Emily BalchThe Emily Balch Seminars

Named for a graduate of Bryn Mawr’s first class, Nobel Laureate Emily Greene Balch,

the unique Emily Balch Seminars will introduce you to the academic life of a Bryn

Mawr student and to the ways in which this education can and should prepare you

for a life of purpose, engagement, and action. As you browse through this brochure,

enjoy the intellectual adventures awaiting you, everything from psychology to

mathematics to ancient myth to modern cinema, all designed to whet your appetite

for the wide array of academic options available to you as a Bryn Mawr student.

In her lifetime, Emily Greene Balch witnessed the rapid expansion of global

communication by telephone and radio, the birth of aviation, the success of women’s

suffrage, two World Wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression, the Russian Revolution

and the rise of Communism, Indian Independence, the Harlem Renaissance, and the

dropping of the atomic bomb. This was a period of history fraught with political unrest,

economic uncertainty, social upheaval, and technological innovation. Her training as an

economist, an academic, and an activist equipped her for significant contributions in

several fields and for an active anticipation of future challenges.

Balch’s own experience offers insight into the ways in which a Bryn Mawr education

will prepare you for a world defined by increasing globalization, an urgent call for

sustainability, and a pressing discussion of human rights. Communication has made

the world more interconnected and as societies increasingly intersect, tolerance will be

tested. Artists will strive to express the tension and bridge the divisions in media we

have yet to discover. The sciences will open vast new possibilities for fostering human

well-being. An ever greater appreciation of the globe’s many histories and cultures will

frame more sophisticated efforts to promote peace and understanding.

At Bryn Mawr, your studies will be both broad and deep, blending factual knowledge

and theoretical awareness with diverse modes of inquiry and innovative forms of

creativity. Through your academic work and co-curricular activities you will develop the

skills in critical thinking, clear and compelling writing, and persuasive speaking that

will serve you in all aspects of your adult life. Through research, reflection, and debate

you will also develop the quality of intellectual fearlessness that will allow you to face a

future of continuous change and to lead that change in ways that will benefit us all.

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Bryn Mawr Class of 1889,

was a gifted scholar with a

uniquely global perspective who

advanced women’s rights on an

international level. In 1946, she

was awarded the Nobel Prize

for Peace, which is one

of the treasures in the

Bryn Mawr College collections.

As a distinguished scholar

of economics and sociology,

she conducted pioneering cross-

cultural studies of immigration and

poverty. As

an advocate

of women’s

rights, she was

a founder of

the Women’s

International

League for Peace

and Freedom,

which supported pacifism during

World War I. As a committed activist,

she devoted her life to championing

humanitarian causes around the world,

at the League of Nations and other

international organizations.

...face a future of continuous change...

Emily Balch,

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“ In my Emily Balch Seminar, I learned to evaluate and revise my writing holistically—to think

critically about the meaning and

implications of my ideas. Applying the

editing process my professor taught

me in E-sem makes a big difference

in the overall quality of my writing in

other classes, too.”

— Kristina Kronauer ’13

“ Having a class in which you feel comfortable and

challenged as a freshman is a good sign that you made the right college choice. The Emily Balch Seminar served as a safe,

relaxed space where we could talk openly

about anything. Our class—Critical Issues in

Education with Professor Lesnick—was very

diverse; we came from different countries,

states, and nationalities, which added to

the richness of our discussion. The seminar also gave us

the opportunity to form friendships with one another that

transcended the short span of the semester.”

— Mary Encabo ’13

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Emily Balch Seminars The Emily Balch Seminars are organized around fundamental questions in contemporary or classical thought that you will inevitably address in your life, regardless of the major you choose or the profession or career you pursue after graduating.

Taught by scholar/teachers of distinction within their fields and across academic disciplines, the Emily Balch Seminars ground every Bryn Mawr student in a liberal arts approach to learning. You’ll engage in critical reading of challenging texts (including books, plays, films, art, music, and science); you’ll hone your critical writing skills with weekly assignments and bi-weekly conferences with your professor; you’ll participate in lively text-centered discussions. Because the seminars are small, you’ll get to know your professor and classmates quite well. The tightly knit, collaborative learning community formed in these seminars will serve as a model for much of your intellectual life at Bryn Mawr, both in and out of the classroom, and you’ll graduate better prepared for a more reflective and critical life in a complex and changing world beyond college.

