Expressive Arts: 1999-2000 Programs

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African Music, Dance and Culture
Building Character
Dance and Culture
East Wind, West Wind: Chinese Culture in Global Context
The Empty Stage: A Theater Intensive
Foundations of the Visual Arts
I Am a Camera
Interrogations: Whiteness, Maleness and the Morality of Wealth
Mediaworks
Movement, Masks and Metaphors
Music and Dance of Brazil and the Caribbean
Shelter: Eco-Design in the Real World
Sources
Student Originated Studies: Media
Student Originated Studies: Performing Arts
Student Originated Studies: Visual Arts
Temperate Rainforests: Studies in Ecology and Visual Arts
Tropical Rainforests
Twentieth Century Cinema
Visual Manipulation: Utilization of Print Processes in Contemporary Art
What Is to Be Experimental Music Now?
Working Small

African Music, Dance and Culture

Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Terry Setter
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $50 for overnight field trip.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Overnight field trip.

This program will explore the relationship between the arts and daily life in West Africa by learning the music and dance of the region while coming to better understand the cultures that create them.
This program will be divided into lectures, book seminars, instructional drumming workshops and a weekly dance workshop. Readings will consist of books on West African culture, music and dance such as African Rhythm and African Sensibility by Chernoff. A one-page research paper on a topic of each student’s choice will be due for each seminar meeting and a final research paper of five pages or more will be due at the end of each quarter. Program members will present their final research papers orally to the other members of the class. They also will participate in a public performance of West African “Gahu” drumming and dance.

  • Credit awarded in cultural studies, music performance, dance performance, African history and ethnomusicology.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in music, dance and anthropology.

Building Character

Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Ruth Hayes
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing with two quarters experience in Expressive Arts or equivalent. Previous animation or drawing experience is not necessary but work in interdisciplinary studies involving humanities, social sciences or sciences is strongly preferred.
Faculty signature: Yes. Students must complete a written application describing previous experience in interdisciplinary studies and arts. The application will be available in April, 1999 from Academic Advising or the program secretary.
Special Expenses: $150 for art/media materials.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

Cartoon character animation is the best known genre of animation. It is a staple of children’s entertainment and has recently regained a presence in adult popular culture not seen since the 1950s. However, non-cartoon genres of character animation also exist and may provide clues as to how one may caricature personalities without resorting to degrading or clichéd stereotypes. In this two-quarter group contract, students with art, animation, performance and/or media experience will explore the arts and industry of both traditional and nontraditional forms of character animation. These studies will include the social, economic and political conditions affecting animation production and aesthetics. From this work students will develop their own approaches to expressing character for individually and collaboratively produced animated film or video.

Students will learn character animation production skills and techniques through extensive drawing assignments, workshops in acting, mime or puppetry and animation design problems in various media. As animation is an inherently interdisciplinary art form, we will investigate character-centered works from the visual and performing arts, literature and live-action cinema through readings, lectures and screenings. Students will also research and write critiques of character studies from these different disciplines.

Cartoons offer laughter, escape and sometimes guilty pleasure. In the guise of entertainment, they may propagandize, advertise products, exploit audience alienation or articulate resistance against dominant culture. We will analyze these various functions of animated works in the context of the cultures from which they spring and the audiences for whom they are produced. We will pay special attention to the political implications of representions based on ethnic, class, gender or other stereotypes and work to express character in more innovative and creative ways.

  • Credit awarded in introduction to character animation, history of animation, animation theory and analysis, drawing, writing for animation.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in arts, animation, media, visual and performing arts, communications and humanities.

Dance and Culture

Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Ratna Roy
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior standing; previous study in performing arts or equivalent.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Performance and workshop tickets in winter; $2,500 for travel to India in the spring.
Part-time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: Travel to India for ethnographic fieldwork.

The program will study the anthropology of dance as an academic branch of learning and the value of approaching the study of culture through one of humankind’s basic activities: dance. Although the art form of dance has been too often maligned and trivialized in Euro-American culture, it has been, in most of the world throughout most of history, a powerful force in the life of the human community. In the fall, we will examine how one looks at and defines dance in ways that respect its place in its own culture; we will also study specific forms from several different cultures. In addition to theoretical readings, there will be workshops by guest artists in different forms of dance. Students will select one dance form to examine in greater depth. The emphasis will be on reading, writing, understanding of ethnographic work and research rather than studio work in the winter. In the spring, we will go to India, live with dancers and complete a piece of ethnographic writing. It is not necessary to be a dancer to enroll in this program.

