Albrecht Dürer: Impressions of the Renaissance

Throughout my career as a student, I have been head-over-heals in love with history. I am a History major at Vassar, and basically live in Swift Hall, the Department's colonial-style home. But I have also had a secret affair, a clandestine crush, and secondary academic mistress. Her name? Art History. In high school, I took an amazing AP Art History course, and absolutely fell in love. As soon as my teacher turned on the projector and the slide image of the caves of Lascaux popped up, I was hooked.

Alas, a few too many people in the "real world" discouraged my passion. On the blogs, Art History routinely tops the list of the world's most "useless" and "worthless" majors. Sigh.

Fortunately, Vassar inspires students like myself to cultivate my passions. Although I am a major in History (and double in Political Science), I can also maintain my quirky, fun, and fascinating minor in Art History.

And Vassar's Art History Department is one of the best in the world. We have world-class art historians, famous in their areas of expertise. We also have one of the world's finest college art museums in the United States — The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Our collections include more than 18,000 works of painting, drawing, sculpture and tapestry. It includes Picasso, Rembrandt, O'Keeffe, and Matisse.

And now, with the opening of Albrect Durer: Impressions of the Renaissance, we can see Vassar's incredible collection of Durer and his incomparable Northern Renaissance work.

Midterms!

Midterms have taken hold of the Vassar campus... The usual hustle and bustle of the College has given way to the quiet noise of flipping textbook pages and rapidly typing fingers. The Library is overrun with students, busily writing and researching.

Right now, I'm studying for my Medieval Architecture midterm exam. The class is one of my favorites this semester. Our professor, Andrew Tallon, is one of the most dynamic teachers I've had during my Vassar career. He constructs 3D digital models of each building we study, and the class 'flies' through to view details of architectural features. While some architecture classes only show black-and-white plans of buildings, this class incorporates full color images, movies, and music to get the 'full' experience of an architectural space. For a tech geek like me, I love the use of technology in the classroom. Now it's just a matter of learning about Medieval monastic culture and Carolingian political life... Once this midterm is over, I'll begin working on other assignments due after October Break.

Which reminds me: only three days until Break!

Pete Seeger!

Vassar attracts incredible performers, speakers and intellectuals. This weekend was no exception. Legendary singer Pete Seeger—leader of the American folk music revival and key player of the Civil Rights Movement—performed yesterday at Vassar. The concert was indescribable. The entire Vassar community sat around our beautiful College Chapel and sang along. Seeger has written some of the most well-known songs of the 1950s and 60s, including "If I Had a Hammer" and "Turn Turn Turn." He's also famous for his children's music, which he performed with his usual joyful energy.

Seeger, who has lived his life in the Hudson Valley, was here to celebrate our art museum's newest exhibit, Drawn By New York from the New York Historical Society. The weekend was incredible, and I am about to download some Pete Seeger on iTunes.

Exploring the Hudson Valley

When prospective students consider colleges, countless factors weigh on their minds. Average class size? Depth and breadth of the curriculum? Employment/professional/graduate school prospects? Vassar has all these areas covered pretty well. Our student:faculty ration is 8:1, one of the best ratios of any of our peer schools. Our curriculum is broad and diverse; students choose among 29 departments, 6 interdisciplinary programs, 12 multidisciplinary programs, 51 majors, and 1,000 courses. And our employment prospects are excellent as well, as are our admission statistics to top law and medical schools.

But another topic lingers on the minds of prospective students: Location, location, location. Poughkeepsie? What’s that? Where’s that? Is it close to the city? Some prospectives that I’ve spoken to fear that it’s not enough of a “college town” and that there’s not enough to do in the area surrounding Vassar.

