Inclusive Option

Chairman and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Inclusive Option:

David Bevington, G-B 510, 702-9899, bevi@uchicago.edu

Committee Office and Secretary in the Inclusive Option:

Ellie Orr, G-B 101, 702-8032

Theater and Performance Studies Option

Chair of the Theater and Performance Studies Option:

David Levin, Wb 126, Cl 25F, 702-8532, dlevin@uchicago.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theater and Performance Studies

Option: Heidi Coleman, RC 304, 834-9153, coleman@uchicago.edu

Interdisciplinary Studies College Adviser:

Lewis Fortner, HM 286,702-4858

Theater and Performance Studies Administrator:

Heidi Thompson, RC 301,702-9315, hnthomps@uchicago.edu

Web: humanities.uchicago.edu/depts/ishu

Program of Study

The Bachelor of Arts degree program in the Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities offers qualified undergraduates the opportunity to shape an interdisciplinary plan of course work centered in, but not necessarily restricted to, study in the humanities.

The Committee, formerly known as the Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, was reconstituted and renamed in 2003. The first reason for the change was to stress the interdisciplinary focus of the program. The second reason for the change was to accommodate two options: (1) an "inclusive option" emphasizing various aspects of interdisciplinary study and (2) a "theater and performance option."

To be considered for admission to this B.A. program, a student must submit a written proposal. The application process is designed to make clear in each individual case what interdisciplinary fields are to be related to one another and what method of comparative analysis is suited to such an approach. The program descriptions that follow include application deadlines.

Inclusive Option

Students should discuss plans and proposed courses with both the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Interdisciplinary Studies College Adviser. These meetings will help students evaluate the available courses of study to arrive at a balanced and coherent interdisciplinary plan.

In preparation for the B.A. essay, all students in their final year will enroll in a course taught by the B.A. essay preceptor, The Critical Essay: Research, Composition, and Revisions (ISHU 29801). This consists of a series of five seminars in Autumn Quarter, and is offered Pass/Fail only. While it does not generate course credits toward the major, it is a formal requirement of the program unless an exemption is granted for unusual circumstances. Over Winter and Spring Quarters, students with thematically or methodologically related projects typically continue to meet in smaller workshops for writing support and peer review. Each group convenes twice in the winter and once more in the spring, at which times members distribute and discuss new work from their essays. Although students will not register for these workshops, they are a crucial part of the B.A. process that is overseen by the preceptor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. All students who are writing their B.A. paper are expected to register for both ISHU 29801 and 29900.

Program Requirements: Inclusive Option

Completing the Inclusive Option Worksheet available in G-B 101 will ensure that the student's program of study meets the following five distribution requirements:

(1) Six courses in a primary field or in closely integrated subject areas in more than one field.

(2) Four courses in a secondary field or in closely integrated subject areas in more than one field.

(3) Three courses in a supporting field or combination of fields.

(4) A sequence or group of two courses that emphasizes intellectual approaches, or scholarly and critical methods germane to a student's particular interdisciplinary course program.

(5) One course devoted to the preparation of the B.A. paper or project (ISHU 29900). A faculty member of the student's choice will supervise the development of the B.A. paper. This faculty member need not be drawn from the Interdisciplinary Studies faculty. The Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Inclusive Option will assist in finding a suitable faculty director, and will also be a resource in advising on the development and writing of the B.A. paper. Similarly, a preceptor (typically a graduate student with interdisciplinary expertise) will also be available to help at every stage, teaching the series of seminars (The Critical Essay, ISHU 29801) in the Autumn Quarter and leading the small workshops in the Winter and Spring Quarters.

Any one of the fields listed under numbers 1, 2, and 3 in the preceding paragraphs may be drawn from outside the humanities. The sequence of two courses described in number 4 must be from the humanities offerings. Commonly, this sequence consists of ISHU 23900 (Criticism: Art, Artist, and Audience) and one course in criticism and philosophy.

The rationale for the proportional distribution of courses specified in the guidelines is twofold: (1) to ensure that students are given substantial exposure to more than one aspect of humanistically centered inquiry, and (2) to cultivate a level of sufficient competence in at least one field so that this field, alone or in combination with material learned in other fields, can serve as the basis for the B.A. paper or project.

Summary of Requirements: Inclusive Option

6 primary field courses

4 secondary field courses

3 supporting field courses

2 critical/intellectual methods courses

1 ISHU 29900 (B.A. paper)

Sample Programs: Inclusive Option. While the potential for developing individual B.A. programs in Interdisciplinary Studies is as great as the combined ingenuity, imagination, and interest of each student in consultation with his or her advisers, there are identifiable patterns in the choices of fields and lines of inquiry currently being implemented in the Committee. The most prominent of these include the following:

(1) Study in philosophy and literature (as six- and four-course fields with either literature or philosophy emphasized) to investigate differences in handling concepts and language in philosophy and literature and/or mutual influence between the two fields.

(2) Study in verbal and nonverbal art forms and expressions (art and literature; and music and literature) leading to consideration of the implications of the verbal and nonverbal distinction for interpretation and criticism.

(3) Study in the history, philosophy, language, religious expression, and literary and artistic productions of a given culture or of a given historical period within one or more cultures. Examples include American studies, the Renaissance, or Greece (and the Mediterranean) in the preclassical and classical ages.

(4) Study in humanistic fields (e.g., literature and philosophy) and in a social science field (e.g., sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science). This option is particularly adapted to a focus on gender studies. Please note, however, that the College offers a major in Gender Studies.

(5) Study of modern culture in its various aspects of popular and elite forms of cultural expression.

(6) Study in humanistic approaches to biological or physical science. This option is particularly adapted to interest in problems or aspects of intellectual and cultural history (e.g., the impact of Newtonian physics on eighteenth-century European thought) or to study of modern society and science's role within it (medical ethics being one possible focus among many).

(7) Study in human rights in relation to one or two humanistic disciplines such as philosophy, literature, or history.

Application: Inclusive Option. Students who are interested in this option should make application to the Committee as soon as possible upon completion of general education requirements (typically by the end of the second year and, except in extraordinary circumstances, no later than the end of Autumn Quarter of the third year). Transfer students in particular are urged to apply at the earliest point that they can, given the large number of courses required for the Interdisciplinary Studies B.A. program. An application is initiated by securing an interview with the Chair of the Inclusive Option, and with the Interdisciplinary Studies College Adviser, to discuss the feasibility of shaping and implementing a given set of interdisciplinary concerns into a course of study for the B.A.

After consultation, students who wish to pursue an application to the Committee must submit a two-part written proposal. The first part consists of a personal reflective statement of about one thousand words in length, explaining the character of their interdisciplinary interests and stating as thoughtfully as possible how they propose to channel and expand them within course offerings currently available. Some consideration of prospects and possibilities for a B.A. paper or project is a desirable part of these statements, if it can be provided. The second part of the application consists of a proposed list of courses to fill the headings given in the above set of guidelines. In addition to considering the substance and workability of a proposed program, the Committee generally requires a B average in preceding course work.