  • Credit will be awarded in dance history, cultural studies, ethnographic writing and performance studies.
  • Total: Winter, 8 credits; spring, 16 credits. Winter quarter students have the option of taking any dance course they want for 8 credits. Ratna Roy will teach two 4 credit courses in Evening and Weekend Studies: Hindi Language and Orissi: Intermediate and Performance Dance. Students intending to go to India are encouraged to take the Hindi course.
  • Program is preparatory for careers in dance, performance studies, anthropology, history, cultural studies and education.

East Wind, West Wind: Chinese Culture in Global Context

Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Rose Jang, Andrew Buchman
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing; Core program or equivalent.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $60 for Chinese music concerts and theatrical events.
Part-time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Field trip to Seattle area for concerts and events.

The winds of change currently blowing in China are affecting cultural traditions that are amazingly old and well-preserved. Our goal during fall term will be to become familiar with the basic components of Chinese culture: history, philosophy, literature and performing arts. In addition, small groups will pursue areas of special interest and present their research to the program, expanding our survey.

East, west, south and north of the “Middle Kingdom,” accounts and aspects of Chinese culture have spread around the globe, growing and hybridizing with other cultures. During winter quarter, we will examine the global impact of Chinese culture, from its profound role in neighboring nations for many centuries, through stories by European and American travelers, to contemporary works by Chinese American composers and playwrights who examine the character of Chinese culture through postmodern eyes and ears. Again, student groups will pursue special studies and present their work. Together we will gain a crucial understanding of the most populous culture on earth.

  • Credit awarded in Chinese history, Asian history, Asian-American history, philosophy, literature and performing arts.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for career and future study in Asian studies, cultural studies and performing arts.

The Empty Stage: A Theater Intensive

Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Ariel Goldberger, TBA
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: One year of a coordinated
studies program.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $210 for theater tickets, makeup, costumes and field trips.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Overnight field trips.

This theater intensive program will prepare participants to undertake more-advanced, interdisciplinary and experimental studies of theater. Students will explore the practical and theoretical aspects of contemporary professional theater in this country, focusing on the Euro-American theatrical tradition. Theater will be studied as a laboratory of the human experience, a mirror of society and an art that reflects social and political contexts. The program will address the poetics of the stage and the politics of representation. Expect to spend a minimum of 40 hours per week in class, in rehearsal or backstage.

Studies will cover dramatic literature whose origins range from Ancient Greece to contemporary America and Europe. We will read and research plays written by playwrights of different national, cultural and ethnic origins, focusing on American and European theater. We will include dramaturgical research and readings on the history and theory of theater to place the plays in cultural and political context. When possible, we establish connections between the theater, different currents of thought and art movements. Spring quarter, we will explore 20th century dramatic theory and the politics of representation. Students will develop collaborative skills, a theatrical vocabulary, critical skills and writing skills.

Participants will attend skill-building workshops that include acting, dramaturgy, movement, stage combat, design (scenic, costume and lighting), scenic crafts, writing, collaboration and technical theater. Guest artist workshops will provide different outlooks on particular topics. Videos and films documenting theater work will be shown and discussed. To familiarize participants with all aspects of the theatrical collaboration, all will be required to gain experience on stage, backstage and in scenic and costume shops.

On-stage work will include an informal play reading in the fall, a staged reading in winter and a faculty-directed public production at the end of the program. We will travel to productions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and in Seattle and Portland.

Students wishing to pursue intermediate, experimental and contract work in the theater are strongly encouraged to take this program.

  • Credit awarded in theater, theater history, theater theory, acting and design for the stage.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in theater, performing arts, liberal arts.

Foundations of the Visual Arts

Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Lucia Harrison, TBA
Enrollment: 44
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and the completion of a coordinated studies program.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Students wishing to enter FOVA should bring a portfolio of their work, which will be used to assess whether a student’s skill level is beyond that covered in an entry-level visual arts program, and a writing sample to Lucia Harrison at the Academic Fair, May 12, 1999 or to the advising sessions held two weeks prior to the fair. Students should contact the program secretary to confirm acceptance into the program by Monday, May 17, 1999.
Special Expenses: $300 for art supplies.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

In the fall, this program will introduce students to a wide range of drawing methods and materials. It is an opportunity for beginning art students to acquire new skills and form a grounding for future work in the arts. Students will develop a visual arts vocabulary, refine visual analytic capacity, acquire basic mechanical skills and gain a historical perspective through a survey of art history. Everyone will complete weekly studio projects designed to help students learn how to make creative and personal images in response to difficult visual problems. Students will develop a working process whereby they take charge of their own image making. Each week, students will work in the studio a minimum of four hours per day and participate in weekly life drawing classes, critiquing sessions, seeing seminars and art history lectures.