Part of the fun—

and perhaps some of the fear—of entering college comes from the

sense that you are not just selecting courses, but setting your

course for life. In fact, you will soon discover that you can

expect to be setting your course over and over again for the rest of

your life. Your first year at Bryn Mawr will give you an opportunity

to explore the curriculum and look beyond what you’ve always

known, helping you to question some of your own assumptions

about the world as you begin to discover what you are capable

of achieving. Use your time wisely, investigate a new area of

study, reach higher, look more deeply, and develop

intellectual passions that will sustain you for a lifetime.

You may surprise yourself.

Y O U R F I R S T Y E A R

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Elly R. TruittAssistant Professor Department of History

“"The liberal arts" figure prominently in the larger cultural conversation in the US. Are they passé? The path to a rewarding, rich life? Are they "under attack" from pre-professional education

programs? I'm interested in helping students to understand that the liberal arts curriculum has a long, complicated history that informs—often in surprising ways—the current debates and conversations. I want to give them the tools to reflect on their own choice to attend a liberal arts college, and to engage deeply with different, even contradictory, ideas about the aims of a liberal education.”

“I was glad to see that there were other first-year students excited to discuss and learn

about the same topic I

was interested in. We read

scholarly work explaining

the educational system of the Middle Ages, read

accounts of the lives of medieval scholars, and

examined medieval manuscripts. Professor Truitt

challenged the class to think argumentatively and

to reasonably prove an argument. I became a

better writer and a better reader. I thank Professor

Truitt for the challenge, the learning opportunity,

and the amazing discussions.”

— Azalia Sprecher ‘18

S E M I N A R :

A Medieval Education: The History of the Liberal ArtsThe university and the bachelor's degree date

from the Middle Ages, and the liberal arts

curriculum stretches back even further, to

classical antiquity. In this course, students

investigate the formation of the liberal arts and

the evolution of the curriculum as well as the

locations of learning—religious institutions and

early universities. Additionally, students learn

about the medieval production of knowledge,

through commentary, annotation, exegesis, and

manuscript books. In conjunction with the topics

of this course, students will also consider what

it means to be engaged in a noble pursuit that

stretches back over a thousand years.

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Performance and SelfIn this seminar, students examine the ways we perform (as ourselves and at

the intersections of gender, race, and class) and the ways artists and writers

construct performances that convey these social and political aspects of

identity. Texts are drawn from a variety of sources: philosophy, psychology,

theater, dance, fiction, poetry, and film. In Performance and Self you’ll

write and revise frequently, participate in peer-review groups, and

complete creative projects including a short performance around

themes and ideas generated by the class.

Linda Caruso-Haviland, Ed.D. (Temple University), Associate Professor in the Arts and Director of Dance

“Whether as individuals or as members of society, we all deal with difficult issues of class, race, gender, and other social markers. In Performance and Self, we put all of these issues on the table and encourage our students to deal with them in constructive, productive

ways. They are not only engaging viscerally with these issues—they are also engaging intellectually with works of literature, art, music, film, and dance. Our students learn to apply a critical lens to these works and to find their deeper meanings, which help us understand who we are as human beings in this world.

"As a dancer and scholar, this seminar is important to me because the Western cultural tradition has emphasized the mind as the only means to understand and communicate knowledge. While this is a valid and productive model, there are other ways of communicating and understanding knowledge, including bodied practices such as creating art or performance.”

Linda Caruso-Haviland, founder of Bryn Mawr’s Dance Program, teaches technique, theory, composition, and performance. She has performed in New York City and in Philadelphia, principally with ZEROMOVING CO., and continues to perform her own work and that of independent choreographers. She received the College’s Rosalyn R. Schwartz Teaching Award in 1996.

“This class enabled me to lean into discomfort when talking about topics such as race and gender … Weekly meetings with the

professor were just another layer of the strong

support system that defines Emily Balch

Seminars. During these meetings, we would

go over papers and plan for future ones.

