Dear Prospective Students,

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying fall. Many of you have received my previous email or seen me at the first open house in October. For those who haven’t, my name is Nishtha Dani and I am a second-year MA student and the student admissions ambassador here at Bard Graduate Center. My research is focused on early medieval Islamic art, especially ideas around magic and the occult concerning portable objects.

As a student at BGC, I am always excited for Tuesdays and Wednesdays for special reasons. A long tradition of hosting internal and public lectures and events, continued by the wonderful Public Humanities team, is one of the cornerstones of our community. Every Tuesday, students, faculty, staff, and other members of the BGC community gather for a lunchtime talk. These talks, given by BGC fellows, faculty, or visiting scholars from other institutions, span a variety of topics, interdisciplinary approaches, and encounters. In a recent talk, professor Shih-shan Susan Huang from Rice University shared her research on medieval Buddhist print cultures in China and Central Asia. It was particularly interesting for me to hear more about methodologies for navigating research where access to sources is limited and to get a chance to interact with the speaker after her presentation.

On Wednesdays, larger public lectures allow students to hear from speakers from all over the world and engage with a wider audience. Students are also involved in suggesting speakers they would like to invite for future talks. In some cases, these lectures take the form of demonstrations, interventions within a crafting practice, or interactive events. My favorite events are often those connect with the ongoing exhibitions at the amazing BGC Gallery down the street.

I want to thank all of you who attended the open house and look forward to meeting those of you who will be at our next open house on November 17 or the virtual open house on December 8. Until then, please feel free to email me if you have any questions about being a student at BGC or the application process.

Best Regards,

Nishtha Dani, MA ’25
Admissions Ambassador
nishtha.dani@bgc.bard.edu