Grading: All courses in the major must be taken for quality grade.

Note: The zero-unit ISHU 29801 is graded P/F. Since this is a non-credit course, it is usable neither in the major nor as an elective.

Honors: Inclusive Option. To be eligible for honors, a student must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher. Honors are reserved for the student whose B.A. paper shows exceptional intellectual merit in the judgment of the faculty adviser, the Chair of the Inclusive Option, and the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division.

Advising: Inclusive Option. This program emphasizes clarity as well as flexibility in the shaping of each student's interdisciplinary plan of course work and B.A. paper. Accordingly, we encourage discussion at an early stage of the student's career and, indeed, throughout the course of study. Close contact with advisers (including the Interdisciplinary Studies College Adviser, the Chair of the Inclusive Option, the graduate student preceptor, and the faculty adviser of the B.A. paper) is essential in a program that involves so much individual initiative and experimentation.

Faculty: Inclusive Option

R. Austen, D. Bevington (Emeritus), T. Cohen, B. Cohler, C. Faraone, M. Hansen,
D. N. Rudall, J. Scodel, M. Siegler, M. Silverstein, H. Sinaiko, J. Snyder, W. Veeder,
C. Vogler, K. Warren

Inclusive Option Courses:

Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities (ishu)

21900. Russian Culture. (=HUMA 24400, RUSS 24400) This course takes a detailed look at aspects of Russian culture not usually examined in Russian literature courses. Specific topics vary from year to year and are chosen from areas such as the visual arts and architecture, iconography, film, religion, music, dance, opera, the folk arts, and memoiristic writing, in addition to literature. For more information, consult the departmental office in Winter Quarter. Texts in English. Spring.

22400/32400. Introduction to Russian Literature II: 1850 to 1900. (=HUMA 24000, RUSS 25600/35600) This course is a survey covering the second half of the nineteenth century. Major figures studied are Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Leskov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, and Chekhov. Representative works are read for their literary value and against their historical, cultural, and intellectual background. Texts in English. N. Ingham. Winter.

22600/32600. Introduction to Russian Literature I: From the Beginnings to 1850. (=HUMA 22600, RUSS 25500/35500) This course is a survey of major writers and works from the mysterious "Igor Tale" to the middle of the nineteenth century. Major figures covered are Derzhavin, Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, and Turgenev. Texts in English. L. Steiner. Autumn.

22800/32800. Rhetorical Theories of Legal and Political Reasoning. (=HUMA 21400, LLSO 22400, SOSC 22400) This course uses Plato's Gorgias to raise the question of whether practical thinking is possible and considers responses to this question by such writers as Aristotle, Cicero, and Machiavelli. We study the methods and concepts that each writer uses to defend the cogency of legal, deliberative, or more generally political prudence against explicit or implicit charges that practical thinking is merely a knack or form of cleverness. W. Olmsted. Winter.

23100/33100. Introduction to Russian Literature III: Twentieth-Century Russian Literature. (=HUMA 24100, RUSS 25700/35700) This is a survey of major writers, works, and movements from 1900 to the present day. Special attention is paid to the development of modernism and post-modernism in Russian literary culture. Writers include Bely, Bunin, Platonov, Nabokov, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, and Pelevin. All readings in English. Class discussion encouraged. R. Bird. Spring.

23500-23600. Multimedia Programming as an Interdisciplinary Art I, II. (=CMSC 11000-11100) PQ: MATH 10600, or placement into MATH 13100, or equivalent; or consent of instructor. Either course in this sequence meets the general education requirement in the mathematical sciences. Like other classic Chicago core courses, this sequence provides students with both practical programming skills and core ideas in computer science in interdisciplinary applications. Our ideas of the arts, the character of "images" and "texts," and the ways we form communities are being transformed by the conjunction of media and computing (e.g., QuickTime, scripting). Students program on an Apple Macintosh using an advanced programming language. This course presents techniques of problem solving, program coding, algorithm construction, and debugging using a high-level prototyping environment. We treat programs as genres of argument. W. Sterner. Winter, Spring. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

23700/33700. Austin. (=PHIL 23900/33900) Our readings are in the works of J. L. Austin, mainly How to Do Things with Words, and essays related to those lectures. If time permits, we consider later developments in the works of Grice and Cavell, among others. T. Cohen. Autumn.

23702. Introduction to Interactive Logic. (=CMSC 11200) PQ: MATH 10600, or placement into 13100, or equivalent. Some experience with computers helpful. This course does not meet the general education requirement in the mathematical sciences. This hands-on course presents logic as a concrete discipline that is used for understanding and creating human-computer technology in the context of science, technology, and society. We look at computer science, logic, philosophy, aesthetics, design, and the study of technology, as well as at the software packages of Tarski's World and possibly HyperProof. No programming skills are assumed, but those with some programming background do projects with HyperCard, a Computer Assisted Design package, Prolog, or other software. The course continues in the same spirit as CMSC 11000-11100, but they are not prerequisites. W. Sterner. Spring. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

23800/33800. The Thought of Hannah Arendt. In this course, we consider all of Arendt's major works: The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, On Revolution, Eichmann in Jerusalem, and The Life of the Mind, as well as several of the shorter essays. Our focus is on the central concepts of her thought: action, revolution, thought, power and violence, freedom, and totalitarianism. One major concern is to assess the significance and success of her attempt to interpret twentieth-century experience in the traditional terms of classical thought. H. Sinaiko. Winter.

23900/33900. Criticism: Art, Artist, and Audience. The diversity of critical theory and practice derives from a more fundamental diversity of views about the nature of a work of art and its relations to the artist, the audience, and the world. This course focuses on four contrasting but seminal statements on the nature of art and the kind of criticism appropriate to it: Aristotle's Politics, Plato's Phaedrus, Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy, and Croce's Aesthetics. H. Sinaiko. Autumn.

23901. Lolita. (=RUSS 23900) M. Sternstein. Winter.

24002/34002. Nabokov's Early Novels. (=RUSS 24001/34001) Knowledge of Russian not required. R. Bird. Winter.

24701/34701. Narrative in Fiction and History. (=CMLT 20900/30900, HIST 23701/33701, RUSS 24700/34700) Class discussion encouraged. R. Bird. Spring.

