IWT Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy

The Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy (CLASP), a project of the Bard College Institute for Writing & Thinking (IWT), works with faculty and institutions in the Open Society University Network (OSUN) to promote student-centered teaching methods, writing-based teaching, and experiential learning. These three pedagogical approaches support OSUN institutions in contributing to a shared vision of global higher education that empowers students through critical thinking, intellectual inquiry, and collaboration across diverse perspectives.

Upcoming Workshops and Events

2023 OSUN Experiential Learning Institute

Registration closes November 27, 2022

10/1 & 11/5 – IWT Writer as Reader Workshops

IWT’s day-long Writer as Reader Workshops will be held online on October 1 and November 5, 2021.

“Who is the University”

Registration closes November 27, 2022

Upcoming Workshops and Events

There are no events currently scheduled - check back soon!

Announcing CLASP Fellows Cohort '25!

Begimai Abdraeva

American University of Central Asia

Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program, Business Administration Department

Begimai is a full-time Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program of the Business Administration Department at AUCA. Her interests include climate change and sustainability topics. At AUCA she teaches such classes as Managerial Accounting, Corporate Governance and Business Ethics.

Degrees:
Ph.D. In Progress (Kyrgyz State Technical University)
Masters of Economic Governance and Development (OSCE Academy)

Alisa Alybaeva

American University of Central Asia

Assistant Professor, Master of Arts in Teaching Program

Research Interests: Education; Student-Centered Teaching; Learning by doing; Teaching English as a Foreign Language; Student Motivation.

Degrees:
M.A. in Teaching (American University of Central Asia)
B.A. in Management (International University of Kyrgyzstan)

Néka Da Costa

University of the Witwatersrand

Theatre and Performance Department

Néka Da Costa (she/her) is a theater-maker, collaborator and academic at the Theatre and Performance department at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is currently studying towards a Ph.D. at the Wits School of Arts in which she intends to design and mobilize a radical pedagogy in Theatre and Performance which prioritizes disabled students and centralizes difference to create inclusive access in the university space. As a creative researcher, Néka is interested in the dynamics of theater and inclusivity in all its permutations: economic access, physical access, linguistic access and access in terms of intersectional representation, politics and power dynamics.

Degrees:
M.A. in Text and Performance (Birkbeck, University of London and RADA)

María Lucía Guerrero Farías

Universidad de los Andes

Leader of Faculty Development (Teaching), DIDACTA (Academic, Curricular, Technological and Pedagogical Innovation Direction)

María’s research interests include teaching and learning, citizenship education.

Publications:
Cifuentes, G., Guerrero Farías M., Solano, A. (2023). Promoviendo la excelencia del profesorado: visión, direccionamiento y trayectoria del Centro de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje (CEyA) de la Universidad de los Andes. En Khouri, F, y Manotas, E. (Compiladoras). Inspiración, acción, transformación. ¿Cómo funcionan los centros de desarrollo pedagógico en Colombia? (168-190). Centro de Excelencia Docente CEDU, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia.

Guerrero Farías, M.L. (2021) Elite global citizenship, a case of a secondary school in Bogotá, Colombia. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 30:3, 268-286, DOI: 10.1080/09620214.2020.1819373.

Guerrero Farías, M. L. (2021) The enactment of the neoliberal citizen: evidence from a case study in Bogota, Colombia. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 51:8, 1101-1117, DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2020.1715789

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Education (University of Bristol, 2018)
Masters in Geography (Universidad de los Andes, 2011)
Undergraduate in History (Universidad de los Andes, 2009)

Esther Afoley Laryea

Ashesi University

Lecturer, Business Administration Department

Esther is passionate about improving financial development in Africa by supporting individuals and businesses on the continent to acquire the skills of financial management and financial storytelling. She is interested in understanding how soft issues such as societal structures, human behavior, emotions and culture intersect with financial and economic constructs. This interest springs from her belief that economic and financial models fail to reflect reality when they ignore such fundamental issues.