These meetings helped me to develop better

writing skills.”

— Ashley Macina ‘17

S E M I N A R :

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Travel Tales and UnderstandingIn this seminar, you’ll read a varied group of texts, all involving travel,

exposure to new cultures, and the kinds of learning that come with

exposure to unfamiliar and often thought-provoking values. Some

readings are set in everyday contexts, while others are more unusual:

captivity narratives, imaginary travels, a temptation narrative, and even

a descent into madness. This rich reading fare guarantees you and your

classmates lively discussions, often centering on the social and personal

values of different cultures. The readings also provide you with many

writing opportunities—chances to look into new values or conflicts

among values. This is a seminar without “right answers.” It prizes

ongoing explorations above arrival at a final destination.

Peter M. Briggs, Ph.D. (Yale University), Professor of English

“When we travel to a new place, we open our eyes wide to the experience. Through the readings in this seminar, students travel to other cultures and experience life from other perspectives. For example, reading side-by-side memoirs of a 17th-century Massachusetts woman who lived with Native Americans and a Native American woman who attended a school run by white missionaries gets

students thinking about values, customs, the value of education, and the roles of women.

“In Travel Tales and Understanding, students learn to read critically, and, with each paper they write, they take the next step in the infinite task of becoming good writers. Whether or not they realize it, they are starting a journey: going to college, living with new people, and being exposed to larger ideas and academic perspectives than those they were exposed to in high school. We also give them more independence to choose the topics of their papers, and they find that both liberating and challenging.”

Peter Briggs has written extensively about 18th-century British writers, philosophers, commercial advertising, and celebrity culture. He also writes and teaches about the comparative perspectives featured in travel literature and the ways in which they promote cross-cultural understanding.

“My classmates were incredibly vocal, which made theclass a hundred times more interesting. We had a great discussion

reading Zitkala-Sa's essay,"The Great Spirit."

The conversation ranged from interpreting

religions other than our own to how religion

influences cultural interactions.

"In my seminar, I really developed skills of

discussion and argument, how to make your

point concisely, and how to leave room for

others to discuss and respond. And, most

importantly, I learned how to carefully listen to

others' points-of-view. These skills help me in

every class at Bryn Mawr!"

— Callie Lopshire-Bratt '17

S E M I N A R :

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Breaking: Creative Disruption in Experience, Knowledge, and Writing While human socialization through institutions such as family, school, and

religion often emphasizes connection, we will examine instead the arts of

disruption. Through reading and writing in a variety of genres, we will explore the dynamics of breaking—

intellectual and emotional, personal and social—and how to use breaking as a lens on two areas of academic

and activist work. We will begin by working with The Breaking Project, an online anthology devoted to the

exploration of breaking in essay, poetry, video, and artwork. Additional genre-breaking texts (print, visual,

and video), including by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel, writer and wire walker Philippe Petit, and mosaic

artist Isaiah Zagar (whose Magic Gardens in Philadelphia we will visit), will follow before we undertake

a study of education as breaking. In addition to intensive writing, revision, and consultation, frequent

informal writing and sustained writing groups will provide a community structure to support students’

growth as writers and thinkers.

Alice Lesnick, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania), Senior Lecturer in Education

“As a scholar of collaboration and collaborative learning, I am passionate about creating vibrant intellectual communities and about working with students to help them gain even greater skill, confidence, and knowledge in the use of writing to think and learn.

“This course on breaking is a special joy to me, as it grows out of an anthology I edit that features critical and creative writing by Bryn Mawr people— colleagues and students who have become colleagues. I cherish the experience of working with students on these texts and others to create a community in which we inspire one another as writers and thinkers. To ‘encourage’ is, after all, to give another courage by way of both support and challenge. Bryn Mawr students quickly settle into the work with passion, patience, and I will say, relief at finally finding spaces where they can count on everyone to share their commitment.”

Alice Lesnick is Director of the Bryn Mawr/Haverford Education Program and Coordinator of Africana Studies at Bryn Mawr. She was awarded the Rosalyn R. Schwartz Teaching Award in 2004.

