Bard College Berlin News
Performing arts in the sciences: Drs. Sasha Bergstrom-Katz and Michele Luchetti co-teach “Performing Science and Medicine” at Bard College Berlin
The course addresses the relationship between science, medicine, and society through a discussion of critical texts and creative activities inspired by art, performance, and theater. Bergstrom-Katz and Luchetti will use the course to develop a conversation with students about the ways in which performances of science in the laboratory, the clinic, and in the public sphere communicate key concepts and practices.
Bergstrom-Katz and Luchetti first met in a working group at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. After quickly realizing they shared a number of common interests, they decided to organize an ongoing working group of scholars and performance practitioners called “Performing Science and Medicine,” which will present at Charité’s Medical History Museum this fall.
Luchetti’s main expertise is in the history and philosophy of science. He completed a PhD in philosophy from Central European University, and is also trained in the traditions of theater anthropology and social theater. “While I have often used topics from philosophy and science as a starting point for creative workshops,” he explains, “I have only recently started thinking about performative practices and concepts as tools to understand medicine.”
Bergstrom-Katz began her career as an artist, completing a BFA at CalArts and an MFA at UC Irvine, focusing on sculpture, installation, and video. She spent many years working for artists and art spaces before completing a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London in the department of Psychosocial Studies. She says, “I was able to combine historical and theoretical research with artistic practice, thus drawing on my experience as an artist whilst developing new research skills.”
The course will incorporate performative experiments, the results of which both instructors look forward to uncovering alongside students. “I hope that students will delve with curiosity in both the theoretical discussions and the experiential learning activities,” Luchetti shares. Ultimately, both instructors look forward to collaborating with the diverse student body of Bard College Berlin to examine “the relatively unexplored overlaps between the performing arts and the humanities in science and medicine.”
Post Date: 02-13-2025