Topics in English and American Drama: 19th Century American Drama

DRAMA 5125

Throughout the 19th century, the American theatre was an important site for forging and contesting public consensus on issues such as representative government, linguistic sovereignty, Indian policy, slavery, class mobility, women's rights, and civic responsibility. In this course, we will read plays from the "long" 19th century--from Royall Tyler's_The Contrast_ (1787) to Percy MacKaye's _St. Louis Masque and Pageant_ (1914)--considering them in light of contemporary cultural debates in order to arrive at a sense of how the theatre both reflected and shaped popular attitudes toward such issues, while providing a stage on which to model American identity. Satisfies the Nineteenth Century requirement.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; FA HUM

Topics in English and American Drama: 19th Century American Drama

DRAMA 4340

Throughout the 19th century, the American theatre was an important site for forging and contesting public consensus on issues such as representative government, linguistic sovereignty, Indian policy, slavery, class mobility, women's rights, and civic responsibility. In this course, we will read plays from the "long" 19th century--from Royall Tyler's_The Contrast_ (1787) to Percy MacKaye's _St. Louis Masque and Pageant_ (1914)--considering them in light of contemporary cultural debates in order to arrive at a sense of how the theatre both reflected and shaped popular attitudes toward such issues, while providing a stage on which to model American identity. Satisfies the Nineteenth Century requirement.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; FA HUM

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED HIP HOP

DANCE 4040

Over the past fifty years, Hip Hop has transformed not only the professional dance landscape, but also global popular culture. This movement-based studio course expands upon the fundamentals of Hip Hop dance to develop more intermediate and advanced-level technique. Students will develop an understanding of hip hop movement aesthetics and approaches through warmup, across-the-floor exercises, phrase work, choreographic studies, and class discussions. Through supplemental readings, viewings, and written response papers, students will also gain greater depth and breadth of knowledge about the history and culture of the form. Prerequisites: Beginner-Intermediate Hip Hop or equivalent prior experience, with permission from the instructor.
Course Attributes: AS HUM; EN H

Independent Work

DRAMA 500

Prerequisite: permission of the department. Credit to be determined in each case.
Course Attributes:

Performance and Culture

DRAMA 3309

The field of Performance Studies looks carefully at the production and transmission of knowledge from a range of vantage points. This includes the written word, but it also pays special attention to embodied practice, to the built environment, and to digital spaces. In this course we will focus on performance as a form of cultural expression and as a site of cultural exchange across a variety of contexts-from staged productions to acts of everyday life. We will use performance theory to analyze sports events as ritual performances and as platforms for social change. We will think about how monuments perform, how they not only construct often contentious stories about the past but also create opportunities for dialogue. We will privilege the body as a site and method of performance to think in intersectional ways about race, gender, sexuality, citizenship, and religion. As an interdisciplinary and practice-oriented course, we will reflect critically and imaginatively on the work of anthropologists, scholars of race and ethnicity, visual artists, and performance theorists.
Course Attributes: AS HUM; EN H

High Intermediate Ballet II

DANCE 5170

A course designed for the high intermediate dancer in preparation for 4281/429. Emphasis on placement, movement quality and musicality. Related readings and projects supplement the classical vocabulary. Prereq: B+ or better in 221, 222, 321, 322, 415 and/or permission of instructor.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM

Presence in Performance: Alexander Technique and Mindful Movement for Performing Artists

DANCE 5150

This course provides group and individual instruction in principles and methods from Alexander Technique and other somatic arts for training mindful, embodied presence in performance. Mindful movement techniques are widely used by professional dancers, actors, and musicians to enhance performance skill and to address/prevent injury and chronic pain. Through a workshop process of guided learning, students gain awareness of subtle inefficiencies in coordination and balance that cause pain and limit ability. Students gain ability to self-assess and adjust problematic movement patterns to improve freedom and expression. Alexander Technique works at fundamental levels of movement coordination, and its methods are applicable to all performing art genres. Training is tailored to each individual student's needs, skills and goals. This course involves experiential learning supported with related readings, discussion, personal research projects and presentations. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; also open to undergraduate students studying at the 400 level in their discipline with permission of instructor.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM

Advanced Theater for Social Change

DRAMA 5402

This course is a continuation of exploration begun in Drama 4081, Theater for Social Change: a prerequisite for this advanced course. Students will expand from exploring their own experience with oppression to facilitating that exploration with others. Students will be introduced to the "Joker" system, developed by Brazilian director Augusto Boal. The Joker is the director of a forum theater event. He leads both the exploration and play-making phases of the process. In preparation for stepping into this role, students will read Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed which will give them a foundation in the power and efficacy of collaborative educational techniques. In addition, students will read Theatre for Living, Canadian director David Diamond's book detailing his application of Boalian techniques in a less overtly oppressive society. Students will begin their practical exploration by first working with one another, learning how to lead exercises and games, followed by an exploration of play making and the facilitation of an interactive forum theater event. The course will culminate in an outside project in which each student is placed with a St. Louis area school or social organization. The student will apply skills he has acquired throughout the semester by serving as the "Joker" of the workshop. In this role, the student will lead the entirety of the workshop process with a selected group exploring ways of effecting positive social change in a theatrical context. He will facilitate exercises with the group that mine a chosen area of oppression with which the group is grappling. The student will guide play-making with the group that highlights this area of oppression. The resulting plays will then be presented to the larger school or organization community. This culminating event will be an interactive forum theater presentation that the student will lead as "Joker."
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; AS SD I; FA HUM; AR HUM; AS SC; FA CPSC

Performing Gender and Sexuality in America

DRAMA 5311

This course examines how the performance of gender and sexuality has shaped the social, cultural, and political history of the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present. While performance happens in everyday life, we will primarily focus on how the stage has been a potent space to debate issues about gender and sexuality. This course will put forth the argument that the stage has historically not only reflected broader social concerns, but also actively helped to shape those social dynamics. After an introduction to foundational ideas, we will start the semester with minstrelsy, signaling that the performance of gender and sexuality in America is deeply intertwined with race, class, and national belonging. Reading and viewing assignments bring together feminist theory, queer theory, American social history, and performance texts to build robust seminar discussions.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; BU BA; AS HUM; AS SD I; FA HUM; AR HUM; AS SC; FA CPSC