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College Catalog 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses
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Sociology |
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SOCI 110 - Introduction to Sociology
The course introduces students to the sociological imagination, or “the quality of mind essential to grasp the interplay of individual and society, of biography and history, of self and the world,” as C. Wright Mills described it. The enduring value of a sociological imagination is to help students situate peoples’ lives and important events in broader social contexts by understanding how political, economic, and cultural forces constitute social life. Sociology explores minute aspects of social life (microsociology) as well as global social processes and structures (macrosociology). Topics covered vary from semester to semester, but may include: socialization, suburbanization and housing, culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class stratification, deviance and crime, economic and global inequality, families and intimate relationships, education, religion, and globalization. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 170 - Work, Identity, and Inequality
This course will examine recent transformations in the U.S. economy - including deskilling, downsizing, and the rise of the service sector - and it will consider how each of these “transformations” relate to issues of identity, community, family formation, structural inequality and national culture. Work has changed so quickly in the last three decades that we have yet to fully comprehend the micro level consequences in our daily lives and the macro level consequences for American culture and global processes. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 175 - Sociolinguistics Cross-Listed as LING 175
Sociolinguistics is the study of the linguistic diversity. Language and culture are so closely tied that it is nearly impossible to discuss language variation without also understanding its relation to culture, and diversity in language often stands as a symbol of ethnic and social diversity. This course introduces students to the overwhelming amount of linguistic diversity in the United States and elsewhere, while at the same time making them aware of the cultural prejudices inherent in our attitude towards people who speak differently from us. The class involves analysis and discussion of the readings, setting the stage for exploration assignments, allowing students to do their own research on linguistic diversity. Offered every spring. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 180 - Sociology of Culture
When sociologists look at culture they look at things like people’s leisure activities, consumption patterns, style, membership in subcultural groups, and the arts. A common thread throughout most of these studies of culture is how social class and culture intersect. For example, how do people’s class backgrounds influence their forms of cultural expression in terms of their leisure activities, their beliefs, their personal style, or whom they want to hang out with? This course will explore these issues, focusing on class as a common theme. Specific topics include: the role of artists and people’s development of aesthetic taste in the arts; social forces that push us towards conformity or towards individualism; subcultural groups; and how people make distinctions between themselves and those who they describe as “other.” Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 190 - Criminal Behavior/Social Control
The use of imprisonment as a form of criminal punishment is only about as old at the United States. Currently, 1 in 100 adults in the United States are in prison or jail. How should we understand the growth of this form of criminal punishment? How is it similar to other methods to react to and to attempt to control unwanted behavior? What are the social consequences of these formal institutions of social control? In this course, we examine these developments in the processes and organization of social control, paying particular attention to criminal behavior and formal, legal responses to crime. We study and evaluate sociological theories of criminal behavior to understand how social forces influence levels of crimes. We examine recent criminal justice policies in the United States and their connections to inequality, examining the processes that account for expanding criminalization. Finally, we compare the development of formal, bureaucratic systems of social control and informal methods of social control, paying attention to the social and political implications of these developments. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 194 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 205 - Public Schooling in America
As Frederick Rudolf aptly noted, the history of American education “is American history” and reveals “the central purposes and driving directions of American society.” The advent of mass schooling represents a profound exercise in collective self-definition. As with much else in a democracy, deciding whom to teach, what to teach, and how to teach have been subjects of lively debate in the US from the early nineteenth century to the dawning of the twenty-first. This course offers a broad overview of the overarching political controversies durrounding the historical development of public schooling in America. We begin with a survey of 19th-century movements to define elementary schooling as the chosen instrument for nation-building, for safeguarding democratic self-governance, and for resolving with the cascading social disorders implicated in the rise of urbanization, mass immigration, and industrial capitalism. The rise of high schools in