Current Vassar students can quickly dispel these rumors. They know that 1) there is more to do on campus than anyone can possibly imagine, and 2) the local area is teeming with activity. Walking right outside Vassar’s gates takes one to the center of the Arlington Business District—a quaint and artsy area with colorful boutiques, amazing restaurants, and all sorts of services (HSBC, Bank of America, a large post office, etc). Venturing beyond walking distance, students have the entire Hudson Valley at their disposal. Unbelievable historic, cultural, and natural attractions await visitors. Best of all: most museums and sites have major discounts for students.

To help students navigate the outstanding resources in the area, the Vassar Student Association launched Exploring the Hudson Valley. It’s a wonderful resource for prospectives as well, since it will disprove many of the myths that nothing goes on “upstate.”

Is Poughkeepsie like New York City? Take it from a native New Yorker; it’s certainly not. Will I be a life-ling Manhattanite? Naturally. But that definitely does not mean that the area around Vassar is boring. The Town of Poughkeepsie, along with the wider Hudson Valley, is a thriving community with all sorts of businesses and cultural sites just waiting to be explored.

Fall Convocation, take four

(image courtesy of The Miscellany News)

The sense of community at Vassar is rarely stronger than Fall and Spring Convocation. Twice each year, the community gathers to mark the official beginning and end of the academic year. Faculty, alumni, and students come together to listen to beautiful choral music, see long academic processionals, and hear from the President of the College and the President of the Student Association.

Usually, the event is geared toward seniors and freshmen—two classes at opposite ends of their Vassar experience. But I'll admit it; I'm a dork. I've gone to every Convocation since my first year. I usually am successful in dragging my friends along, but truth be told, I'd be there anyway. I just love the sense of tradition and community.

This year, though, was unique. For the first time, my own class marched through the Chapel in our academic dress. Hard to believe. I've seen three other classes do it, and somehow never quite imagined that black gown on myself. But alongside my friends, we processed around campus in anticipation of Commencement.

The Miscellany News, our student newspaper since 1866, produced a wonderful video slideshow of Fall Convocation. If you're curious to see some images and hear segments of the speeches, check this out:

Audio slideshow!

What's on campus?

Vassar has a constant buzz. With 2450 students and nearly 130 student organizations, plus 40+ academic departments and programs, a world-class museum, and 27 varsity sports, there is always an incredible amount to do on campus. Every day of the week, there are dozens of activities to choose from. The hard part is deciding what to do.

Well, this year, that choice has become a little bit easier. Vassar's new InfoSite puts all of the information in one synthesized place. Though it's only been running for a week or so, everyone at the College is thrilled to have their news and calendars coordinated. If you're curious about Vassar events, make the InfoSite your homepage -- maybe something will catch your eye.

Cambridge University

Greetings from Cambridge University! This summer, I made the leap from VC to the UK, studying British history at one of the world's oldest universities.

Although I miss my one true love — Vassar — it's so interesting to see how another school operates. Cambridge is celebrating it's 800th birthday in 2009. Hard to imagine that a single institution has survived and thrived for nearly a millennium. Walking around the campus, it's easy to see and feel that age. There is history everywhere. Across the street from one of my friend's dormitory is the first English church to break away from Catholicism and embrace Protestantism in the early 16th century. To the left of my other friend's dormitory is Charles Darwin's old apartment from when he was a Cambridge student. In the center of town is The Eagle, a small English pub where students drafted into the War in the 1940s would inscribe their names onto the wall. It's hard to take a walk through the quaint college town of Cambridge without finding some sort of national landmark or historic site. For a nerdy history major like me, it's hard to imagine a better place to spend the summer!

The experience of studying abroad is incredible, and certainly one I would recommend to incoming students. Because of my role as Editor of The Miscellany News this past year, I wasn't able to spend a semester of the academic year abroad. Thankfully, our International Programs Office gave me some excellent advice on places to study for the summer. For more information on Vassar's support for international programs, check out the study abroad Web site. Vassar students literally study across the globe, from Europe to Latin America to Sub-Saharan Africa. The College has a great support network of staff and alumnae/i to help ease any culture shock and give you a taste of home.