25350. Utopias. (=ARTH 22804, BPRO 25300, ENGL 25302, HUMA 25350) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. We live in a post-utopian world—so some people would argue, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But what does it mean to say that the end of one experiment in reorganizing human relations toward the good life equals the end of all such experimentation? This course surveys significant moments in utopian practice, choosing case studies from among Plato's Republic, Sir Thomas More's Utopia, national experiments, utopian communities, socialism, technophily, new social movements, radical conservatism, and fundamentalisms. We focus on literature and art, including music, painting, architecture and urbanism, and film and digital media. L. Berlant, R. Zorach. Spring. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

26201. On Love: Cultural and Psychological Perspectives. (=BPRO 26100, HUDV 24103, HUMA 24102, ISHU 24102) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. This course explores the nature of love and love relationships from humanistic and social scientific perspectives. Readings and presentations include classic philosophic and literary works (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare) as well as modern writers (e.g., Freud, Tillich, DeRougemont). We focus first on the qualities that characterize the phenomenon of love in general. Then, more specifically, we examine psychological, social, and cultural aspects of romantic love. Lectures and class discussions may be supplemented by cinematic materials. D. Orlinsky, K. Mitova. Winter.

26302. Essaying the Essay. (=CMLT 26300) This course explores the complex relationship between the personal essay and other forms of self-revelation, notably autobiography. Examining self-reflective essays from a variety of cultures and time periods, we shall trace the theme of friends as dialectical others against whom individuals define themselves. Our investigations will lead us to a provisional definition of the essay genre and its unique placement between fiction and non-fiction. Authors to be read include: Cicero, Montaigne, Bacon, Rousseau, Emerson, Barthes, Kenko, Han Yu, Ouyang Xiu. R. Handler-Spitz. Spring.

26303/36303. Theories of Vision. (=SLAV 26100/36100) In this theory-intensive course we reassess the interdisciplinary framework of vision and gaze through readings of Ortega y Gasset, Gombrich, Barthes, Foucault, Pollock, Sontag, Lacan, Zizek, Bryson, and others. We investigate historical (mystical, romantic, naturalist, symbolist) construals of vision and gaze against their contemporary notions, in particular, those articulated in literature, painting, cinema, and photography. B. Shallcross. Spring.

26901/36901. Narratives of Suspense in European and Russian Literature and Cinema. (=CMLT 22100, CMST 25102/35102, HUMA 26901/36901, SLAV 26900/36900) The phenomenon of suspense is central to narrative and has broad implications for narrative theory. We examine its workings in readings by authors including A. Conan Doyle, R. L. Stevenson, Mary Shelley, Graham Greene, and Samuel Beckett. Special attention is given to suspense as a philosophical issue in the works of Fedor Dostoevsky. Consideration is also given to suspense in the cinema (i.e., Hitchcock, Godard, Bresson). Theoretical readings (i.e., Todorov, Barthes, Ricoeur) comprise a veritable introduction to narrative theory. Class discussion encouraged. R. Bird. Winter.

27502/37502. Innocence and Insight in the Novel: F. M. Dostoevsky and Henry James. (=RUSS 27501/37501) L. Steiner. Autumn.

27650. Creation and Creativity. (=ANTH 27610, BPRO 27600, HUMA 27600, SOSC 28601) PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing. This seminar explores several creation stories from anthropological, literary, philosophical, and psychological perspectives. We compare the accounts of the beginning in Genesis, Hesiod's Theogony, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Bhagavad Gita, the Maya's Popol Vuh, and other sources (e.g., Native American). We explore the ways cosmic creation has been imagined in world culture. (Are there universals? What is culturally specific?) We also delineate human literary creativity and ask about the relationship between individual creativity and the cultural myths of creation. We consider at least one modern theory of the beginning of the universe. P. Friedrich, K. Mitova. Spring.

27701. Codes, Cultures, and Media. (=HUMA 27701, LLSO 21502) As organizations of cultural knowledge, codes create not only means of communicating but also infrastructures for communication. In our globally networked societies, digital media and technologies generate new forms of messages for us to encode and decode as well as develop new public and private environments for communications. We compare cultural case studies of earlier electronic media (telegraph, radio, television) with the re-mediating influences of digital media (computers, software, cyberspace, cellphones) on cross-cultural conceptions and practices of property, democracy, and the commons. M. Browning. Winter.

27900/37900. Kafka in Prague. (=CZEC 27700/37700, GRMN 29600/39600) The goal of this course is a thorough treatment of Kafka's literary work in its Central European, more specifically Czech, context. In critical scholarship, Kafka and his work are often alienated from his Prague milieu. The course revisits the Prague of Kafka's time, with particular reference to Josefov (the Jewish ghetto), Das Prager Deutsch, and Czech/German/Jewish relations of the prewar and interwar years. We discuss most of Kafka's major prose works within this context and beyond (e.g., The Castle, The Trial, and the stories published during his lifetime), as well as selected critical approaches to his work. M. Sternstein. Winter.

27901/37901. Jan Svankmajer and Contemporary Surrealism. (=CMST 26701/36701, CZEC 27900/37900) The animator of Prague, Jan Svankmajer, is one of the greatest living advocates of Surrealism as a modus vivendi. This seminar-style course studies intensively his life work, from film shorts such as Dimensions of Dialogue to feature films like the recent Conspirators of Pleasure and Little Otik, to his "tactile poems" and collages. We also read interviews with Svankmajer and his colleagues, essays on contemporary Surrealism, and critical works on the theory of the "neo-avant-garde" and the cultural situation of avant-garde art in East/Central Europe. M. Sternstein. Spring.

28501-28502-28503. Civilisation Européenne I, II, III. PQ: Advanced knowledge of French. Enrollment in Paris study abroad program. Two of the three courses in this sequence may be counted toward major requirements in ISHU. Classes conducted in French. R. Morrissey. Autumn.

28505/38505. Czeslaw Milosz and (His) Ideologies. (=POLI 28500/38500) Milosz's writings abound in both overt and covert ideological claims. His overt ideologies oscillate between catastrophism and Marxism, cosmopolitanism and provincialism, and religious and environmental thought. We conduct close readings of his poetry, in conjunction with his essays and fiction, to reveal developments and inner workings of his ideologies. This course is designed for those who do not trust all the claims poets openly make in their texts. Theoretical readings include works by Harold Bloom, Paul de Man, and Slavoj Zizek. Class conducted in Polish. B. Shallcross. Winter.

28700/38700. Human Rights I: Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights. (=HIST 29301/39301, HMRT 20100/30100, INRE 31600, LAWS 41200, MAPH 40000, PHIL 21700/31600) This course addresses the following questions. First, what is a right? How are legal rights different from moral rights? What does it mean to say that someone has a right? How distinctive are rights (are they simply equivalent to duties)? Second, what is the relationship between rights and duties? How should rights be compared with bringing about the best overall results? Is there an important difference between so-called civil and political rights, on the one hand, and social and economic rights, on the other? Third, what is the best way to respond to moral disagreement? Is moral relativism a coherent response to diversity? Is there a connection between moral relativism and tolerance? Do we need a foundation for human rights? M. Green. Autumn.

