Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0286 - Presenting the Performing Arts

Recognizing the importance of multicultural education and outreach, arts organizations, funders, and community groups are increasingly focusing on the public presentation and documentation of community-based music and other performing arts for general audiences. This course will introduce students to the basics of arts administration and public presentation of the arts. While we will focus primarily on music and musical performance, we will also consider theater, dance, performance art, and other other cultural expressions and organizations. Students will learn the basics of applied work, including grant writing and fieldwork methods (interviewing, conducting oral histories, and making audio and video recordings) and will conduct fieldwork towards completing a semester-long ethnographic project on a music community or an arts organization in the Pioneer Valley. Students will also complete required weekly reading assignments and several short writing assignments that examine issues of representation, class, race, power, and ethics in the context of public presentation of the arts.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Prerequisites: Prior college-level coursework in music, ethnomusicology, anthropology, ethnography, or cultural studies. Students are expected to spend 8-10 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.