Pre-College Program

Investigate how AI systems shape the ways that we communicate, create, govern and understand one another. Through observation, experimentation, modeling and interpretation — practices shared in the fields of computing, social sciences and humanities — we examine how AI reflects and amplifies human values, assumptions and inequities.

During the week, you will develop projects including: small AI-driven prototypes grounded in real-world data, interactive demonstrations or critical analyses, and speculative systems imagining alternative futures for human-AI interaction.

Guided by readings ranging from technical explainers and case studies to essays, journalistic articles and creative works, we will explore how knowledge and imagination intersect in the design and deployment of intelligent systems, which ask for our attention, creativity and responsibility as they reshape the human world. 

Investigate how language informs the ways that we interpret and care for art today. Through close looking, discussion and shared writing prompts, we explore the ways in which writing guides the public’s understanding of visual culture. We also will examine the roles of art historians, critics and curators in communicating meaning to different audiences.

Working directly with artworks in The Gund and the Blick-Harris Study Collection, you will connect writing to curatorial practice and exhibition design. With a focus on writing that communicates ideas concisely and helps visitors navigate artworks with clarity and confidence, you will develop projects such as: ekphrastic object descriptions, gallery wall labels, exhibition statements, and guided tour presentations.

Conversations with guest writers and a field trip to an art museum will demonstrate how description and curation become forms of active arts stewardship.

Investigate how writers and scientists observe, interpret and re-envision the environments we inhabit. Through observation, experiment, analysis and interpretation — practices shared in the writing and scientific fields — we probe the complexities of the natural world. Starting from a foundation of facts, we will take creative leaps into a realm of wonder, mystery and awe inspired by our changing planet.

During the week, you will produce original work across multiple genres, including: lyric essays rooted in field observation, speculative narratives inspired by environmental change, and hybrid pieces blending research and storytelling.

Guided by readings ranging from scientific reports to fiction and poetry, we will explore how knowledge and imagination intersect to shape compelling narratives about the world around us.