In the winter, students will continue a survey of art history and develop new technical skills in painting, printmaking, digital imaging and two-dimensional design. The first half will focus on skill building and color, two-dimensional design exercises and the second half will help students continue to develop a working process to explore personal thematic ideas and work in series. Students will also increase their understanding of the lives and issues faced by contemporary artists and explore the social context in which art is made. Students will participate in weekly studio classes, art history lectures, critiquing sessions, seeing seminars and visiting artist lectures.

This is a full-time program. Students should expect to work a minimum of 40 hours per week in the studio and attend art history and visiting artist lectures in the evening.

Credit awarded in drawing, painting, sculpture, design, art history and aesthetics.
Total: 16 credits per quarter.
Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in art, education, humanities.

Foundation of the Visual Arts: Sculpture

Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: TBA
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. Fall and winter quarters of Foundations of Visual Arts.
Faculty Signature: Yes, with a faculty interview.
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for art supplies and materials.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

Spring quarter of FOVA will introduce students to the technical, design, historical and aesthetic considerations of contemporary sculpture. Emphasis will be on experimentation with form and materials, imaginative applications of ideas and development of personal imagery. All students will also be expected to take the four-credit Art History course.

  • Credit awarded in introduction to sculpture, three dimensional design and art history.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in the arts and humanities.

I Am a Camera

Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Paul Sparks
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior standing, solid writing skills, college-level work in the visual or media arts and a sense of humor. A portfolio containing a writing sample and other creative work is due at the Academic Fair, May 12, 1999. Transfer students should contact faculty in advance of the fair.
Faculty Signature: Yes
Special Expenses: At least $200 for photographic supplies.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This program explores the nature of images and narratives. Students will make photographs, read good books and look at films. In fall quarter, we will make our own images and use them as texts in a cross-disciplinary dialogue about creativity and how audiences shape artists and vice-versa. In the winter, each student will complete a short graphic novel or the first draft of a feature-length film script. Previous college-level photographic experience is not necessary for success in this program, but good writing skills are a necessity.
This is an intensive program aimed at the student who wants to do serious work. Both the expectations and the workload will be higher than normal. Successful completion of the fall quarter is a condition for participation in winter quarter.

Credit awarded in black-and-white still photography, creative writing, art history, aesthetics and literature.
Total: 16 credits.
Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in the arts and humanities, photography, studio art, film making, creative writing and informed life.

Interrogations: Whiteness, Maleness and the Morality of Wealth

Fall/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Angela Gilliam, Ratna Roy
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior standing
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This program will examine a body of Third World theory and First World thought that interrogates Western concepts and social relations of Capitalism. It will use the lens of the dominated to describe society and social relations, exploring globalization of the economy and the reinvestment in patriarchy; internationalization of American paradigms about race; the growing struggles between nationalisms and ethnic renewal; international sex trade as a problem of migration, human rights and the struggle for meaningful work; and other themes. The readings will include subaltern studies from South Asia and critical race theory by theorists such as Richard Delgato, Mari Matsuda, Patricia Williams and Kimberle Crenshaw. The program will also examine the languages of political theater, dance and film as the voice of the subalterns.

  • Credit awarded in anthropology, cultural studies, development theory and gender theory.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in social science and law.
  • This program is also listed under Social Science.

Mediaworks

Fall, Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Anne Fischel, TBA
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above. Successful completion of course work involving critical reading and writing and/or work in visual arts, media, music or performance.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Students submit a written application plus copy of previous evaluation and self-evaluation, or transcript. Applications will be available by mid-April and can be picked up from the program secretaries in COM 301 or the Academic Advising office. Written application is due Friday, May 7, 1999. Students will be notified of acceptance by program secretary.
Special Expenses: $100-$300 each quarter for film and video materials and post-production fees.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship possibilities: Yes, during spring quarter.
Travel Component: None

Mediaworks is the entry-level program in film and video production, history and theory. Our focus is on the nonfiction image, a broad category that includes documentary, experimental film, installation, video art, autobiography and mixed-genre work. In Mediaworks, as in all moving image programs at Evergreen, we stress the linkage of theory and practice, analyze the politics of representation and work to support each student’s development of a critical perspective on image-making.

