PERFORMANCE: STUDIES IN ART, IDENTITY, AND CHANGE -- Rosina Miller

Have you ever acted in a play? Have you ever sung or played an instrument for family or friends? What about this: Have you ever told a story to a group of friends? Have you ever participated in a religious ceremony, a fraternity or sorority initiation rite, or a graduation? Have you ever felt conflict among the various roles you play, for example those of daughter/son, sister/brother, friend, student, citizen, or employee?

We are all performers in the broad sense of the word. We all routinely engage in behaviors that are reflexive, self-conscious, and repeatable to some degree, behaviors that reveal our beliefs, values, and the ways we enact our culture. As noted anthropologist Victor Turner says, "Every type of cultural performance… is explanation and explication of life itself. Through the performance process, what is normally sealed up, inaccessible to everyday observation and reason, . . . is drawn forth."

This course explores performance as an object of study, as well as a method and a metaphor for learning more about ourselves, others, and the culture(s) in which we live. We will investigate forms of performance embedded in everyday social life-such as role-playing, storytelling, and rituals-as well as artistic performances, by using ourselves and the city as resources and by attending various local performances of theater, dance, and music. We will also experience performance practically by participating in workshops led by various local performers. Using various critical approaches, we will explore our experiences of performance, examining in particular the ways in which identities are constructed and represented, subjectivities are formed and enacted, and cultural norms are challenged and transformed. Questions to be addressed include the following: How do we engage and interpret the various performances we experience in everyday life and on stage? How do our senses of identity and our interactions with people different from ourselves inform these experiences? What roles can creativity and performance play in the exploration of social issues? How are performers in everyday life and on stage resisting dominant ways of thinking ad empowering themselves and others to transform their lives? How can we draw on our own life experiences to construct a performance? What risks and rewards are involved in sharing our stories with others and, in turn, carefully listening to the stories and concerns of others?