28800/38800. Human Rights II: History and Theory of Human Rights. (=HIST 29302/39302, HMRT 20200/30200, INRE 36400, LAWS 41300, LLSO 27100) This lecture course is concerned with the history and theory of the modern human rights regime. It sets out to answer some simple question: Why should anyone want or need human rights? Why did certain nations in the eighteenth century and the community of states in the twentieth century find it necessary to institute regimes of human rights? Along the way, we explore the similarities and differences between natural law, human rights, civil rights, and humanitarian law. In contrast to triumphalist accounts that speak of an "age of rights," we are concerned with the tenuous nature of human and, for that matter, civil rights regimes. We wonder what happens in times and in situations when there are no human rights to speak of or when rights are gerrymandered to fit prevailing political and cultural conditions. M. Geyer. Winter.

28801/38801. Polish Postwar Poetry. (=POLI 28800/38800) In a seemingly simple and casual manner, postwar Polish poetry speaks of defeat, resistance, and doubt in the face of history only to evoke later a wide array of lyrical worlds. In this vein, we explore poetic tensions (between politics and metaphysics, distance and intimacy, tradition and experimentation) through close readings of works by Aleksander Wat, Tadeusz Rozewicz, Wislawa Szymborska, Zbigniew Herbert, Miron Bialoszewski, Adam Zagajewski, Piotr Sommer, and others. B. Shallcross. Autumn.

28900/38900. Human Rights III: Contemporary Issues in Human Rights. (=HIST 29303/39303, HMRT 20300/30300, INRE 57900, LAWS 57900, PATH 46500) This course examines the main features of the contemporary human rights system. It covers the major international treaties, and the mechanism (international, regional, and national) established to implement them. We also discuss the uses and limitations of the international treaty system, as well as the relationship between international obligations and domestic implementation. Legal and medical concepts are applied to topics such as torture, political repression, war crimes and genocide, refugees, women's rights, children's rights, violations of human rights within the United States, and medical ethics. S. Gzesh, B. Dohrn. Spring.

29200. Introduction to Ethics. (=HIPS 21000, PHIL 21000) This course covers two broad questions about ethics, drawing on contemporary and classical readings. First, what does morality require? What kinds of acts are right and wrong? To what extent can we think systematically about that kind of question? Second, what is the status of morality? Moral beliefs seem to be subjective in a way that more straightforwardly factual beliefs are not. What, exactly, is the difference between these two kinds of beliefs? How should we think and argue about morality if there does seem to be a subjective element to it? What should we think and do when confronted with a society whose members have very different moral beliefs than our own? M. Green. Spring.

29401/39401. Bodies, Things, Objects: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry. (=POLI 29400/39400) Knowledge of Polish not required. This course investigates the fascination that post-war Polish writers, poets, and painters share for objects through their excessive presence or pervasive absence. We discuss construals of things as the other, fluctuations of intimate ownership of things versus consumerism, and reification and commodification of bodies. Our exploration of the object-world is put in the context of abstract painting, material culture, phenomenology, existentialism, anthropology, and recent thing discourse. This is a theory intensive course. B. Shallcross. Winter.

29600. Web Design: Aesthetics and Languages. (=CMSC 10000) M. Browning. Winter. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

29700. Reading Course. PQ: Consent of faculty adviser and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29801. The Critical Essay: Research, Composition, and Revisions. Required of fourth-year majors. This zero-unit, non-credit course is graded on a P/F basis only. M. Hofer. Autumn.

29900. Preparation of the B.A. Project. PQ: Consent of faculty adviser and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Theater and Performance Studies Option

Chair of the Theater and Performance Studies Option:

David Levin, Wb126, Cl 25F, 702-8532, dlevin@uchicago.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Theater and Performance Studies

Option: Heidi Coleman, RC 304, 834-9153, coleman@uchicago.edu

Theater and Performance Studies Administrator:

Heidi Thompson, RC 301,702-9315, hnthomps@uchicago.edu

The Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) option in ISHU seeks to animate the intersection of theory and practice in the arts. The program is multiply comparative, requiring that its students acquire facility in the practice of two media (e.g., theater, film, video, dance, music, creative writing) while gaining fluency in the critical analysis of those media. To this end, students receive training in both performance practice and analysis, acquiring the fundamental tools for artistic creation while developing a nuanced and sophisticated vocabulary with which to analyze creativity. In this way, the program aims to contest the ready separation of academic theory and artistic practice or, for that matter, theorists and practitioners.

The program is designed to be flexible (to afford students as much latitude as possible in pursuing their particular interests) and exacting (to guarantee the development of comparative practical skills and rigorous analytic capacities). Students should work closely with the Director of Undergraduate Studies and with the preceptor assigned to the program, in shaping an individual course of study that reflects the student's interests while fulfilling the program's interdisciplinary and comparative requirements. The student's faculty adviser on the B.A. project (see below) will provide additional direction during the senior year.

Program Requirements:

Theater and Performance Studies Option

Students in the ISHU-TAPS program must meet the following requirements:

(1) The language requirement is the same as that specified by the College for completion of the B.A. degree.

(2) Six courses in theory and analysis, encompassing the history, theory, aesthetics, and analysis of theatrical and/or performance practice. One of these will be the core seminar that introduces theater and performance studies (ISHU 19000). The rest of the courses in the theory and analysis rubric may be selected from the ISHU-TAPS course offerings listed below or from related course offerings in the College. Ideally, at least four of these courses will be taken from members of the faculty or resource faculty in TAPS. Course selection is subject to the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

(3) Six courses in artistic practice. Of these, no more than four will include the student's primary medium; at least two will include a qualitatively different medium. Many of these courses will be found in the practical course offerings of ISHU-TAPS listed below, as well as the course offerings in the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies, the Committee on Creative Writing, the Committee on Visual Arts (COVA), and the Department of Music, among others. Students may need to supplement these course offerings with individually designed "reading" courses. Here, too, course selection is subject to the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

(4) Two courses devoted to the preparation of the B.A. project. One course, to be taken in the student's third year of studies, will typically encompass the specific technical or conceptual problems to be addressed in the B.A. project. The second course will be the ISHU-TAPS B.A. colloquium, to be taken in the student's fourth year. The colloquium will meet biweekly in the Autumn Quarter and weekly in the Winter Quarter. Students must attend both quarters, but may register for it only once.

Critical Paper: Theater and Performance Studies Option. As the first step in completing B.A. requirements, students must complete a critical paper by spring of their third year that engages critical issues that would become the foundation for the fourth-year performance project. This paper would typically be completed in the context of the Performance Studies Seminar.

B.A. Project: Theater and Performance Studies Option. As the culmination of an undergraduate program combining aesthetic theory and practice, B.A. projects in Theater and Performance Studies will encompass both performance (e.g., directing a play, choreographing a dance performance, shooting a film) and analysis (e.g., B.A. paper).