Mediaworks is a flexible program that responds to current issues in production and theory. In 1999-2000 our focus will include both documentary and experimental film and video. In addition to studying film, video, television and audio production, students will make installations and experiment with performance techniques. Themes and genres explored will include: experimental video and the linkages between art and video movements, autobiography, documentary, activist and community-based film and video, feminist theory and practice, and alternative representations of race, class, gender and sexual orientation in film and video.

In fall and winter, students will acquire production skills and produce short projects in a variety of media. Screenings and seminars will help them develop critical viewing skills and explore current and historical issues of visual representation. Students will be expected to do extensive research on a significant filmmaker or film movement and present their research verbally and in writing. In spring quarter each student will have the opportunity to produce an extended independent project.

Students should expect to work collaboratively on projects consistent with the focus of the program. Technical instruction will include: pre-production design, cinematography, lighting, film and video editing, sound recording and post-production strategies. We will pay attention to the process as well as the product of media production, with emphasis on experimentation, screening work in progress, group discussion and critique, and the development of individual critical and aesthetic perspectives.

Evergreen students wishing to apply for this program should complete an application (available at the program secretary’s office or Academic Advising by mid-April), and an evaluation and self-evaluation from a previous Evergreen program. Transfer students should submit the application and a transcript. All applications and support materials are due by Friday, May 7, 1999. In considering applications we look for evidence of critical reading and writing skills, interest in the arts or media, willingness to engage in intensive study and research, commitment to non-fiction production and willingness to work collaboratively.

  • Credit awarded in film history, film theory, film production, video production,
    installation, performance and art history.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in media, visual arts and communications.

Movement, Masks and Metaphors

Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Doranne Crable
Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing. All students must have completed a full coordinated studies program in the arts or humanities or equivalent.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Interview and portfolio review during winter 2000.
Special Expenses: $75 for mask-making materials, makeup, costuming and program-related expenses not covered by program budget.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

Poetry, movement and the mask have long-standing importance in the creative and spiritual traditions of many cultures. It has been observed by many people that our most profoundly moving and learning experiences elicit expressions in silence, motion and “non-rational” sound. This is what we will explore for a quarter.

This multifocused program integrates the study of poetry, mask-making, performance and Laban-based movement. Poetry will be selected from both Western and non-Western sources, providing the foundation on which we will build verbal and nonverbal expression through performance. We will consider the mask, historically and creatively, as an expression of poetic metaphors in various cultural contexts; we will explore Laban-based movement as the vehicle that integrates poetry and mask. Workshop components will focus on creating minimalist poetic images and simple masks. Although no previous choreographed movement, creative writing or 3-D visual arts training is required, it is essential that participants have experienced collaborative work, studies in literature, and introductory performance theory and practice.

Among the poetry we will consider are 10th and 11th century Japanese tankas; songlines from indigenous communities in several cultures; American poets; sacred invocations to deities and “enlightened” human beings; and lyrics to contemporary and non-contemporary songs in various languages. We will concentrate on the rhythms, phrasing and spatial harmonies of sound and motion through intensive workshops in Laban movement, adding the voice-as-accompanying-or-imitating instrument. Inner-dialogue work, “drawing from the landscape” exercises, meditation, observation exercises and listening explorations will constitute our skills development activities. Assigned poetry will provide the focus for the skills development. Collaboratively designed performances will occur throughout the quarter, in both in-house and public venues, culminating in three evenings of performance at the end of the quarter, either on the campus or in a theater in the wider community.

Guest artists and performers will facilitate workshops and interactive training in the first half of the quarter, offering insights and experiences in mask-making, stilt-building, instrument making, non-Laban movement and poetry.

A book list will be available at the Academic Fair, May 12, 1999.

  • Credit awarded in Laban movement (effort, space harmony and fundamentals), cultural studies in the mask and individual skills in performative/technical theater).
  • Total: 12 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in arts and humanities.

Music and Dance of Brazil and the Caribbean

Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Sean Williams, TBA
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: This all-level program accepts up to 25 percent first-year students; Core program or equivalent; previous work in music or dance.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $50 for retreat. Students must pay by the second week of class.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Three-day retreat.

