Sem: T-Travel & E. Asia

This course explores the treatment of travel within the literary traditions of China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Students read texts from the premodern era to the present day that portray different forms of travel including religious pilgrimages, political exile, colonialism, emigration, study abroad and tourism. Situating these texts within their specific cultural and historical contexts, the course considers how these literary journeys reconfigure such notions as space and time, nature, identity and home. All readings in English translation.

Colq-T-HonglouMengRedChamber

This course focuses on exploring and comprehending human nature through The Dream of the Red Chamber, a well-known Chinese novel also known as The Story of the Stone. It delves into the various themes and issues presented in the book, including fate and human will, art, gender, philosophy, religion, love, social class and politics, by examining the lives of thirteen protagonists, including Baoyu and the Twelve Beauties.

Mod Korean Lit in Translation

This course is a survey of modern Korean literature from the 1990s to the present. It charts the formal and thematic development of Korean literature by examining how literature illuminates Korea's history and politics. The class engages in the close reading of medium and full-length fictions in English translation, while considering their historical and cultural contexts.

Modern Japanese Literature

A survey of Japanese literature from the late 19th century to the present. Over the last century and a half, Japan has undergone tremendous change: rapid industrialization, imperial and colonial expansion, occupation following its defeat in the Pacific War, and emergence as a global economic power. The literature of modern Japan reflects the complex aesthetic, cultural and political effects of such changes.

Production & Management

First-year MFA students enroll in this course to fulfill the graduate dance production requirement (usually stage managing a dance concert). Enrollment in DAN 507 takes place in the semester when the student completes the dance production assignment, as scheduled by the faculty.

First Year Performance

First-year MFA students enroll in this course to fulfill the graduate performance requirement. Enrollment in DAN 505 takes place in the same semester as the performance. The requirement is met by participating in the choreography of a Five College Dance Department faculty member (including guest artists) or an MFA thesis. Students must attend the respective auditions.

Adv Studies: Contact Improv

In this course students engage throughout the semester both in the practice of contact improvisation (CI) and the study of its history from 1972 till the present. The class studies how CI has become a world-wide phenomenon, how it has evolved on different continents and regions, and how its participants have navigated issues of power, sexuality, race, identity and culture. Students consider the ecosystems of CI classes, jams and performances; CI in academia; and CI in relationship to professional dance training, aesthetics, and performance. All levels. Enrollment limited to 20.

Advanced Ballet 1

Advanced study of the principle and vocabularies of classical and contemporary ballet. Registration is allowed after passing a placement exam at the start of the academic year. Classes move at a rapid pace. A demonstrated understanding of body alignment and turnout are expected, along with directions of the body, the use of port de bras, and advanced “bravado” steps. Emphasis is placed on musicality and an embodiment of performance style. Pointe work is optional in class, at barre and center, with the instructor’s permission. May be repeated up to three times.
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