“My Emily Balch Seminar ignited a passion that I never knew I had; it gave me further

confidence and

validation in my ideas

which encouraged

me to be a more

active member of my

other classes.

My experience in

my seminar was not

only greatly defined

by the intriguing

material but also by the community and

participants in my class. Our group meshed

pretty quickly, but our bond was cemented

by a field trip we took to Philadelphia’s Magic

Gardens. These students were passionate and

have become my good friends.”

— Pamela Gassman ‘16

S E M I N A R :

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“This course really interested me because it blended technology and identity in ways that were both immediateand relevant to my generation. It is still an English

course, but the seminar gave us an

opportunity to really consider how the web

shapes identity.

"I also enjoyed the one-on-one meetings with

Professor Nguyen. He was a great professor

and his input did a lot for my writing. He

pushed me, which is what I wanted: to

be pushed on my ideas, to foster and

develop them. That was my goal going in and

I think we both accomplished that."

— Kamyra Edokpolor ‘16

Race and New MediaThis seminar explores the central role that “race” plays in our experience of the Internet.

How is “race” differently constructed in “old” and “new” media? In what ways have virtual

spaces enabled new identities and community formations? How have people of color

interacted with these new technologies? Our investigation of race and new media will be guided

by the following key terms: access, community, identity, democracy, sexuality, interactivity, and

activism. We will read a wide range of texts from different disciplines and fields of study. Our case studies

will encompass social networking, video games, artists’ Web projects, YouTube, blogs, film, and video art.

Texts include Phillip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep; Greg Pak’s film Robot Stories; the

website Blackpeopleloveus.com; Glowpinkstah’s YouTube channel; and Lisa Nakamura’s “The Race in/for

Cyberspace.”

Hoang Nguyen, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley) Assistant Professor in English and Film Studies

“Our everyday life is saturated with, and increasingly determined by, new media technologies: email, cell

phones, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and the like. Every new technology comes with specific ideological underpinnings. In my Balch seminar, we explore how race, class, gender, and sexuality underline our mediated interactions with other people. I am excited when students interrogate their experiences with these media platforms and make astute connections between them and the various texts (novels, blogs, social networking websites, video games, etc.) we analyze together.”

Hoang Tan Nguyen teaches and writes about queer cinema, experimental film, Asian-American visual culture, video production, race, and new media. His experimental videos have screened at the Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Modern Art at the Pompidou Center, the Getty Center, and numerous film and media festivals.

S E M I N A R :

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The Emily Balch Speaker SeriesEach year, the Emily Balch Speaker Series invites a critically acclaimed author to spend an evening with Bryn Mawr’s first-year students. The format—a formal lecture followed by an informal conversation and an even more informal dessert reception—provides the perfect combination of intellectual engagement, excitement, and fun.

Conceived as a complement to the Balch Seminar curriculum, the speaker series brings together the entire freshman class for a conversation with an author whose work they may just have encountered in class.

In recent years, the Balch Speaker Series has featured award-winning novelist and essayist Zadie Smith; novelist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Karen Russell; and graphic novelist Alison Bechdel.

Author Alison Bechdel visited classes and spent an evening talking to first-year students about her work. Bechdel’s graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic was a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist and was also named Time Magazine’s Best Book of 2006.

In 2013, the Balch Speaker Series welcomed the acclaimed novelist Zadie Smith. “The whole audience was mesmerized,” says Bryn Mawr President Kim Cassidy. “We were treated to a glimpse of how this amazing writer thinks about her work, and through her candid answers, we got a glimpse of her as a ‘real person.’"

Karen Russell’s novel Swamplandia! is set in an alligator-wrestling theme park in Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands. To welcome her as the inaugural Emily Balch Seminar Speaker, Bryn Mawr hosted a Swamplandia-themed reception, complete with stuffed alligators, a Ouija-board cake, and Leviathan punch.