The Caribbean and Brazil have a rich and varied history of performing arts, set in a context of economic tension, colonialism and slavery. In this program we will use approaches from the fields of ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology (the study of culture through music and dance, respectively) to explore some of the dynamics of culture and power in the diaspora. We will also examine the historical events that led to the development of samba in Brazil; the spiritual and musical links between Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería, Brazilian Candomblo and their sources; and important social and ritual connections in dance and movement. This program is not for the academically faint of heart; we expect students to commit to a significant reading load and to dedicate themselves to active, hands-on rehearsals of dance and music. In addition, each student will write a 10-page research essay on any aspect of the performing arts in the diaspora, and participate in a three-day intensive performance retreat.

  • Credit will be awarded in ethnomusicology, dance and culture, music and dance of the Caribbean and music and dance of Brazil.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in ethnomusicology, dance, anthropology and folklore.
  • This program is also listed under First-Year Programs.

Shelter: Eco-Design in the Real World

Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Rob Knapp, TBA, TBA
Enrollment: 72
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program accepts up to 25 percent first-year students.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Three-day in-state field trips fall and winter quarters, approximately $35 per trip, payable by week three of each quarter; four-day field trip to Oregon spring quarter, approximately $50, payable by week one of the quarter.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: Yes, with faculty signature.
Travel Component: In-state and out-of-state field trips.

What are ecologically sound homes and workplaces for real, present-day human beings. We will pursue this question by combining large visions with solid foundational knowledge.

The heart of the program is designing: homes and workplaces must be imagined before they can be built. A yearlong design studio will teach relevant skills and knowledge through a series of small and large projects.

For some students, this may mean participating in the design of specific real-world buildings, such as Evergreen’s new Seminar II classroom building, an appropriate-technology house at the college’s Organic Farm, a possible expansion of Housing or a youth hostel for downtown Olympia. We are arranging the program to make this involvement easy and productive.

Other students may focus more on off-grid living; Third World needs, waste management, energy, alternative materials such as straw, earth or recycled tires, the technological visions of people like Buckminister Fuller or Amory Lovins, the whole systems understanding of Lynn Margulis and others, or the social visions of Boston’s Dudley Street Project.

As vital background to designing, students and faculty will do readings, lectures, seminars, library research and site visits on two major themes: human needs, wants and hopes; and nature’s processes, within which human life must take place.

Both students and faculty will develop their facility in graphics, structural and environmental analysis, modeling, literature searching on and off-line, group problem solving and effective writing.

This program actively seeks students from a variety of levels, backgrounds and interests. The problems of ecological design are too big to be solved or even understood by any one kind of person. Be ready to participate energetically, to learn from fellow students as well as faculty, to share skills and insights generously. Some program activities will be organized according to level; others will be shared by all.

  • Credit awarded in design studio, natural science, humanities and social science. Upper-division credits will depend on student background and performance.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in design professions, environmental studies, community development, social science, humanities and natural science.
  • This program is also listed under First-Year Programs, Environmental Studies and Scientific Inquiry.

Sources

Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Marilyn Frasca
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Amount varies with scope of student project.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This group contract will provide an opportunity for intermediate and advanced students to produce work in drawing, painting, printmaking or writing and to examine the sources that still guide our decisions about the content and form of our work. We will investigate sources drawn from autobiographical material that may include our political attitudes and beliefs and the myriad of cultural influences that affect our creative work. Activities will include weekly intensive journal workshops, book and sources seminars and work discussion critiques. Students will be expected to produce and present their own work at the end of the program and to identify and study the life context of an artist or writer whose work they believe to be a major influence.

  • Credit awarded in the area of student work, writing and humanities.
  • Total: 12 or 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future study in arts and humanities.

Student Originated Studies: Media

Fall, Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Sally Cloninger (F), TBA (W), Ruth Hayes (S)
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, Mediaworks or equivalent.
Faculty signature: Yes, portfolio review.
Special expenses: Depends on the nature of student projects.
Part-Time Options: Yes
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: None

SOS: Media is for junior or senior students only. Students are invited to design their own small group contracts in aspects of media production, design, writing, history or theory and to collaborate with media faculty in three different versions of the program during the 1999-2000 academic year. SOS groups could be organized around a collaborative production, a theme, a critique group, etc. Successful groups in the past have involved a one-quarter experimental television production group, an animation critique group, a senior film collective and a screenwriting group.