B.A. project proposals are subject to the approval of the Chair of the Theater and Performance Studies Option and are supervised by a faculty member selected by the student. Selecting a B.A. project adviser from the core and resource faculty in ISHU-TAPS is encouraged but not required.

A preceptor (typically a graduate student with special expertise in theater and performance studies) assigned to the program will serve as a supplementary resource and adviser for all B.A. projects, working with students on the mechanics of writing and providing tutorial assistance.

The problems addressed and encountered in the B.A. project will be further explored in the ISHU-TAPS thesis colloquium taken during the student's fourth year. Deadlines for the B.A. project, assuming spring graduation date, are as follows: a completed draft by the end of Winter Quarter, the final draft by Friday of fifth week in Spring Quarter for honors consideration, Friday of eighth week in Spring Quarter for graduation.

Summary of Requirements:

Theater and Performance Studies Option

1 TAPS seminar (ISHU 19000)

5 theory and analysis courses

6 artistic practice courses

2 courses encompassing supervision

__ of a B.A. project (ISHU 29800 and 29900)

Application: Theater and Performance Studies Option. Students wishing to enter the program should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Spring Quarter of their first year or as soon as possible thereafter. Students must apply to the program by the end of their second year or, in extraordinary circumstances, no later than the end of Autumn Quarter of their third year. Participation in the program must be declared to the Director of Undergraduate Studies before registration.

Honors: Theater and Performance Studies Option. Eligibility for honors requires an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher, a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the courses taken for the Theater and Performance Studies major, and a B.A. project that is judged by the first and second readers to display exceptional intellectual and creative merit.

Faculty Members: Theater and Performance Studies Option

D. Bevington (Emeritus), H. Coleman, J. Comaroff, T. Gunning, D. J. Levin, L. Norman,
D. N. Rudall, D. Rutherford, H. Sinaiko, M. Stokes

Resource Faculty: L. Kruger, C. Mazzio, P. Pascoe, D. Rutherford, D. Stearns,
J. Thebus, T. Trent, J. Zeitlin

Theater and Performance Studies Option Courses:

Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities (ishu)

10100. Drama: Embodiment and Transformation. Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. At least three sections are offered per quarter with enrollment limited to twenty-four. This course meets the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. Students examine the performance and the aesthetics of two dramatic works in contrasting styles but with unifying themes. The goal of the course is to develop in the students an appreciation and understanding of a variety of techniques and of the processes by which they are theatrically realized. Rather than focus on the dramatic text itself, this course concentrates on the piece in performance, including the impact of cultural context on interpretation. To achieve this, students are required to act, direct, and design during the course. P. Pascoe, D. Stearns, J. Thebus, T. Trent, Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

10300 through 10499. Text and Performance. Experience in dramatic analysis or performance not required. Workshops in dramatic technique and attendance at performances at Chicago theaters, in addition to class time, are required. Attendance at the first class meeting is mandatory. Each of these courses meets the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts.

10300. Reading a Staging/Staging a Reading. This course considers three canonical dramatic works and their subsequent radical reinterpretation in a host of media. Students are asked to prepare their own stagings of (or similar creative encounters with) the works under discussion. Throughout, we are searching for that elusive combination of theoretical rigor and creative inspiration: probing the theoretical stakes of creativity and testing the creative implications of conceptual insights. D. Levin. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

10400. Staging Family. This course uses the terrain of the family to explore possibilities of staging, pairing classical and contemporary texts in conversations with each other using both dramaturgical and theoretical texts to facilitate this dialog. How do historical contexts impact our readings of relationships? How can critical analysis through staging undermine this nostalgia? How can analysis itself be a performative practice and performance serve as a critical endeavor? Through critical discussion, analytic writings, and stagings, we begin mapping this territory. H. Coleman. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

10401. Staging Terror. This course explores the interplay between horror, terror, and pleasure through in-class discussions of theoretical works and the possibilities of practical creative application. The paradox of the attraction to repulsion is considered, as well as the values of shock, suspense, and subtlety. Staged texts include Jacobean drama, Grand Guignol, ghost stories, and fairy tales. H. Coleman. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

10800. Visual Language II. (=COVA 10200) COVA 10100 and 10200 may be taken individually and in any order. This course meets the general education requirement in the dramatic, musical, and visual arts. Through the examination of three-dimensional forms and a series of studio problems, this course develops the formal and conceptual skills necessary to think visually—to "see" and to experience the vast array of objects, spaces, and ideas embedded in the contemporary cultural landscape. Emphasis is placed on the give-and-take process of making (which may include the construction and analysis of objects, alteration of spaces, or the placement/ arrangement/collection of objects) as a vehicle for students to learn how ideas, thoughts, and emotions take physical form and generate meaning. Previous experience in media-based studio courses will not typically be accepted as a replacement for this course. Visits to museums, galleries, and other cultural and commercial sites required, as is attendance at designated events. Lab fee ranges from $10 to $40. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

19000. TAPS Seminar: Introduction to Performance Theory. Required of third-year ISHU-TAPS majors; open to nonmajors if space permits. This seminar begins with an introduction to the project of theorizing performance through extensive critical readings (e.g., P. Auslander, E. Diamond, J. Roach, P. Phelan, R. Schechner) and intensive engagement with the practices of production and reception (in the classroom and at various performance venues in the city). The second half of the course focuses on individual student work, resulting in the B.A. critical paper. H. Coleman. Spring.

20000. Introduction to Film Analysis. (=ARTH 20000, CMST 10100, COVA 25400, ENGL 10800) This course introduces basic concepts of film analysis, which are discussed through examples from different national cinemas, genres, and directorial oeuvres. Along with questions of film technique and style, we consider the notion of the cinema as an institution that comprises an industrial system of production, social and aesthetic norms and codes, and particular modes of reception. Films discussed include works by Hitchcock, Porter, Griffith, Eisenstein, Lang, Renoir, Sternberg, and Welles. Autumn, Spring.

20010. Introduction to Theatrical Design. (=COVA 26000/36300) This course explores the application of the visual and aural arts to the varied forms of design for the stage (i.e., scenic, lighting, costume, sound). We pay particular attention to the development of a cogent and well-reasoned analysis of text and an articulate use of the elements of design through a set of guided practical projects. T. Burch. Autumn.

21800. Theories of Media. (=ARTH 25900/35900, CMST 27800/37800, COVA 25400, ENGL 12800/32800, MAPH 34300) PQ: Any 10000-level ARTH or COVA course, or consent of instructor. This course explores the concept of media and mediation in very broad terms, looking not only at modern technical media and mass media but also at the very idea of a medium as a means of communication, a set of institutional practices, and a habitat" in which images proliferate and take on a "life of their own." Readings include classic texts (e.g., Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Cratylus, Aristotle's Poetics); and modern texts (e.g., Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media, Regis Debray's Mediology, Friedrich Kittler's Gramaphone, Film, Typewriter). W. J. T. Mitchell. Winter.