Aside from researching behavioral and social finance/economics, she is also interested in developing case studies for teaching. The scarcity of business teaching cases that reflect African business contexts and nuances drives her interest in case writing. Lastly, she is also keenly interested in pursuing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. When she is able to make the time, Esther loves to blog and read novels.

Reginald Louis

Haitian Education and Leadership Program

Senior English Instructor

Reginald is the Senior English Instructor at the Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP). He studied Living Languages at Haiti's State University Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS). Reginald has worked at HELP for over 6 years, and has seen several cohorts of students put the instruction they have received at HELP to good use and add significant value to their communities. Through his observation of students he knows that he is part of something big and wants to keep doing his part–for as long as possible and as well as possible.

Ibrahim Marazka

Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences

Ph.D. Division Head of Core Curriculum

Ibrahim's research interests include social-political philosophy and the history of philosophy from the 19th century to the present. His research focuses on investigating conceptually the relation between space and human agency, with the aim of developing a materialist, communal account of human freedom. He approaches this relation by examining critically different philosophical analyses of modern political rationality, as well as by analyzing the representation of this relation in literature and the arts.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Philosophy and Literature (Purdue University)
Magister Artium (M.A.) in Philosophy (Free University)

Neealana Naushin

BRAC University

Lecturer at the School of General Education

Neealana teaches an ‘Ethics and Culture’ course for first and second year students. Since 2017, she has been working for the socio-economic betterment of the rape victims, sex workers and their children. She has filmed awareness documentaries regarding these vulnerable community members and has been awarded from UNAOC, IOM, and Harvard College. She continues to work for the social welfare of the community members.

Later, she completed a fellowship from Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), Germany. Most recently she received training in entrepreneurial courses from Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Neealana is an entrepreneur, academic and activist. Her interdisciplinary knowledge and diverse work experiences empowers her in bridging the gap between theory and practice in her teaching pedagogy. Her research interests are ethics, politics, social innovation, gender lens investment and women empowerment.

Degrees:
M.Sc. in Technopreneurship and Innovation (Nanyang Technological University)
B.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) (Asian University for Women)

Birsha Ohdedar

SOAS, University of London

Lecturer in Climate Change and Environmental Law and Governance

Birsha’s research focuses on environmental and climate justice, human rights, climate litigation and water. His work interrogates the role of law in the broader political economy of the environmental and climate crisis. Birsha is an editor of the Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD Journal), and Deputy Director of the SOAS Law, Environment and Development Centre.

Publications:
"Climate Adaptation, Vulnerability and Rights-Based Litigation: Broadening the Scope of Climate Litigation Using Political Ecology." Journal of Human Rights and Environment. 2022. 13:1; 137-156.

'Climate Change Litigation in India and Pakistan: Analyzing Opportunities and Challenges' in In: Alogna, Ivano, (eds.), Bakker, Christine, (eds.) and Gauci, Jean-Pierre, (eds.), Journal of Human Rights and Environment. Leiden: Brill. 2021. pp 103-123

"Loss and Damage from the Impacts of Climate Change: A Framework for Implementation." Nordic Journal of International Law. 2016. 85:1; 1-36.

Degrees:
Ph.D. (SOAS, University of London)
LL.M. (SOAS, University of London)
BA/LLB (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Dorota Ostrowska

Birkbeck, University of London

Senior Lecturer in Film and Modern Media
Faculty of Creative Arts, Culture and Communications

Dorota’s main research focus is history and contemporary practices of film festivals, particularly in Europe. Most recently she has been working on ethics and aesthetics of care in relation to film festival programming and curating. She has also written about French and Eastern European cinemas from a historical perspective. As an educator she is committed to all forms of experiential pedagogy which has been important in her work on student employability and university external partnerships.

Publications:
Contours of Film Festivals Practice, co-edited with Tamara Falicov (Amsterdam University Press, forthcoming 2023 open access).