To be considered, you must have completed at least one quarter of Evergreen program work. This is not the place to do beginning studies in media. It should be seen as an opportunity for students who share similar skills and common interests to do advanced work that may have grown out of previous academic projects and programs. Remember, this is not a class that you just sign up for (although you will register in SOS with a faculty member’s signature), you must gather a group of like-minded students and design the class yourselves with help from the faculty sponsor.

To be considered for this advanced program you should have also successfully completed Mediaworks (the entry-level program in media studies at Evergreen) or its equivalent (i.e., approximately a year of media skill training, media history and media theory) and have a portfolio that contains copies of recent faculty evaluations, a sample of your writing and a VHS tape with two examples of your best work in film or video.

Sally Cloninger will be reviewing applications for SOS: Media (fall and winter) during May 1999 and November 1999. Ruth Hayes will be reviewing applications for SOS: Media (spring) during February 2000.

  • Credit awarded in media studies and production.
  • Total: 8-16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in media, film, video and communications.

Student Originated Studies: Performing Arts

Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Bud Johansen
Enrollment: 12
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. Foundations of Performing Arts or equivalent college-level work in music, theater or dance.
Faculty Signature: Yes, performance experience will be assessed at an interview with faculty no later than the first week of the quarter.
Special Expenses: Production costs will depend on project; expenditures for such things as costumes, makeup and prop materials may be required.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This group contract will help students accomplish their goals in the performing arts by providing an all-program seminar and critique of participating students’ works.

Each student will arrange an in-house contract with the sponsor that focuses on some form of performance, i.e., musical theater production, music ensemble, theater production, etc.

The faculty will direct the seminar and critique sessions with strong input by the students; will aid and assist in the productions as needed; will have close contact regarding the creative process; and will critique the projects.
Students will need the skills to work collaboratively on projects that they will develop and produce. All students will share their works in progress each week for reactions and helpful critiques by the group.

  • Credit awarded in performing arts according to each student’s project. (Credit will reflect the type of work done by each student and may vary depending on his or her role in the project.)
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future study in performing arts and arts management.

Student Originated Studies: Visual Arts

Fall, Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Marilyn Frasca, Joe Feddersen
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and one quarter of previous full-time study at Evergreen.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will review student portfolio of visual work to assure student’s skill preparation for work on his or her own.
Special Expenses: Amount varies with scope of student projects.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

Student Originated Studies is a place in the curriculum where groups of students may make their own program of study. It differs in this important way from Individual Learning Contracts: It is not an aggregation of individual contracts. The process of forming a group of advanced students and “organically” developing an academic program is challenging and time-consuming. It is excellent preparation for the kind of support groups artists form after leaving the structure of academic life.

Groups of students will develop, design and submit plans for each quarter. The group must involve no more than six students and no fewer than four. The submitted proposal must include: a program description and a goals statement; ten weekly schedules with activities such as reading lists, seminar/discussions, critique, visitors, studio time, field trips, etc., including meeting times and places; a rough draft of a covenant describing the shared responsibilities and obligations that is signed by all students in the group (with addresses and phone numbers); a description of and schedule for the mid-quarter and end-of-quarter peer evaluation process; and adherence to the deadlines of the planning process.
Submit plans for fall quarter to Marilyn Frasca (Lab I) by the end of the fifth week, April 30, 1999. Submit plans for winter quarter to Joe Feddersen by the end of the fifth week of fall quarter, October 29, 1999.

  • Credit awarded in the area of student work.
  • Total: 12 or 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future study in arts and humanities.

Temperate Rainforests: Studies in Ecology and Visual Arts

Fall/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Nalini Nadkarni, Susan Aurand
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior standing; one year of ecology/natural history course work, desire to learn drawing skills.
Faculty Signature: Yes, submit one-page letter outlining: relevant courses/programs, work/internship experience and reasons for taking the program, including the names of references (preferably Evergreen faculty) to either Nalini Nadkarni, Lab II or Susan Aurand, Lab I, by May 7, 1999. Students will be notified of acceptance at the Academic Fair or by mail.
Special Expenses: Approximately $220 for overnight field trip and art supplies.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: In-state field trips.