23450. American Contemporary Drama. (=ENGL 24500) This course focuses on twentieth-century American contemporary playwrights who have made a significant impact with regard to dramatic form. Texts are considered in context to historical decade and in conversation with previous forms. Playwrights include Albee, Auburn, Baraka, Kaufman, Kushner, Mamet, Miller, O'Neill, Smith, Vogel, Williams, and Wilson. This course is offered in alternate years. H. Coleman. Winter.

23460. The Great White Way: American Musical Theater. Through the Schuberts to Disney, George M. Cohan to Sondheim, Broadway productions have been commercially motivated. This course explores how a form with roots in vaudeville, burlesque, and reviews transformed itself into a heightened storytelling medium during the golden age of the 1950s to the current trend of film adaptations. The emphasis is on the dynamic of both collaborative teams as well as the impact of producing interests. Composers and lyricists include Oscar Hammerstein II, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Frank Loesser, Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, Adam Guettel, Tina Landau, and, of course, Disney. H. Coleman. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

24200/34200. History and Theory of Drama I. (=ANST 21200, CLAS 31200, CLCV 21200, CMLT 20500/30500, ENGL 13800/31000) May be taken in sequence with ENGL 13900/31100 or individually. This course is a survey of major trends and theatrical accomplishments in Western drama from the ancient Greeks through the Renaissance: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, medieval religious drama, Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Jonson, along with some consideration of dramatic theory by Aristotle, Horace, Sir Philip Sidney, and Dryden. The goal is not to develop acting skill but, rather, to discover what is at work in the scene and to write up that process in a somewhat informal report. Students have the option of writing essays or putting on short scenes in cooperation with other members of the class. End-of-week workshops, in which individual scenes are read aloud dramatically and discussed, are optional but highly recommended. D. Bevington, D. N. Rudall. Autumn.

24300/34300. History and Theory of Drama II. (=CMLT 20600/30600, ENGL 13900/31100) May be taken in sequence with CMLT 20500/30500 or individually. This course is a survey of major trends and theatrical accomplishments in Western drama from the late seventeenth century into the twentieth: Molière, Goldsmith, Ibsen, Chekhov, Strindberg, Wilde, Shaw, Brecht, Beckett, and Stoppard. Attention is also paid to theorists of the drama, including Stanislavsky, Artaud, and Grotowski. The goal is not to develop acting skill but, rather, the goal is to discover what is at work in the scene and to write up that process in a somewhat informal report. Students have the option of writing essays or putting on short scenes in cooperation with some other members of the class. End-of-week workshops, in which individual scenes are read aloud dramatically and discussed, are optional but highly recommended. D. Bevington, D. N. Rudall. Winter.

24450. Arts in Education. This course examines the role of arts in the classroom, school structure, and school culture. With local arts outreach efforts as models, weekly seminars explore arts integration in curriculum planning as well as social, developmental, and economic contexts for co-curricular arts programming. To consider our particular community and environment in this context, readings in this course may include works by Jonathan Kozol, Augusto Boal, and Michael Rohd. Site visits to partner schools serve as field laboratories for this course. T. Trent. Autumn.

25100. Acting Fundamentals. PQ: Consent of instructor. Prior theater or acting training not required. This course introduces students to fundamental concepts of performance in the theatrical art form. The class emphasizes the development of creative faculties and techniques of observation, as well as vocal and physical interpretation. Participants study various acting techniques and methods. Concepts are introduced through directed reading, improvisation, and scene study. P. Pascoe, T. Trent. Autumn, Spring.

25150-25159. Advanced Acting Techniques. PQ: Consent of instructor required; theater experience or acting training helpful. This course, which is often taught by a guest artist, targets a specific acting style, aesthetic, or technique each quarter. Past topics have included Acting the Greeks, Building a Character, Scene Study, Acting Chekhov, Improvisation for Actors, Sanford Meisner, and Neo-Futurist Performance Workshop. Whatever the topic, students learn the physical, vocal, linguistic, thematic, and textual references to explore the nature of expressing with the technique. P. Pascoe, Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

25200. Shakespeare in Performance. PQ: Consent of instructor (based on conference and short audition) required; prior theater training helpful but not required. This course explores the dramatic texts of Shakespeare through scene-study and the mechanics of performance. Students begin by working to develop awareness of and freedom with the verse in the Sonnets. Moving toward more extensive dialogue and scene-work from the plays, students explore the building blocks of performing Shakespeare from the text itself to the actor's voice and body. The class teaches specific approaches to both verse and prose, developing a methodology of analysis, preparation, and performance. Each participant directs and performs scenes for class. D. Stearns. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

25400. Advanced Directing Seminar. PQ: Third- or fourth-year standing, ISHU 26000 and directing experience. This course is designed for students who have specific projects to develop (i.e., adaptations, full-length productions). Students are expected to produce dramaturgy work, stagings, and director notebooks. Required readings are determined by students' chosen projects. Scene work involves observed rehearsals as well as preparation in addition to scheduled class time. Spring.

25550. Twentieth-Century Styles. (=COVA 25551) PQ: Consent of instructor. How does the dramatic artist with a vision or concept reminiscent of particular genre and philosophy of art express that impulse through performance or design? Grounded in neo-classicism and romanticism, and relying on dramaturgical research into specific periods, this class explores twentieth-century styles, primarily between the World Wars. Readings may include Ibsen, Goethe, Racine, and Zola's Diatribe on Naturalism. Styles examined may include futurism and constructivism, German expressionism, and the epic theater of Brecht. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

25651. Impulse 101: Awareness and Physical Action in the Theater. This course examines the technique of "movement to music" as a tool in the technical repertoire of the actor. Exploration of physical action/movement is used to stimulate the imagination and articulation of creative impulse in order to develop free and focused behavior in relation to environment, objects, and partners. Weekly exercises expand the range of individual and ensemble expression and strengthen and condition the body in preparation to apply said skills to monologue, scene study, and traditional Stanislavsky actor technique. Readings explore the work of Grotovsky, Suzuki, Laban, and other kinesthetic theorists. R. Goodwin. Spring.

25800. Ritual Drama. PQ: Consent of instructor. This workshop course explores the religious and cultural origins and occasions of performance and how those translate into style and performative techniques. Students identify contemporary scenes and contexts in which as performers or directors they might engage observed concepts of sacred movement, space, sound, rhythm, costume, and actor-audience relationship to integrate and/or [re]create communal structure and meaning for presentation. Resources include The Little Clay Cart, The Lion and the Jewel, spell #7, Victor Turner, Uta Hagen, commedia dell'arte, and the structures of traditional Indian dance (Bharatanatyam) and theater (Kathakali), and traditional West African performance. T. Trent. Winter.