the early twentieth century is the second major topic of interest, and more specifically, progressive-era debates about the relationship between public schools and colleges and universities. This era begets the great ideological fault-lines underlying educational theory and practice in the US that lasted the 20th century into the 21st. The dramatic post-war reconstruction of public schooling is the third major focus of the course. We explore the proliferation of federal government mandates to secularize, integrate, assimilate, equalize, multiculturalize, and expunge racism and sexism from the curriculum, all the while raising academic standards for all. With these directivescame vastly expanded government funding for social science research trained on evaluating public schools’ efforts to realize these new benchmarks of educational progress. We observe this rebirth of the social sciences as arbiters of educational policy debates. The final section of the course revolves around contemporary disputes over school choice policies and the federal No-Child-Left-Behind initiatives. These latest campaigns to democratize academic excellence have followed a familiar, recurring script of US policy making since the 1980s: deregulation, de-centralization, consumer choice, managerial and administrative prerogatives in public agencies re-invented in the image of governance in the corporate sector, and the elaboration of benchmarks to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of educational practices. We consider how recent experience indicate limitations to privatization, corporatization, and marketization as solutions to the educational crisis, and perhaps, suggest the beginnings of a renewed search for answers to the riddle of public education. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 210 - Sociology of Sexuality
What is social about sexuality? Sexuality and its components (desire, pleasure, love, the body) is something more than a personal or individual characteristic. It is socially constructed. Sexuality has been configured during different historical time periods as sin, as a means of fostering alliances between powerful families, as perversion, as a means to pleasure, as a symbol of love, and as personal identity. These different sexual configurations are connected with larger social-historical trends such as the development of capitalism, the use of rationalized technologies, and the expansion of scientific-medical discourse. In this course, we explore how sexuality has been constructed through history. We examine how categories shape our understanding of sexuality such as male/female, heterosexual/homosexual/queer. We also will address issues such as child sexuality, prostitution, images of sexual minorities in the media and heteronormativity. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 220 - Sociology of Race/Ethnicity
This course explores historical and contemporary perspectives on racial and ethnic groups in American society, including African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, European Americans, and Americans of Middle Eastern descent. The goal is to develop an understanding of socio-historical forces that have shaped the lives of racial and ethnic groups in America. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 222 - The Medical Industry
This course provides an overview of the political, economic, cultural, and scientific foundations of the US health care industry. Select topics include: What is the secret to a long life? What is the basis of medical knowledge about health and illness? How do we know if medical care hurts or helps us? What is distinctive about the professionalization of medicine in the US compared to other nations? Why did the US health care industry develop under auspices of markets rather than government-provided public goods? Why is it so difficult to achieve universal health insurance coverage in the US? How will the Obama health reforms work? Annually. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 230 - Affirmative Action Policy
The course provides an introduction to US affirmative action policies in education and employment. The first section surveys the historical development of affirmative action in public schools and universities, evaluates alternative approaches to fostering diversity in higher education, and examines the most recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action in college admissions. The second major focus of the course is the origins and evolution of affirmative action in employment. This latter section provides an overview of the dynamics of racial and gender discrimination in employment and how affirmative action policies have endeavored to institutionalize equality of opportunity in labor markets. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 232 - Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship Cross-Listed as INTL 232
This course is focused and driven by student team project work. Students will prioritize social problems / issues for which they would like to engage in the creation / implementation of a solution. They will spend the semester working to more deeply understand the problems, research successful and failed attempts to resolve the problem in other contexts, and to generate a solution that includes a well researched model for introducing sustainable social change. It is through this engagement that students will grapple with the challenging realities of practice and implementation. Students will study several methodologies including Lean Startup, Human Centered Design, Participatory Poverty Assessment and Impact Gap Analysis. Students will learn through their own experiences and utilize case studies comparing problems, their root causes and the entrepreneurial approaches deployed to address them from various countries and cultural contexts. Fall semester (4 Credits)