Temperate rainforests are a poorly understood and highly valued ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the world. They support a complex and interconnected web of life that encompasses a tremendous diversity of biota, including humans. In Temperate Rainforests, we will learn about ways of understanding these ecosystems using a variety of contemporary approaches in ecology and natural history and drawing. Our focus will be on the ecology and aesthetics of rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula. We will also examine how temperate rainforests have been understood through art, particularly of the native cultures of the forest. We will make our own images expressing our understanding of and relationships to the forest. Students will undertake an independent study project that combines science and art. The program will go on an extended field trip to the Olympics to study biological and aesthetic aspects of temperate rainforests.

  • Credit awarded in forest ecology*, drawing, natural history and art history/aesthetics.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program preparatory for careers and future study in forest ecology, arts and humanities.
  • This program is also listed under Environmental Studies.

Tropical Rainforests

Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: John Longino, Susan Aurand
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, one year of college-level science, previous college-level art experience preferred but not required.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Students will submit an application during fall quarter of the 1999-2000 academic year. It will contain: (1) an essay addressing fulfillment of the prerequisites, interest in the program, background knowledge in organismal biology, and whether they wish to be considered for the Costa Rica field trip; (2) an evaluation from a previous science program; and (3) the name and telephone number of a previous instructor. Assessment will be based on writing skills and knowledge of organismal biology. Costa Rica field trip selection (24 students maximum) will be based on interviews at or before fall Academic Fair. Students who cannot be on campus can arrange telephone interviews.
Special Expenses: Art supplies: $150. Costa Rica field trip: $700 airfare, $900 for food, lodging, transport in Costa Rica.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Optional three-week field trip to Costa Rica at end of winter quarter.

This program will focus on tropical forests from both scientific and artistic perspectives. Tropical ecosystems are home to most of the world’s biodiversity, and our understanding of the origins and maintenance of this diversity relies on principles of community ecology, evolution and biogeography. At the same time, images of tropical rainforests have been a powerful inspiration for artistic expression, and aesthetic concerns are strong motivations for conserving tropical forests. The program is designed for advanced science students and requires no previous experience in the arts. Skill-building will include technical scientific writing, quantitative analysis of diversity data, drawing, scientific illustration and visual literacy. This program is a successor to Temperate Rainforests, although Temperate Rainforests is not a prerequisite. Faculty will lead an approximately three-week-long field trip to Costa Rica at the end of the quarter, with an enrollment limit of 24. Students who cannot go on the field trip will carry out independent activities on campus. Admission to the program will be by application.

Admission to the field trip will be by interview. Assessment will be based on writing skills, background knowledge in organismal biology and evidence of a genuine interest in combining advanced science and art studies. This program contains an optional two-credit support course in conversational Spanish.

  • Credit awarded in tropical biology*, art history, aesthetics.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental studies, ecology, conservation biology, arts and humanities.
  • This program is also listed under Environmental Studies.

Twentieth Century Cinema

Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Sally Cloninger
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: This all-level program accepts up to 25 percent first-year students; basic college-level competency in writing.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Part-Time Options: No
Internship possibilities: No
Travel component: None

This one-quarter group contract will examine milestones in the history of the 20th century’s most influential art form: the movies. Beginning with the origins of the apparatus of cinema, we will examine the cultural and historical context of each decade of the last century as we study how the film form was transformed by social events, aesthetics, economics and the force of individual personality. We will focus our work primarily on the film director, studying a film by an influential director each week. Program activities will include screenings of feature films and short oppositional works, lectures on cinema history, seminars and study group meetings.

Of course, we will also be concerned with the acquisition of a critical perspective on film. To this end, students will be expected to write weekly critical essays and to complete a quarter-long research project on a 20th century film director. The quarter will conclude with a symposium at which time students will lecture on their director and present a film of their choice to the entire program. (Note: prospective students will need to arrange their schedules to attend class every day and evening for the final week of spring quarter). In addition, students will complete biweekly projects in film studies including storyboards, single frame analysis and character sketches. Students will also make oral presentations on 20th century social history.

Weekly readings will include excerpts from a history of the 20th century, a film history text (such as Gerald Mast’s A Short History of the Movies), and texts that speak to the decade as well as the film of the week (i.e., novels, screenplays and works of nonfiction). Our seminars will be concerned with the weekly films and these contextual readings. Possible directors for our study include: Charles Chaplin, Yasujiro Ozu, Frederico Fellini, Ida Lupino, Orson Welles, Satyajit Ray, Dorothy Arzner and Marlon Riggs.

