Vermont Academic Resources

The BLSE program brings critical, creative, and pedagogical approaches to bear on literary study – with the aim of cultivating the imagination and the interpretive and expressive powers that come with it. The curricular and co-curricular offerings outlined below give you a wide range of resources to draw on as you chart your own path through the summer. See the BLSE Student Handbook for information on academic policies.   

Classes

  • For the meeting times and rooms of your classes, see the Vermont Campus Class Schedule. Please note that classes do meet on July 4. 
  • Class attendance is mandatory, except in cases of illness or emergency. Please notify both your faculty member and the Vermont campus coordinator, Dianne Baroz, if you must miss a class for these reasons. 
  • If you need to drop or add a course, you can only do so during the drop/add period (June 26 – June 28 at 5pm).  You will need to get approval in-person from Dianne Baroz, who can let you know what courses are open. (Faculty cannot approve a drop/add.) Because of the compact nature of the term, we discourage “shopping” for courses. 

Advising

BLSE dean Emily Bartels and director Lyndon Dominique serve year-round as your advisors. They can help you with long-term and short-term planning as well as with any academic or residential issues that arise during the summer. During the summer, they are joined by Tyler Curtain, Summer Director of Student and Academic Support, who can advise you on PhD or other research ambitions as well as other aspects of your BLSE experience.

  • At the start of the summer, students who are new to BLSE or to the Vermont campus will be invited to sign-up for small group introductory meetings. 
  • Across the summer, we encourage all students to make individual appointments with Emily, Lyndon, or Tyler during their office hours: they welcome the opportunity to get to know you and hear about your BLSE experiences. 
  • To schedule an individual appointment, contact Dianne Baroz (Inn 104) for Emily; or    Karen Brown (Inn 224) for Lyndon or Tyler.

Co-curricular Events

A full calendar of the summer’s readings, workshops, performances, and related events, designed to complement the work you do in the classroom, is available on the bulletin board outside the main office (Inn 104) and on BreadWeb. 

The Theater Program 

Our theater program, led by director Brian McEleney, integrates embodied experience creatively with the study of literature. Professional actors within the Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble work with faculty to bring performance into your classes as an interpretive tool. They also work with students on theatrical productions which bring visionary texts to life. We encourage you to attend evening rehearsals (Sunday through Friday) and to audition for a part in the plays. 

Bread Loaf Teacher Network (BLTN)

The Bread Loaf Teacher Network, headed by director Beverly Moss, supports teachers year-round as they engage with peers on designing and implementing innovative culturally- and community-based pedagogies – working across differences to foster advanced literacy skills, social justice, and social change. To join, come to the weekly meetings. For more information, please see the BLTN website. 

Ken Macrorie Writing Center

The Ken Macrorie Writing Center, directed by David Wandera and located in the Annex Basement, is staffed by trained BLSE students, who can help you develop discipline-specific writing skills in the context of your summer work. We encourage you to sign up for individualized sessions.

Libraries

You have access to libraries on the Middlebury and the Bread Loaf campus:

  • The Davis Family Library is located in the middle of the Middlebury campus. Hours are: Monday-Thursday, 7:30 am–midnight; Friday 7:30 am-5 pm; Saturday 9 am-5 pm; and Sunday 9 am- midnight. Please check Middlebury Libraries for updates.
  • The Davison Memorial Library is located on the Bread Loaf campus and is open 24/7. It has air-conditioned study space, a printer/photocopier, a small collection of British, American, and world literatures, and the reserve readings for Bread Loaf courses. At Davison, you can access other Middlebury library resources and order books and articles from the Davis Library and through Interlibrary Loan (these will be delivered to Davison within 1-3 days). Reference librarians will be available on weekdays to assist you. See also the BLSE LibGuide and Middlebury’s off-campus resources.