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SOCI 250 - Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit organizations are important elements of the public sphere. They are one of the principal means by which we generate, concentrate, and channel our humanitarian and civic impulses. Sociological perspectives on nonprofit organizations presented in this course combined historical and contemporary accounts of the political, economic, and culture dimensions of the third sector: the panoply of private associations devoted to public purposes. Some of the learning goals are to develop an understanding and appreciation of: the legal frameworks that specify the permissible activities of nonprofit organizations; the ethical dilemmas that nonprofit organizations and professionals encounter as they envisage and strive to fulfill their service mission; theoretical scholarship aimed at explaining and justifying the diverse roles of nonprofits organizations in US society; the historical evolution of the relationship between the nonprofit, governmental, and commercial sectors; the challenges of governing and managing nonprofit associations; the transformation of civic engagement in the US; and, the day-to-day workings of nonprofit organizations through a case study based on students’ involvements with and studies of associations of their choice. Every other year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 269 - Social Science Inquiry
Social science presents claims about the social world in a particular manner that is centered on theoretical claims (explanations) supported by evidence. This course covers the methods through which social scientists develop emprically-supported explanations. The course covers three main sets of topics: the broad methodological questions posed by philosophy of social science, how social scientists develop research design to generate relevant evidence, and methods with which social scientists analyze data. For both the research design and analysis sections, we will concentrate on quantitative research, learning how to use statistical software. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 270 - Interpretive Social Research
This class introduces students to the methodologies and analytic techniques of fieldwork and ethnography: participant observation, interviewing, and the use of documents. Students will read exemplary, book-length studies and will conduct an extensive field research for their final project. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 272 - Social Theories
This course is designed to engage students with the most sophisticated and useful schools of thought available in the social science disciplines. The course raises a number of questions: How can we best understand the complexities of self and society? Are these units of analysis useful in and of themselves? Are they contained in an essential body or polity that we can identify as some unitary entity called Jenny and John Doe, American, French, Arab/Jew, black/white, modern/primitive, developed/underdeveloped, Oriental/ Occidental, homo/heterosexual, male/female? Or are they socially produced units that have no essence in-of-themselves, produced and made real only through performance with the “Other”? Furthermore, is there something unique about modernity that has fundamentally transformed the notions of our selves, bodies, polities, races, and civilizations? If the answer to the last question is in the affirmative, how and why did this come to be the case, and what consequences does it hold for our understanding of the past and of the future? These are the kinds of questions that great figures in sociology have been asking since the nineteenth-century, including classic theorists like Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx, as well as more recent writers such as Ervin Goffman, Michel Foucault, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Edward Said. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 275 - Comparative-Historical Sociology Cross-Listed as POLI 250
The course introduces students to principles of cross-national and cross-cultural analysis. The class begins with a survey of the basic methodological orientations that distinguish various modes of analysis in the social sciences. The lectures and discussions in this section provide a general introduction to the logic of causal analysis, explore the relative strengths and weaknesses of differing methodological approaches to understanding social phenomena, and specifically, consider in greater detail the distinctive blend of theoretical, methodological, and empirical concerns that inform comparative-historical social science. The substantive topics of the course include: the Social Origins of the Modern State; the Sociology of Democracy and Authoritarianism; the Sociology of Revolution; and The Rise of the Welfare State. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 280 - Indigenous Peoples’ Movements in Global Context Cross-Listed as
During the last three decades, a global indigenous rights movement has taken shape within the United nations and other international bodies, challenging and reformulating international law and global cultural understandings of indigenous rights. The recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights in international law invokes the tensions between sovereignty and human rights, but also challenges the dominant international understandings of both principles. In this course, we examine indigenous peoples’ movements by placing them in a global context and sociologically informed theoretical framework. By beginning with a set of influential theoretical statements from social science, we will then use indigenous peoples’ movements as case studies to examine the extent to which these theoretical perspectives explain and are challenged by case studies. We will then analyze various aspects of indigenous peoples’ movements and the extent to which these aspects of the movement are shaped by global processes. Every other year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 283 - Economic Sociology