  • Credit awarded in film history, film analysis and media literacy.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in the arts and humanities.

Visual Manipulation: Utilization of Print Processes in Contemporary Art

Fall/Group Contract
Faculty: Joe Feddersen
Enrollment: 18
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; Foundations of Visual Arts or equivalent.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Art supplies, approximately $100.
Part-time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

Visual Manipulation is an intermediate/advanced visual arts program designed to examine the interplay of printed matter in contemporary arts and build skills related to the printed image. A discussion of related texts and articles interweaves current topics into the program. Students will keep a journal documenting the development of intellectual and creative work, outlining central concepts from the program texts and documenting the stages of the creative process. The first part of the quarter consists of a series of printmaking workshops and the last five weeks is open to the development of a related body of work. Interested students need to submit a portfolio. Portfolios encompass a writing sample and examples of artwork. Foundations of Visual Arts or equivalent is required. Some knowledge of printmaking is advisable, though not required. This is an excellent opportunity for visual arts students to engage in an intensive period of theoretical study with ample time allotted for personal explorations using a variety of print media.

  • Credit will be awarded in art history/theory, cultural studies and printmaking.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in visual arts.

What Is to Be Experimental Music Now?

Fall, Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Arun Chandra
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing; one year of college-level study in music.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Portfolio review and interview with faculty member.
Special Expenses: $75 for tickets to concerts and performances.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

“MUSIC”
The art of preserving relationships against their content.
“IS TO BE”
Not “What has been,” nor “What is,” but what is not yet, and so needs us to become it.
“NOW”
Neither bygone nor anticipated glories, but an alluring trepidation with the intensity of “Hic Rhodus, hic salta!”
“EXPERIMENTAL”
Not yet supported by existing facts and truths.
“WHAT”
The result of our makings, thinkings, resistings, passions and becomings: what is not yet is to be our “what.”
We will read about, listen to, talk around, compose toward and perform experiments in musical composition. We will listen to lots of compositions written in the past 40 years and discuss the contexts in which those pieces were once experimental and whether they remain so.

One of the questions that we will discuss: Now, at the end of the 20th century, when capitalism boasts of its triumph, what must art be so that it resists the appeal of its commodification?

Readings on related subjects in contemporary music history and aesthetics will be drawn from the works of Roland Barthes, Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Jacques Attali, Susan Buck-Morss and others.

Class meetings will be divided into lectures, seminars, listening sessions, rehearsals and workshops. Students will be expected to take a related course (such as Music Theory or Computer Music) to complete their 16 credits of study.
As well as making performances, we will attend performances of new music as they occur. A strong emphasis in the program will be projects composed and performed by groups of students in the class.

  • Credit awarded in music performance, music composition, music history and experimental music.
  • Total: 12 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in the arts.

Working Small

Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Jean Mandeberg
Enrollment: 18
Prerequisites: Foundations of Visual Art or equivalent college-level experience in design, drawing and sculpture (which might include woodworking, fiber arts, metalworking, fine metals or ceramics).
Faculty Signature: Yes. Portfolio review and interview at the Academic Fair, May 12, 1999. Transfer students can mail a slide portfolio and statement of interest to Jean Mandeberg, Lab II, prior to May 12, 1999. Jean will post acceptance list on her office door after the Academic Fair.
Special Expenses: Students can expect to provide art materials, including precious metals and nonferrous metals, and specialized tools and supplies needed to accomplish a series of small scale works.
Part-Time Options: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This is a two-quarter program for advanced visual art students interested in the particular demands of making small scale art in jewelrymaking, metalsmithing and mixed-media sculpture. Working primarily in the Fine Metals Studio, we will combine intensive studio work and critique with design research, writing, seminars and readings on contemporary craft, art and folk art.

Students must be prepared to confront the artist’s and audience’s experience of small-scale artwork while considering such issues as the cultural values associated with scale, miniaturization, the intensification of form, imagination, mobility, technical precision and craftsmanship.

Students will learn to express their ideas through appropriate materials in small-scale to take advantage of this unique viewpoint.

  • Credit awarded in metalsmithing and jewelrymaking, sculpture, issues in contemporary art and art history.
  • Total: Fall quarter 16 credits; winter quarter 14 or 16 credits. Winter quarter students may enroll in the two-credit course The Artist’s Portfolio.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in arts and humanities.
*indicates upper-division credit