GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Faculty Forum series at Bard College at Simon's Rock returns for the fall semester and is open to the public, beginning on Monday, Oct. 17.

 

The Faculty Forum provides an opportunity to hear from Simon's Rock faculty about the scholarly and creative work they do outside the classroom. 

 

In an informal setting that encourages discovery and dialogue, faculty will discuss their works-in-progress or their recently completed projects, according to a press release.

 

Faculty Forums will be held in-person at 4:15 p.m. on various Mondays during the fall semester and in various locations on campus at Bard College at Simon's Rock.

 

More information about each Faculty Forum will be available on the Simon's Rock Event Calendar throughout the semester.

 

Kaethe Minden: Oct. 17

Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Before Simon's Rock, Kaethe taught at Marlboro College as a Mathematics Fellow and as a graduate student at CUNY. Her academic interests are in the fields of logic and set theory - particularly large cardinals and forcing. Some recent work connects to combinatorial group theory, involving infinitary Latin squares. Kaethe started teaching at Simon's Rock in 2019.

 

Manon Hutton-Dewys: Nov. 14

Visiting Faculty in Music; Professor of Piano, Applied Music Program

American pianist Manon Hutton-DeWys has long been earning praise and recognition for her performances of classical and modern music. In Musical America, Christian Carey wrote: "Hutton-DeWys did an admirable job creating legato lyricism in a solo line that resides amidst a tremendously active accompaniment. Her sensitive dynamic shadings and subtle use of rubato demonstrated an artist possessing a great deal of promise." Manon has performed in some of classical music's best-known venues, including Weill and Zankel Halls at Carnegie Hall, and the Salle Cortot at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. She has also appeared at Symphony Space, Bargemusic, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Steinway Hall, the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, Northeastern and Tufts Universities, and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, home to radio station WNYC. Manon holds degrees from the City University of New York Graduate Center, Mannes College of Music, Bard College, and Bard College at Simon's Rock. Her research, for which she received a 2017 Elebash Research Grant, focuses on early twentieth-century American music. She formerly served on the faculty of Lehman College and Greenwich House Music School and on the Executive Board of the Piano Teachers' Congress of New York. Hutton-DeWys has two solo albums: Soirees Musicales (2021) featuring the works of 19th-century pianist composers, and Parallels (forthcoming 2022), featuring variations by Copland and Beethoven and preludes by Debussy and Ruth Crawford-Seeger. A native of New York's beautiful Hudson River Valley, Manon started teaching at Simon's Rock in 2017.

 

David Franco: Nov. 28

Assistant Professor of French and Spanish

Dr. Franco's research examines the notion of heroism in 17th century French drama, with Greek mythology and Classical tragedy as points of reference. His current book project, entitled Corneille: a Tragedy of the Ethos, focuses on the works of Pierre Corneille, and challenges the myth of a dazzling cornelian hero by showing his struggle to obtain recognition. His work has appeared in French Studies, The French Review, and at Classiques Garnier. A native Spanish speaker, Dr. Franco has extensively taught both language and Literature classes in French, Spanish and English. He has presented his work at the annual conference of SE17 (Socie?te d'E?tudes du dix-septie?me sie?cle franc?ais) and at the University of Gent, Belgium. He joined the faculty at Simon's Rock in 2019.

 

Kati Garci-Renart: Dec. 12

Assistant Professor of Dance

Kati Garcia-Renart's performance experience includes various venues in Spain and throughout the United States. She is currently the director of the Kaatsbaan Academy of Dance in Tivoli, NY, and is a long-time faculty member of Kaatsbaan's Extreme Ballet (summer intensive course). Kati Garcia-Renart was previously a visiting professor at Bard College. She has been teaching at Simon's Rock since 2010.