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; $3,000 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 winter, 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 Part-Time 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.