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At Bryn Mawr your studies will be both

broad and deep…

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360°

360° is an interdisciplinary experience that engages several aspects of a topic or theme, giving students an opportunity to investigate thoroughly and thoughtfully a multitude of perspectives. A cohort of students takes a cluster of classes over the course of a semester, focusing on the history, economic concerns, cultural intersections, and political impact of an era, decision, event, policy, or important scientific innovation. 360° participants hone their arguments and insights through writing and research, develop strategies for teamwork that push the limits of their talents and creativity, and work with professors and scholars to promote big-picture thinking.

Recent 360°

360°: Performance Across Language and CultureSite-specific performance and expanding theater outreach programming have focused attention on increasingly diverse audiences. For scholars, the emergence of video archives has made it possible to track and study the evolution of specific productions and dramatic works across multiple languages and venues. This 360˚ course traveled to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to take a closer look at these phenomena, asking students to engage in it as performers, audience members, teachers, and scholars—studying and experimenting with multilingual and vernacular stagings.

360°: Perspectives on SustainabilityIn 360°: Perspectives on Sustainability, students and professors from the mathematics, growth and structure of cities, and education programs looked at the numerous and interrelated challenges to the urban and natural environment including climate change, population growth, and extreme socioeconomic disparities. In the mathematics course, students used chaos theory and nonlinear math as a framework to understand the evolution of the modern city while the other courses focused on sustainability and developmental issues.

360°: Contemplative TraditionsProfessors and students from chemistry, psychology, and East Asian studies examined the cultural history and science of contemplation and mindfulness. Travel for the course included a trip to Japan to explore Eastern traditions. Locally, 360° participants worked with Philadelphia high-school students wrestling with the challenge of growing up in a sound-bite world in which multitasking reigns supreme.

Expand, engage, explore... Experimenting early on in your education will broaden your interests

and help narrow your options before you declare a major at the end of sophomore year.

Before you arrive, you’ll select your Emily Balch Seminar from an array of intriguing topics and prepare

a “wish list” of other courses you’d like to try. Then, during Customs Week (our orientation for first-year

and transfer students), you’ll talk to Bryn Mawr professors at an academic fair and meet with your dean or

another advisor who will help you to select your courses.

More Academic Opportunities

The Emily Balch Seminars open the door to the rigorous inquiry that shapes Bryn Mawr’s curriculum. As

you choose courses to satisfy our requirements, you’ll explore different approaches to inquiry—including

empirical investigation, critical interpretation, cross-cultural analysis, and inquiry into the past—that focus

the lens through which you view the world and increase your awareness of the world’s complexity. Still,

there are more ways to expand, engage, and explore.

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“ The 360° program has been my most rewarding academic experience at Bryn Mawr so far. I feel

that the future of liberal

arts really depends on

breaking down boundaries

between disciplines and

encouraging students to

explore complex questions

from many angles.”

—Sophie Papavisas ’11

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Bi-Co, Tri-Co, and Penn

Bi-CoThanks to the special Bi-College (Bi-Co) relationship between Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, students at the two colleges can live, study, or even major at the neighboring school. While most academic fields are offered at both institutions, a number of disciplines are concentrated on one campus: at Bryn Mawr, those include archaeology, history of art, Russian, and arts programs in dance and theater; at Haverford, they include astronomy, fine arts, music, and religion. In addition, a number of extracurricular activities, such as performing arts clubs, a weekly newspaper, an orchestra, social-action groups, and some intramural sports operate jointly.

Tri-CoBryn Mawr and Haverford are also part of the Tri-College (Tri-Co) consortium, a fully integrated, cooperative education program with Swarthmore College. The three colleges share an expansive list of resources: students can access nearly 2.5 million volumes in the colleges’ libraries and attend lectures and performances, dances and social events on the three campuses. To facilitate the exchange, a regular shuttle service runs among the colleges. Haverford is one mile from Bryn Mawr; Swarthmore is about 20 minutes away.

PennThe College also offers a unique arrangement with the University of Pennsylvania, expanding the number of classes available to Bryn Mawr undergraduates to about 5,000 and offering the resources—including classes, libraries, and research facilities—of one of the nation’s premier research universities. Penn is 20 minutes away from Bryn Mawr by commuter rail or 25 minutes by car.

