Past Events

Decorative Japanese folding screen with rhythmic, curling waves rendered in fine lines over a gold background, punctuated by steep green and brown islands rising from the sea.

The Ullŭng Islander’s Drift through Classical and Post-classical Japanese Poetry, lecture by Jeffrey Niedermaier.

Graphic with geomtric background and text overlay that reads: Celebrating Soweto.
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Vassar celebrates Soweto with a screening of Sifiso Khanyile’s critically acclaimed documentary Uprize!, followed by a faculty roundtable featuring Professors Mia Mask, Ismail Rashid, and Samson Opondo, along with local activist and South African native Dr. Ereshnee Naidu. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Mariam Rashid.

Campus community only, please.

An individual stands holding a circular hand drum and a mallet with a soft white head. They wear a light-colored long-sleeve shirt under a navy vest decorated with colorful floral embroidery. The setting appears to be an indoor hallway.

This talk will introduce attendees to the concept of Indigenous geographies, and will encourage them to think about the field as not just an academic area of study, but a lived experience and something that they can experience, whether they are Indigenous or not.

This event is free and open to the public.

Smiling person with short gray hair and black glasses, wearing a green T-shirt, in front of a bookshelf with colorful books.
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Join playwright Mahesh Dattani, guest playwright and author, and the student cast of Dance Like a Man, for a compelling new play reading of his new work, Dance Like a Goddess and conversation exploring the dynamic intersection of performance and politics in modern India.

This event is free and open to the public.

Headshot of Adam Ross.
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Award-winning author Adam Ross ’89 will be reading from his current novel, Playworld.

This event is free and open to the public.

The cover of a book with the text "Moving Stones: About the Art of Edmonia Lewis, by Jennifer DeVere Brody". The cover design is brown, and shows a photo collage of a person, flowers, and a dress.

In this C. Mildred Thompson lecture, Professor Jennifer Brody ’87 discusses her forthcoming book, Moving Stones: About the Art of Edmonia Lewis. It explores the extraordinary life and work of Edmonia Lewis, the Black and Ojibwe sculptor who rose to international fame in the nineteenth century.

This event is free and open to the public.

Vassar College's Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices (RSLCP), along with the Episcopal Church at Vassar, welcome all Vassar community members to attend.

Campus community only, please.

Headshot of Consuelo Amat.

Dr. Consuelo Amat, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins, researches state repression, resistance, political violence, and civil society, particularly in Latin America. Her Vassar talk, “Conversations on nonviolence, peace, and civic life,” will address the definition of violence, coalition-building against repression, and non-state aid in conflict. Dinner is included and RSVP is required.

This event is free and open to the public.

Artist Marie Watt seated in her studio with a dog resting at her feet
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Artist Marie Watt is a member of the Turtle Clan of the Seneca Nation of Indians whose work draws on images and ideas from Haudenosaunee protofeminism and Indigenous teachings. Through printmaking, painting, sculpture, and textile, she explores how history, community, and storytelling intersect. 

This virtual event is free and open to the public.

Portrait of an 18th-century Venetian violinist, generally considered to be that of Vivaldi.

Abendmusik, New York’s period instrument string band, presents a special performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s first collection of printed concerti for 1, 2, and 4 violins: L’estro armonico, Op. 3., to honor the legacy of women in music.

This event is free and open to the public.

[text] Music ’26 Senior Recital

Featuring pieces for flute by European composers Debussy, Gahn, Hindemith, and Hue.

This event is open to the public.

Illustration of a small horned creature standing on one foot in a moonlit forest, arms raised toward a full moon. Tall, stylized trees with pastel-colored leaves surround the figure, and soft blue night tones fill the sky with scattered stars. The scene has a textured, storybook style with muted greens, pinks, and blues.

Jonathan Weinberg, Ph.D., artist and curator of The Maurice Sendak Foundation, presents the Belle Krasne Ribicoff Lecture, examining Maurice Sendak’s artistic legacy and the evolution of the modern picture book.

This event is free and open to the public.