GE Cluster 23A,B,CW
Inside the Performing Arts: Interdisciplinary Explorations of Performance in Society and Culture
| Lecture Schedule: | Monday, Wednesday 1:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. – Northwest Auditorium |
| Faculty: | Robert Winter, Music Emma Lewis Thomas, World Arts & Cultures Ali Jihad Racy, Ethnomusicology |
This cluster explores performance in its various forms (both Western and global) including theater, music, dance, ritual, pageant, and circus. Limited to 126 students, the course introduces participants to the nature of performance (in theory and practice); to the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which performance traditions have evolved; to both historical and contemporary definitions of performance and the performer; to the relationship between the audience and the performer as defined by different cultural models; and to the “idea” of performance as art.
Course Format
There are two lectures each week. In order to accommodate the inclusion of performances by guest artists, excerpts from videotapes, slides, and the playing of live and recorded music, each lecture lasts one hour and fifty minutes. In addition, students also participate in a weekly two-hour discussion section working with performing arts teaching fellows to acquire a critical language for describing and analyzing performance.
Students are also required to attend a number of designated performances and events at different venues in the Los Angeles area. Full details, including the name and date of each performance, will be announced in class. Attendance is mandatory. During the winter quarter, students will also participate in a number of class events at the Getty Museum. Students are assessed a course materials fee (Fall $110; Winter $107; Spring $90) on their BAR accounts each quarter to cover costs of tickets for attendance at mandatory performances and museums to be announced by the instructors, transportation to and from performances and museums, in-class guest artist fees, and dance and performance workshops. These fees are in addition to and do not replace the Instructional Enhancement Fee.
Spring Seminars
Students in a number of the spring seminars are actually engaged in the production of a performing arts event. In addition to these performance centered seminars, Performing Arts students have enrolled in courses that addressed some of the following topics:
- Explorations of Singing, Drumming, and Dancing in Society
- Experimental Theater
- Constructions of Women in Opera
Foundation Area General Education Credit
Upon completion of the entire cluster, students will satisfy 3 course requirements in the following GE areas: 2 courses in the Foundations of Arts and Humanities (1 in Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice and 1 in Literary and Cultural Analysis) and 1 course in the Foundations of Society and Culture—Historical Analysis.
