern and contemporary poetics, literacy studies, feminist and LGBTQIA+ studies, and writing across the curriculum. Kaufman is a regular contributor to Modern and Contemporary American Poetry, a course offered each fall as a massive online open course (MOOC) through the Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania. Kaufman’s prose, which focuses on poetry and pedagogy, has appeared in The Color of Vowels: New York School Collaborations (2013), The Supposium: Thought Experiments and Poethical Play in Difficult Times (2018), Approaches to Teaching the Works of Gertrude Stein (2018), Reading Experimental Writing (2020), and The Difference is Spreading: Fifty Contemporary Poets on Fifty Poems (2022).
Meet the Associate Director of the Language and Thinking Program
Sean Colonna ’12
Sean graduated from Bard College in 2012 with a double major in music and philosophy. Following his undergraduate studies, he joined Teach for America as a corps member in Arkansas, where he founded the music program at KIPP Blytheville College Preparatory School. He then received a Fulbright scholarship to serve as an English teaching assistant in Potsdam, Germany. In 2023, he earned a PhD in musicology from Columbia University, completing a dissertation that examined the intersections of drugs, musical aesthetics, and theories of selfhood at the turn of the 19th century. Sean’s current research focuses on the role of animism in European musical aesthetics and drug discourses.
In addition to his role as associate director for the Language and Thinking Program, he teaches courses in music history and the First-Year Seminar at Bard College. He also serves as an associate editor for The Musical Quarterly.
In addition to his role as associate director for the Language and Thinking Program, he teaches courses in music history and the First-Year Seminar at Bard College. He also serves as an associate editor for The Musical Quarterly.
Meet the Program Coordinator of the Language and Thinking Program
Chaya Huber
Chaya is a current graduate student in the Bard MBA program in Sustainability, class of 2027. She started working at Bard in 2022 first for the Center for Civic Engagement and joined the L&T team in 2024. Chaya practices civic engagement through volunteer positions with Climate Smart Kingston and the Ulster County Medical Reserve Corps.
The Language and Thinking Program at Bard
Established at Bard College in 1981, the Language and Thinking program fosters robust interdisciplinary study, innovative pedagogy, and writing across a wide range of genres. The program is also an introduction to the intellectual and creative life of the College and to the Bard campus and community.
Contact Us
Language and Thinking
Bard College, P.O. Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
[email protected] | 845-758-7559
