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The Children’s Village-Bard College Harlem Clemente Course in the Humanities

“This has been one of the best experiences of my life. I will forever be grateful for everything I’ve learned and all the wonderful people I met.”

Harlem Clemente classes are taught by experienced professors at top colleges. Each semester, students enroll in three courses that meet on a rotating basis. In the first semester, students take Philosophy, Literature, and Critical Thinking & Writing. In the second semester, students take American History, Art History, and Critical Thinking & Writing.

Clemente classes are all seminars, meaning they involve rigorous group discussion that requires the enthusiastic participation of all students. Together we build a classroom environment in which conflicting ideas are respected, considered, and responded to. Outside of class, students read assigned texts carefully and complete writing assignments designed to strengthen their abilities to analyze texts, develop their original ideas, and articulate those ideas persuasively.

Periodic field trips complement and enrich the Clemente curriculum. In 2013-2014, Harlem Clemente students toured The Metropolitan Museum of Art, saw Much Ado About Nothing at The Public Theater, attended a Riverside Symphony concert and a preconcert lecture on Takamitsu's Death and Resurrection, about Hiroshima, did a walking tour of lower Manhattan, and attended All The Way, a Broadway play about Lyndon Johnson.

Clemente’s writing center tutors work with students one-on-one to help them develop their writing skills before class begins.

Childcare will also be provided free of charge to enable parents to enroll in the course. Students who complete the course at a high level of academic achievement receive six Bard College credits that are transferable to virtually all colleges and universities in the country.








“Clemente is a one in a million chance of a lifetime.”


Academic Objectives




“Harlem Clemente has made me more social and improved my critical thinking.”



Calendar of Events

The Harlem Clemente Course will meet every Tuesday and Thursday evening beginning September 30, 2014 and ending May 7, 2015. Winter vacation begins after class on Thursday December 18, 2014, and class resumes on Tuesday January 6,2015. All classes will be held at The Children’s Village, 2090 Seventh Avenue, 3rd floor, in Harlem. Clemente provides dinner before each class. We gather for food at 6 PM and class starts at 6:30 PM sharp and lasts two hours.