Popular Cinemas in Central Europe: Film Cultures and Histories, co-edited with Francesco Pitassio and Zsuzsanna Varga (I.B. Tauris, 2017).

Reading the French New Wave: Writers, Critics and Art Cinema in France (Wallflower Press: 2008).

European Cinemas in the Television Age, co-edited with Graham Roberts (Edinburgh University Press, 2007).

Degrees:
D.Phil. French Cinema and Literature (Oxford)
M.Phil. European Literature (Cambridge)
B.A. Political Science (Columbia)

Gracy Pelacani

Universidad de los Andes

Assistant Professor and Director of Legal Clinic for Migrants at the Law Faculty

Gracy Pelacani’s research focuses on Migration, Legal Clinical Education and Comparative Law.

Publications:
"Perspectivas sociojurídicas de la migración. Aprendizajes a partir de la experiencia venezolana", Carolina Moreno V., Gracy Pelacani, 2023, Ediciones Uniandes.

"La respuesta del Estado colombiano frente a la migración proveniente de Venezuela: la regularización migratoria en detrimento del refugio", G Pelacani, C Moreno, Derecho PUCP 90, 495-520.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Comparative and European Legal Studies (Universitá degli Studi di Trento)
Law Degree (Universitá degli Studi di Trento)

Erzsébet Strausz

Central European University

Assistant Professor in Global Governance, Department of International Relations

Erzsébet's research focuses on critical pedagogy, alternative knowledge practices as well as creative and narrative methods in the study of world politics. She is particularly interested in exploring the transformational potential of writing in and beyond academia, and collaborates with artists, NGOs and communities in co-creating empowering processes.

Publications:
Strausz, E. (2018) Writing the Self and Transforming Knowledge in International Relations: Towards a Politics of Liminality. London: Routledge.

Choi, S., A. Selmeczi and E. Strausz (eds.) (2019) Critical Methods in Studying World Politics: Creativity and Transformation. London: Routledge.

Nieuwenhuis, M. and E. Strausz (2023) “Atmospheric Pedagogies: Everyday Ethnographies of the (Post) Pandemic Classroom.” Theory & Event. 26:3, 597-625.

Strausz, E. (2022) “Writing with Foucault: openings to transformational knowledge practices in and beyond the classroom.” Critical Studies on Security. 10:3, 144-156.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in International Politics (Aberystwyth University)
M.A. in International Relations and European Studies (Central European University)

Liliana Tymchenko

European Humanities University

Associate Professor, Academic Department of Social Sciences

Liliana Tymchenko is an Associate Professor at the Academic Department of Social Sciences at the European Humanities University (Vilnius, Lithuania). Her areas of interest include issues such as teaching methods, academic freedom, philosophy of international law, problems of combating terrorism, recognition of states, existential issues of state development.

Degrees:
Doctor in Law (International Independent University of the Republic of Moldova)

Dan Wessner

Parami University

Faculty of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Dan's research addresses post-war sustainable redevelopment and resilience in Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on education systems; natural, cultural, and historical assets; and strategies of climate accommodation.

His current writing project in the Mekong Delta is ""Bending Bamboo,"" an interdisciplinary curriculum on sustainability, resilience, and English acquisition (in process with the Department of Education, Viet Nam).

Degrees:
Ph.D. in International Studies (University of Denver)
J.D. (School of Law, University of Virginia)
M.Div. (Princeton Theological Seminary)
B.A. in History (Stanford University)

Learn more about the CLASP Fellows Program

Fall 2023 Workshop Series

We are excited to announce our largest and most varied series of workshops to date! Demystify law, conquer your fear of ChatGPT, and write to see with colleagues from across the network this fall. Space in workshops is limited—please register only if you plan to attend. View the full list of workshops, and register today!

CLASP Fellows Program Cohort '25 Results to be Announced in Early September.