Economic activity is a form of social activity: people attribute meaning to economic activity, they pursue such activity in relation to others, and this activity is patterned and organized. Starting from these premises, economic sociologists ask a wide range of questions, such as: How do people find jobs? What historical and social legacies affect prospects for development? How do art dealers know how to set prices on unique original works of art? What social arrangements influence economic inequalities? In what ways do people mix economic activities and intimacy? By surveying recent developments in economic sociology, this course introduces students to the kinds of questions that economic sociologists ask, the types of evidence they use, and the range of answers they generate. Students do not need a background in economics or sociology for this course. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 285 - Asian American Community and Identity Cross-Listed as AMST 285
This course introduces the basic issues and problems that shape the Asian American experience. The main learning objectives are: to identify and dismantle stereotypes about Asian Americans; to create a common vocabulary for describing the Asian American experience; to explore the historical and sociological foundations of Asian American community and identity; and to cultivate an appreciation of various theoretical approaches to race and ethnicity. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 290 - Islam and the West
How can we best understand the complexities of the present U.S. “War on Terrorism”? Should it be understood as a clash between two different cultural systems, one modern and democratic and the other feudal and fanatic? Or, is the violence systemic, taking a variety of forms in different parts of the globe? What role does power and inequality on a global scale have to do with it? These and many other questions will be dealt with in this course. We will trace the conflict historically to assess moments of violence and tensions and other periods of calm and symbioses. Finally, we will analyze how modernity transformed the relationship between Islam and the West, Jew and Arab, male and female, and nation/race and identity. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 301 - Language and Alienation
We are living in the midst of an “irony epidemic,” where two of the most frequently used expressions in current American English are “like” and “whatever.” Both of these are literally advertisements that words are not the real thing (at best, they are “like” it), and that they don’t matter (since “whatever” you say is equally a matter of indifference). This course takes as its point of departure the sarcasm and irony in spoken American English, and proceeds to an investigation of how the peculiar message of sarcasm (“I don’t mean this”) is conveyed in other languages, and in the media. Not surprisingly, the study of cheap talk connects intimately with aspects of pop culture. More surprising, however, is the idea that the cheapness of talk is not only a currently recognized property of our language, but that it might serve to define the very essence of human language in general and offer insights into the origins and nature of our ability to speak at all. Prerequisite(s): one course in Linguistics. Two years in every three. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 310 - Law and Society
Law is omnipresent in contemporary social life. How should we understand this development and its consequences? How does law operate to the advantage or disadvantage of various members of society? Can law be the source of significant social change? This course examines the development of a formal, legal system and the ways in which such a system connects to other parts of society. We begin by focusing on individual experiences and understandings of law and what these tell us about how law fits into the larger social order. We then evaluate explanations about the connections between social and legal development. We also consider how the “law in action” operates by examining empirical studies of legal institutions and the limits and potential of law as a source for social change. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 335 - Families and Social Change
This class focuses on the relationship between families and larger social institutions, including governments, economic institutions, and labor markets. This course also explores how various societal forces shape relationships within contemporary American families, as well as considering other historical forms and understandings of the family. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 370 - Political Sociology
What is the nature of power within society and how does it relate to the development of nation-states? This course explores the development and operation of nation-states, examining how civil society and state practices relate to each another. We examine how the system of nation-states came into existence and what contemporary developments mean for the future of nation-states. We consider the nature and consequences of both citizenship and nationalism, trying to understand how these relations between individuals and states have developed. We also examine contemporary developments that might change citizenship, such as how we should understand national citizenship given the development of international human rights.
Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 480 - Senior Seminar
This senior seminar serves as the capstone experience for sociology majors. This class provides students with an opportunity to develop a synthetic understanding of their sociology course work and to conduct prospective research that may culminate in honors projects. Every year. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 611 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (1 Credits)
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SOCI 612 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (2 Credits)
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SOCI 613 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (3 Credits)
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SOCI 614 - Independent Project
Students may explore sociological topics not covered in regular course offerings or pursue more advanced study of topics represented in the department curriculum through an independent project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 621 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (1 Credits)
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SOCI 622 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (2 Credits)
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SOCI 623 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (3 Credits)
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SOCI 624 - Internship
Internships allow students to participate in an off-campus learning experience. Students may engage in internships in a variety of settings that match their academic goals, including nonprofit organizations, government, and business. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 631 - Preceptorship
Preceptors may assist faculty members organize and teach courses with an emphasis on leading discussion groups, preparing study sessions, and individual tutoring. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (1 Credits)
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SOCI 632 - Preceptorship
Preceptors may assist faculty members organize and teach courses with an emphasis on leading discussion groups, preparing study sessions, and individual tutoring. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (2 Credits)
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SOCI 633 - Preceptorship
Preceptors may assist faculty members organize and teach courses with an emphasis on leading discussion groups, preparing study sessions, and individual tutoring. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (3 Credits)
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SOCI 634 - Preceptorship
Preceptors may assist faculty members organize and teach courses with an emphasis on leading discussion groups, preparing study sessions, and individual tutoring. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (4 Credits)
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SOCI 641 - Honors Independent
The honors independent study is an option reserved for students participating in the honors program. Students may receive this course credit for pursuing research devoted to their honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (1 Credits)
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SOCI 642 - Honors Independent
The honors independent study is an option reserved for students participating in the honors program. Students may receive this course credit for pursuing research devoted to their honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (2 Credits)
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SOCI 643 - Honors Independent
The honors independent study is an option reserved for students participating in the honors program. Students may receive this course credit for pursuing research devoted to their honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (3 Credits)
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SOCI 644 - Honors Independent
The honors independent study is an option reserved for students participating in the honors program. Students may receive this course credit for pursuing research devoted to their honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (4 Credits)
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Theatre and Dance |
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THDA 21 - African-Based Movement I
This African Based Movement course focuses on dance inspired by West Africa, as well as other regions of the continent, the Caribbean, Americas, and the African Diaspora at large. This physically rigorous class is rooted in a communal environment and is accompanied by a drummer. Students will learn African- based dance technique, characteristics, and the fundamental connection between the drums and the dance. They will also create in-class movement projects and presentations. Though this class may focus on traditional dance at times, it is not a tradition-specific class. All are welcome. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every fall. (1 Credits)
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THDA 22 - African-Based Movement II
This course focuses on dance inspired by West African and other African regions, the Caribbean, and the Americas. It is rooted in a communal environment and is supported and accompanied by a live musician/drummer. Students continue building on fundamental principles and technique, including more complex polyrhythmic aspects of the movement, while deepening the inter-connected relationship with the drums. They also create in-class dance projects and presentations. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Prerequisite(s): THDA 21 or permission of instructor Spring semester. (1 Credits)
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THDA 23 - Advanced African-Based Movement
Advanced African-Based Movement focuses on selected histories and techniques of dance forms from West Africa and the African diaspora including the Americas and the Caribbean. It is intended for students who have completed African-Based Movement I and II, and who want to deepen into their training and understanding of these forms. The course includes the creation of researched choreography culminating in one or more informal performances. S/N grading only. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor. Occasionally offered. (1 Credits)