25900. Theory and Control Systems of Technical Theater. Prior theater or design experience not required. This course is an introduction to scenery, lighting, costuming, and sound for the theater, with major emphasis on lighting and scenery. After the basic introductory sessions, students have the opportunity to pursue their own interests in the form of a major project. The course develops an understanding of technical theater vis-à-vis the tools and materials available to the modern technician. Students develop a vocabulary specific to these four disciplines as well as an understanding of the historical perspective and aesthetic visual and aural elements of the theater. D. Stearns. Spring.

26000. Directing for the Theater. Acting and/or directing experience is encouraged, although no prior theater experience is required. This course introduces students to fundamental skills of directing for the stage, from first contact with the script to final performance. After a preliminary examination of directing theory, the class offers practical experience in script analysis, composition work, blocking, and the rehearsal process. Students are expected to prepare a minimum of three assigned scenes ranging in style (e.g., Williams, Brecht, Shakespeare) with actors outside of class for critique, with final scenes performed publicly during tenth week. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

26050. Director-Designer Collaboration. The concept phase of the shared creative process in theater requires clarity of vision and impulse to dream while negotiating the realities of budget and space. With students in the roles of director and designer, this class tackles the pre-production period from initial concept meetings to design presentations for rehearsal. Students develop vocabulary that fully expresses the director's vision and simultaneously provides creative room for the designer. This course is offered in alternate years. H. Coleman, T. Burch. Spring.

26100. Dramaturgy. (=CMST 28301/38301, ENGL 11505/31505, GRMN 34100, MUSI 30704) This experimental seminar/workshop course considers the history and development of dramaturgy, including its conceptual foundations and pragmatic aspirations as well as what distinguishes a dramaturgy of theater, film, and opera. In order to clarify some of these generic considerations, the course focuses on multiple renderings of the same material (i.e., Macbeth as Elizabethan drama, nineteenth-century opera, various twentieth-century films). In addition to our more-or-less conventional academic analysis, students engage in dramaturgical practice(s) in writing and on stage. D. Levin. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

26200. Scene Painting. (=COVA 25700) PQ: ISHU 25900 and consent of instructor. This course is an exploration of the basic tools and techniques of classical theatrical scene painting. Scene painting is a unique art that uses techniques and tools not associated with other types of painting. Some projects include faux finishes, foliage, scrim, and backdrops. Spring. Not offered 2005-2006, will be offered 2006-2007.

26300. Costume Design for the Stage. (=COVA 26200) PQ: ISHU 20010 or consent of instructor. This course is a discovery of the history and theories of costume design as well as an interpretation of character and theme through rendering and fabrication of costumes for the stage. Students develop a visual vocabulary through use of texture, color, and period. The beginning part of the course focuses on basic design rules and costume history. The latter part of the course is devoted to a series of design projects. Winter. Not offered 2005-2006; will be offered 2006-2007.

26400. Lighting Design for Stage and Film. (=COVA 26400) PQ: ISHU 20010 or consent of instructor. This is a basic exploration of the theory and practice of lighting design for both theater and motion pictures. Students develop theatrical lighting vocabulary, knowledge of basic electrical theory, color theory, theory of light, design tools, and the actual instruments used to light the stage through lectures and projects. Spring.

26500. Ensemble Creation. PQ: Consent of instructor. What is an ensemble? What is the feeling of being part of one and why does it arise? In what way is the theater-making experience particular when it is ensemble based? How might the ensemble process impact production and performance differently than other models? This course examines the experience of creating and working with an ensemble through techniques for the building of collaborative group theater pieces, research into the history and context of ensemble creation, and discussion. We also explore specific companies and styles that Chicago has to offer in terms of ensemble-based theater. J. Thebus. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

26501. Scenic Design. (=COVA 26100) PQ: ISHU 20010 or consent of instructor. This course considers the process of stage design from both aesthetic and practical points of view. It surveys the historical development of scenography in relation to technology and theatrical style. The influence of tradition on modern stage design is investigated through a comparison of period designs and contemporary solutions established by scenographers. T. Burch. Winter.

26550. Shakespeare I: Histories and Comedies. (=ENGL 16500, FNDL 21403) This course explores Shakespeare's major plays in the genres of history plays and romantic comedy, from the first half (roughly speaking) of his professional career: Richard III, Henry IV (parts 1 and 2), Henry V, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado about Nothing, Twelfth Night, and Troilus and Cressida. D. Bevington. Winter.

26560. Shakespeare II. Tragedies and Romances. (=ENGL 16600, FNDL 21400) ISHU 26550 recommended but not required. This course studies the second half of Shakespeare's career, from 1600 to 1611, when the major genres that he worked in were tragedy and "romance" or tragicomedy. Plays read include Hamlet, Measure for Measure, Othello, King Lear (two versions), Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Pericles, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest. C. Mazzio. Spring.

26600. Beginning Playwriting. (=CRWR 15000/35000) PQ: Consent of instructor. This course introduces the basic principles and techniques of playwriting through creative exercises, discussion, and the viewing of contemporary theater. Structural components of plot, character, and setting are covered as students develop their dramatic voices through exercises in observation, memory, emotion, imagination, and improvisation. C. Allen, Staff. Autumn, Spring.

26650. Special Topics in Writing for Performance. (=CRWR 27000/47000) PQ: Consent of instructor. Possible topics include performance poetry and writing monologues. Winter.

26850. Multi-Media Performance Art. Spring.

26900. Performing Diaspora: American Theater of Immigration and Exile. We are living in an age of unprecedented movements and migrations of populations; some are voluntary and others occur under extreme duress. This course focuses on new plays written by and about those who have lived through, in one form or another, this great wave of displacement. The course is performance based: we study theater not only through texts but also through acting exercises, scene study, and character development. Students are also expected to develop, on the basis of fieldwork, performance pieces pertaining to the topic of immigration and exile. P. Pascoe. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

26960. Translation and Adaptation. (=CWRW 27106/47106) Students should bring to this course a text of their own selection to translate or adapt for stage performance. Of import in the evolution of the work is preserving the author's original intent while responding to the linguistic and contextual needs of the translator's or adaptor's new audience. Students dissect linguistic, literary, and dramatic structure; analyze character and intentions; consider the world of author and audience; and, through these interpretations, create a work that speaks to their own world. C. Columbus. Winter.

27000. Reading Course: Theater Practicum. PQ: Consent of instructor. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. D. Bevington, D. Levin. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

27303. Yoga. In this course, students study the physical and philosophical foundations of yoga, which is the ancient art of unifying the body, mind, and spirit. Students learn and practice physical postures (asanas), as well as techniques for proper breathing, relaxation, and concentration. The philosophy and history of yoga are also included in this study, which students explore through readings and written assignments. By the end of the course, students should have a strong understanding of yoga and the ability to continue their own personal practice. Spring.