The CLASP Fellows Program is a 2-year professional development opportunity for early to mid-career faculty from OSUN institutions who show potential for pedagogical leadership. Upon completion of the program faculty gain significant training in writing-based student-centered pedagogical strategies, receive a $1000 stipend, and are eligible to apply to become an IWT CLASP Faculty Associate—a position that offers opportunities to develop and facilitate CLASP workshops for the OSUN network. Learn more about the program here.

ChatGPT and Liberal Arts & Sciences Pedagogy: An Exploratory Workshop

ONLINE Tuesday, March 21, 2023

8:30–11:30 (NY) / 13:30–16:30 (Vienna) | Note the time change!

The OSUN Center for Liberal Arts & Sciences Pedagogy (IWT CLASP) and the OSUN LAS Collaborative (LAS Collab) invite you to participate in a workshop dedicated to pedagogical questions and concerns regarding the OpenAI writing program: ChatGPT. This session will be experiential—faculty will experiment with writing-based teaching practices by doing them, paying particular attention to which strategies might help to address some of the ChatGPT (AI) related concerns we’ve encountered or expect to encounter. Learn more and register!

IWT 2023 New Kinds of Attention Workshops

ONLINE February 3 and March 3, 2023

10 AM–4 PM (NY) / 4 PM–10 PM (Vienna)

Funding is available for a limited number of faculty from each OSUN institution to attend IWT’s 2023 New Kinds of Attention online workshops. The New Kinds of Attention online workshop series, launched in 2021, gives teachers a unique opportunity to experience Institute for Writing and Thinking workshops. These workshops allow teachers to join an immersive, online introduction to IWT writing practices. Learn more and register!

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Upcoming Workshops and Events

There are no events currently scheduled - check back soon!

Upcoming Workshops and Events

2023 OSUN Experiential Learning Institute

Registration closes November 27, 2022

2023 OSUN Experiential Learning Institute

Registration closes November 27, 2022

10/1 & 11/5 – IWT Writer as Reader Workshops

IWT’s day-long Writer as Reader Workshops will be held online on October 1 and November 5, 2021.

“Who is the University”

Registration closes November 27, 2022

In the Classroom

Gazing at, through, and within the Arab World
Issam Khoury - Al Quds Bard
CLASP Fellow Issam Khoury, Education Above All Program Manager at Al Quds Bard College, describes how he creates community through writing and discussion.

Online Classes are No Longer Monotonous
Fahmida Rahman - BRAC University
CLASP Fellow Fahmida Rahman, Lecturer and Program Coordinator at the BRAC University School of General Education, uses Padlet to great effect in her online classes.

Facts: Together We Succeed
Julia Carey Arendell - Bard Early College New Orleans
CLASP Fellow Julia Carey Arendell, Faculty at Bard Early College New Orleans, describes how she uses process and collaborative writing in her literature classes.

APPLICATIONS FOR COHORT 2 ARE NOW OPEN!

CLASP Fellows Program

Learn more

In the Classroom

Gazing at, through, and within the Arab World
Issam Khoury - Al Quds Bard
CLASP Fellow Issam Khoury, Education Above All Program Manager at Al Quds Bard College, describes how he creates community through writing and discussion.

Gazing at, through, and within the Arab World

CLASP Fellow Issam Khoury, Education Above All Program Manager at Al Quds Bard College, describes how he creates community through writing and discussion.

Online Classes are No Longer Monotonous
Fahmida Rahman - BRAC University
CLASP Fellow Fahmida Rahman, Lecturer and Program Coordinator at the BRAC University School of General Education, uses Padlet to great effect in her online classes.

OSUN Connected and
Blended Learning Toolkit

Go to the toolkit

The OSUN Connected and Blended Learning Toolkit, developed by the Center for Learning in Practice (CLiP) at the Carey Institute for Global Good in collaboration with the Open Society University Network and Bard College, is a living document that is open and accessible to faculty across the network, offering support for connected and blended course development.