Theater and Dance 245 - Performance and Race

Spring
2021
01
4.00
Ana Candida Carneiro, Jenna Riegel
TTH 01:30PM-02:50PM
Amherst College
THDA-245-01-2021S
WEBS 122
acarneiro@amherst.edu; jriegel@amherst.edu

How do artists invent, reinvent, reinforce, or challenge racial identities through performance? Can race and racism be thought of as performance? What can citizen-performers do to construct a broader and more equitable social narrative? In this course, we will explore key concepts in performance and race studies, and consider them alongside intersecting identities, such as gender, sexuality, class, and disability. We will examine the work of modern and contemporary theater and dance artists of color, such as Suzan-Lori Parks, Larissa Fasthorse, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bill T. Jones, Eiko & Koma, Ananya Chatterjea, Miguel Gutierrez, and Ni’ja Whitson, through a lens of racially-defined aesthetics. We will also inquire into the ethics of art-making processes by encountering a variety of perspectives and practices shared by guest artists. In addition to reading, writing and discussion, this course will include creative practices to support the embodied understanding of course concepts. 

This course will be conducted primarily in person, supported by appropriate technology. Options for online-only participation will be available for those students unable to participate in person.

Spring Semester. Professors Carneiro and Riegel.
Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.