27304. Dance Composition. When does movement become text? How do bodies combine with time, space, and energy to communicate ideas? In this workshop-formatted course, we explore these questions as we study and create dance. Students develop improvisational skills by exploring the dance principles of space, time, dynamics, and the process of abstraction. Through physical exercises, discussions, and readings, students learn how to initiate and develop movement ideas. Major dance works from many styles (e.g., ballet, modern, avant-garde) are viewed and analyzed, as students develop an understanding of choreographic forms. Students also develop a proficiency in the areas of observation and constructive criticism. The course culminates with a choreographic project. Autumn.

27305. Solo Performance: Biography. (=CRWR 27104/47104) PQ: Consent of instructor. This course focuses on the performance of biography. Students write and perform their own forty-five-minute solo performance based on the life and work of someone who inspires, shocks, or compels them. The class is a writing, acting, and staging workshop focused on getting these original pieces ready for the audience. It's an incredible Herculean task to completely create and perform one's own show, so we are a supportive performance community to each other throughout the process. J. Thebus. Winter.

27306-27309. Advanced Topics in Theater. PQ: Advanced experience in theater and consent of instructor. These courses are designed for students wishing to pursue advanced study in a specific field of theater/performance. Intensive study and reading is expected. Attendance at performances and labs required. More information is available from the TAPS office.

27306. Advanced Study: Lighting Design. Winter, Spring.

27307. Advanced Study: Scenic Design. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

27308. Advanced Study: Directing. H. Coleman, T. Trent. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

27309. Advanced Study: Theater. H. Coleman, T. Trent, D. Levin, P. Pascoe, Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

27310. Modern Dance. The revolutionary ideas behind modern dance created perceptual shifts in how dance performance and the body itself were viewed. In this class, students learn and develop physical skills specific to modern dance technique through the perspective of the artists who originated these ideas. Students physically embody the history of modern dance, perceiving how technique and the body became an agent of both aesthetic and cultural transformation. Major artists include Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Merce Cunningham, Alvin Ailey, and the Judson Church artists, as well as contemporary artists such as Twyla Tharp and Mark Morris. Spring. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

27311. Beginning Screenwriting. (=CRWR 27101/47101) This course introduces the basic elements of a literate screenplay, including format, exposition, characterization, dialog, voice-over, adaptation, and the vagaries of the three-act structure. Weekly meetings include a brief lecture period, screenings of scenes from selected films, extended discussion, and assorted readings of class assignments. Because this is primarily a writing class, students write a four- to five-page weekly assignment related to the script topic of the week. J. Petrakis. Autumn, Winter.

27313. Television Writing: The Situation Comedy. (=CRWR 27100/47100) PQ: Consent of instructor based on writing sample and application. In this intensive workshop-oriented seminar, students learn the basics of the TV sitcom writing process by participation, culminating in the creation of their own first draft, half-hour spec script. Students also examine many of the basic principles of comedy writing, focusing on comic characters, comedic premises, and story structure. Class meetings involve lectures/discussions about various concepts pertinent to the sitcom form and exercises designed to reinforce comedic analysis techniques presented, as well as in-class viewing and deconstruction of exemplary sitcom scenes and episodes. Attendance at each class section and classroom participation required. E. Ferrara. Winter.

27314. Advanced Screenwriting. (=CRWR 27103/47103) PQ: ISHU 27311 and consent of instructor based on eight-page writing sample in screenplay format. Class limited to eight students. This course requires students to complete the first draft of a feature-length screenplay (at least ninety pages), based on an original idea brought to the first or second class. No adaptations or partially-completed scripts are allowed. Weekly class sessions include reading of script pages and critique by classmates and instructor. J. Petrakis. Spring.

27315. Advanced Television Writing: W.R.I.T.E. (Writers' Room Immersion Training Experiment). (=CRWR 27102/47102) PQ: ISHU 27313 or consent of instructor based on writing sample. Enrollment limited. This workshop focuses on developing the collaborative group dynamics of writing "by committee," as well as recreating the atmosphere found in a television sitcom staff writers' room. An established network sitcom is chosen by the instructor and announced prior to the first class. As part of writing teams, students serve as "staff writers" for the selected series. Students concentrate on developing and pitching numerous story ideas and writing treatments and full scripts, as well as collaboratively rewriting/punching-up their own work and that of their peers. Attendance at each class section and classroom participation required. E. Ferrara. Spring.

27316. Advanced Television Writing: Creating the Situation Comedy. (=CRWR 27100/47100) PQ: ISHU 27313 or specific writing sample and instructor approval. Enrollment limited. Students build upon their knowledge of the sitcom form by conceiving and creating their own original situation comedy series. Using study and analysis of various extant series and pilots as a foundation, students develop their own series premises, populating them with a dynamic mix of rich, well-crafted comic characters. Students develop a complete proposal, known as a "Series Bible," which contains an exhaustive amount of information about every aspect of the proposed series (i.e., overview, character analysis and biographies, production and presentation considerations). Students are also responsible for writing a full treatment for the pilot episode of their series, as well as detailed "story springboards" for twelve additional episodes. Attendance at each class section and classroom participation required. E. Ferrara. Not offered 2005-06; will be offered 2006-07.

27317. Advanced Studies Television/Film Writing. PQ: ISHU 27316 or 27314, and consent of instructor. As with ISHU 27306-27309, this course is open only to students wishing to pursue advanced study in a specific field who are willing to commit to intensive study and reading. Check with the TAPS office for information about registration/availability. Under the close mentorship of the instructor, students revise, refine, and hone their pilot treatment or screenplay, ultimately transforming it into a complete, polished script. In addition, students develop several story springboards into fully realized treatments. Spring.

29800. Theater and Performance Studies Colloquium. (=CRWR 27105/47105) PQ: Consent of Director of Undergraduate Studies and Chair of Theater and Performance Studies Option. Required of fourth-year TAPS majors. Creative Writing or MAPH students preparing theses for performance may participate with permission from their home department and the Director of Undergraduate studies. Students participate in both Autumn and Winter Quarter but only register once. Autumn, Winter.

29900. Preparation of the B.A. Project. PQ: Consent of faculty adviser and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Required of fourth-year TAPS majors. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Students may only register for this course in one quarter. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Approved Courses from Outside

Students may use most courses offered by Cinema and Media Studies, Creative Writing, Music, and Visual Arts to count toward the TAPS major. Please consult with the TAPS administrator or the Director of Undergraduate Studies for clarification if needed. Courses from outside those departments may also be appropriate, but students should check with the TAPS administrator before registering.