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THDA 31 - Dance Improvisation
Find expression and embodiment through the practice of movement improvisation. Open to all levels of ability. Come with a desire to move, an open mind and a willingness to explore in a non-competitive environment. We will learn to fall, roll and work with gravity in relationship to ourselves and others. The class will introduce you to contact improvisation, the “art-sport” developed by Steve Paxton in 1972. Relieve stress and balance your mind and body through physical awareness. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every spring. (1 Credits)
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THDA 41 - Modern Dance I
This introductory level course is a joyous and demanding exploration of the theory, technique, and terminology of modern dance as a performing art. Students engage fully with their bodies and minds as they deepen their strength, sense of rhythm, flexibility, and coordination. The course develops skills in inversions, floorwork, and balance based in clear alignment. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every fall. (1 Credits)
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THDA 42 - Modern Dance II
This beginning/advanced-beginning level course deepens further into the theory, technique, and terminology of modern dance as introduced in Modern Dance I. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every spring. (1 Credits)
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THDA 43 - Modern Dance III
In this joyous and highly physical intermediate course, students continue to build upon their skills as expressive dancers through active alignment, coordination, musicality, spatial awareness and nuanced moving. Clarity in increasingly complex movement sequences is emphasized. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every fall. (1 Credits)
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THDA 44 - Modern Dance IV
In Modern Dance IV, students continue to build upon their skills as efficient and expressive dancers through active alignment, strength, flexibility and coordination. They act, sing, speak, write, improvise, and explore - shaping their skills as a citizen artist. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every spring. (1 Credits)
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THDA 51 - Ballet I
This is a beginning ballet technique class. The goal is to demonstrate fundamental understanding and execution of ballet technique. It will include barre work, center-floor, and across-the-floor combinations. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every fall. (1 Credits)
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THDA 52 - Ballet II
This ballet technique class is for students with some experience in classical ballet. The goal is to demonstrate a beginning to intermediate dancer’s understanding and execution of ballet technique. It will include barre work, center-floor, and across-the-floor combinations. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every spring. (1 Credits)
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THDA 53 - Ballet III
This is an intermediate ballet class and is geared for students who have developed proficient skills at the barre and in the center. Center will include pirouettes, adage, beats, and more complex combinations. Students will develop a more advanced vocabulary while continuing to focus on placement, alignment, flexibility, strength, and fluidity and connection of movement. The refinement of technical skills and performance skills with longer combinations will be emphasized. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Every fall. (1 Credits)
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THDA 54 - Ballet IV
This is the highest level of ballet at Macalester and is a continuation and progression of Ballet III. It is assumed at this level that the student has acquired and practiced work covered in previous levels. Students will refine vocabulary and strive to increase strength, flexibility, coordination, and artistry within their movements. Proper alignment, musicality, clarity of movement will be emphasized. Students are expected to pick up movement quickly and dance with speed and accuracy and demonstrate control. Corrections should be applied and refined quickly. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Prerequisite(s): THDA 51 , THDA 52 , and THDA 53 Every spring. (1 Credits)
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THDA 75 - Practicum in Performance
Through this practicum a student will gain a basic understanding of the elements and vocabulary of theatre and dance and develop level appropriate skills in performance. Students will witness and develop the ability to work collaboratively and creatively. This practicum allows specific growth opportunities particular to each student. The student will have the opportunity to work with either a faculty or guest artist in a dance or theater performance piece from the audition to the final performance. The practicum credit is graded; the student may opt for a “P/F” designation. Majors and minors must take it as a graded practicum. (1 Credits)
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THDA 76 - Practicum in Scenery/Lighting/Costume Construction
Through this practicum a student will gain skills in the creation of the technical elements of performance. The student will gain a basic understanding of the vocabularies of technical theater and develop level appropriate skills in their chosen area. Students will witness and develop the ability to work collaboratively and creatively. This practicum allows specific growth opportunities particular to each student. The student will be required to complete 45 hours in their chosen area of interest. The practicum credit is graded; the student may opt for a “P/F” designation. Majors and minors must take it as a graded practicum. Prerequisite(s): THDA 125 - Technical Theater for scenery; THDA 255 - Lighting Design for lighting (1 Credits)