Praxis

Bryn Mawr’s Praxis program allows students to mix rigorous scholarship and civic engagement. Praxis courses—taught across the curriculum—integrate fieldwork in the community with traditional coursework. In the classroom, students and their peers and professors discuss current theories and urgent questions; in their Praxis placements, students work with members of local schools and community-based organizations under the supervision of a field-placement supervisor and coordinator. Each kind of work informs the other; each experience addresses the same concerns, one through serious thought, and the other through active community participation.

Independent Study

Hands-on experience is critical to a Bryn Mawr education. In a typical year, Bryn Mawr students collaborate with faculty on more than 500 independent study projects. Research at Bryn Mawr is defined broadly, conducted rigorously, and supported and supervised by the College’s professors. Students might work side-by-side with a professor in a lab, developing experiments in the genetic regulation of cellular processes; or write a novel, meeting frequently with a professor to talk about its progress and the work of other writers; or join a team of students and faculty working at an archaeological field site. The result is a tangible, textured understanding of a subject—and of the practice of scholarship.

Study Abroad

Bryn Mawr believes that study abroad is a rewarding academic endeavor that, when carefully incorporated into students’ academic careers, can enhance students’ language skills, broaden their academic preparation, introduce them to new cultures, and enhance their personal growth and independence. Nearly 40 percent of Bryn Mawr students opt to study abroad, some through the traditional Junior Year Abroad program, others through internships or summer study options.

Focus Courses

Focus Courses are half-credit courses that provide students with an opportunity to sample a wider variety of fields and topics as they explore the curriculum. In addition, some departments offer Focus Courses at the upper level for topics that lend themselves to a more targeted, shorter experience. Alternatively, some full-semester introductory courses function like Focus Courses by allowing students to exit or enter halfway through the semester, for a half-semester experience. These courses run for seven weeks on a normal class schedule. Focus Courses are as in-depth and fast-paced as full-semester courses.

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Travel Tales and Understanding with Peter Briggs, Professor of English

Culture Shock: Stories of Division, Change and Reconciliation Across Social and Ethnic Boundaries with Sharon Bain, Lecturer in Russian

Performance and Self with Linda Caruso-Haviland, Associate Professor of Dance, and Gail Hemmeter, Senior Lecturer in English

Autocracy, Democracy, and Development with Michael Rock, Professor of Economics

Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Ours with Jane Hedley, Professor of English

Clash of Cultures (?): East and West in European and Middle Literatures with David Kenosian, Lecturer in German

Reading Cultures: Poverty in the United States with Matthew Ruben, Lecturer

The Race for Cyberspace with Hoang Nguyen, Assistant Professor of English

The Journey: Act and Metaphor with J.C. Todd, Lecturer in Creative Writing

Stranger Than Fiction: From Realism to the Fantastic with Daniel Torday, Director and Visiting Assistant Professor of the Creative Writing Program

Representations of Classical Myths with Astrid Lindenlauf, Assistant Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology

Landscape with Christiane Hertel, Professor of the History of Art

Meditations on Mortality with Jennefer Callaghan, Director of the Writing Center

Greek Myth with Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Associate Professor of Classics

Food for Nine Billion: What Does The Future Hold? with Peter Brodfuehrer, Professor of Biology, and Gregory Davis, Assistant Professor of Biology

Innumeracy with Amy Mayer, Lecturer in Mathematics

Storytelling and Myth Making: Searching for Joan of Arc and Amelia Earhart with Linda-Susan Beard, Associate Professor of English

Education Within and Beyond Classrooms: Problems and Possibilities with Alice Lesnick, Senior Lecturer in the Education Program

Drugs, Brain and Culture: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Earl Thomas, Professor of Psychology

The Wandering “I”: Being as/and Passing with Pim Higginson, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies

Anxious Masculinity with Raymond J. Ricketts, Lecturer in English

Volcanoes and Society with Lynne Elkins, Lecturer in Geology

Past Emily Balch Seminars

Bryn Mawr College | Office of Admissions101 North Merion Avenue | Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

610-526-5152 | admissions@brynmawr.edu

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Emily BalchThe Emily Balch Seminars