DANCE 3126 - The Moving Body in Media and Performance

(crosslisted)
(also THETR 3126) # (LA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

J. Chu and B. Suber.

An interdisciplinary history/theory/criticism course focusing on the role of the moving body in dance, theatre, film, art, architecture and urbanism, emphasizing the ways in which bodily movement vocalization and gesture perform as non-linguistic modes of communication and cultural spatialities. The body will also be considered and brought into question as the source of performative production and the locus of perception in both visual and non-visual forms of expression. Particular attention will be directed to the use of abstraction and to role of process in the creation of body-centered works. This class will follow conceptual rubrics over historical chronologies and will change foci each semester dependent on shifting interests in the fields of inquiry, availability of visiting instructors from various fields including and moving beyond those mentioned above, programming of cultural events and changing trends in the theoretical market. Examples of conceptual rubrics may include topics such as utopia, narrative impulse, technology, comparative modernities, political and social theory, to name a few possibilities. Attendance to live performance, film screenings, music concerts, museum visits and architectural and urban site visits will be required. Additional credit or co-curricular practical components that engage with the work done in this class will be offered as optional. This course will be team taught by Byron Suber and Jumay Chu and will engage with guest speakers from numerous fields of inquiry.