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THDA 77 - Practicum in Running Crew
Through this practicum a student will gain skills in the execution of the technical elements of performance. The student will gain a basic understanding of the vocabularies of theater and develop level appropriate skills in their chosen area. Students will witness and develop the ability to work collaboratively and creatively throughout the rehearsal and performance process. This practicum allows specific growth opportunities particular to each student. Opportunities could involve running the lighting systems, sound systems, coordinating wardrobe changes, or running props or scenic changes backstage. The practicum credit is graded; the student may opt for a “P/F” designation. Majors and minors must take it as a graded practicum. (1 Credits)
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THDA 78 - Practicum in Advanced Production Techniques
Through this practicum a student will refine skills in the management and development of elements of performance. The student will continue to grow their understanding of the vocabularies of theater and develop level appropriate skills in their chosen area. Students will witness and refine the ability to work collaboratively and creatively throughout the rehearsal and performance process. This practicum allows specific growth opportunities particular to each student. Opportunities could include Stage Manager, Assistant Stage Manager, Assistant Designer, Assistant Director, Props Designer, among other roles. The practicum credit is graded; the student may opt for a “P/F” designation. Majors and minors must take it as a graded practicum. Prerequisite(s): THDA 77 - Practicum in Running Crew (1 Credits)
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THDA 79 - Practicum in Choreography
Through this practicum a student will develop and refine skills in choreography of a fully produced dance piece. The student will continue to grow in their understanding of the vocabularies of dance and develop level appropriate skills in their choreography. The student will develop and refine the ability to work collaboratively and creatively. This practicum allows specific growth opportunities particular to each student. The student may create a solo work, or choreograph a work for other student dancers. The practicum credit is graded; the student may opt for a “P/F” designation. Majors and minors must take it as a graded practicum. Prerequisite(s): THDA 121 or THDA 341 (1 Credits)
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THDA 105 - Theatre and Performance in the Twin Cities
The goal of this course is to introduce first-year students to live performance in the exciting arts scene of the Twin Cities. Students in this class learn approaches to studying theatre and performance events and texts, and begin to practice the vocabularies of scholarship in the field of theatre and performance studies. We attend performances at professional theatres, and at Macalester College. In this process of studied spectatorship, students learn how to critically attend, discuss, and write about theatre and performance events, learning the vocabularies of the field. Offered yearly. (4 Credits)
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THDA 110 - Introduction to Theatre Studies
This course is an initiation for the drama student to learn about the worlds of theatre and performance: an initiation that focuses on the critical tools necessary to begin exploring and identifying practices of thinking, reading, and researching the theater, performance, and the worlds that the critical arts address. The project is to carefully consider the questions: What is theatre? How does it work? Where has it been located? What are the claims of its genres? What might theatre accomplish? The course interrogates the aesthetic and cultural operations of theatre and the dramatic arts in order to identify vocabularies for interpreting the EVENT of the theatre. At its core, the course addresses the question: what does it require to read and interpret the arts of the theatre, theatrical contexts, and its performances? Using scripts, recorded events, criticism, and theory, the course addresses the rich relationship between the HISTORY and the THEORY of theatre and performance practices. Offered yearly. (4 Credits)
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THDA 120 - Acting Theory and Performance I
An introduction to the fundamental techniques of realistic acting. Through improvisation, physical and vocal exercises, text and character analysis, and scene studies, the student is introduced to the process of acting preparation and performance. Limited to 16 students. Offered annually. (4 Credits)
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THDA 121 - Beginning Dance Composition
This course is the study and discipline of dance-making. Students learn the tools of the choreographer - time, space, energy - and how they can be shaped to give the body expressive power. The relationships between form, content, and technique are explored. Students choreograph short studies, improvise, discuss, and view dance on film and in live performance. The course values risk-taking and collaboration in a supportive, shared space. Through the creative process, we seek energy from a sense of investigation as opposed to the pressure to “succeed.” The solo form is emphasized. No dance experience is necessary. Either this course or Intermediate Dance Composition is required for a dance minor. Every fall. (4 Credits)
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THDA 125 - Technical Theater
This course grounds students in the technical and construction practices of performance-making: materials and their sources and histories; conventional and contemporary technologies and techniques; quantitative methods for calculating and assessing drawings for execution. Classroom instruction and a weekly studio/drafting lab allow students to learn and apply knowledge through working with materials. Students in this course also provide support to mainstage construction projects, further extending their learning in the course. (4 Credits)
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THDA 145 - Make-Up Design and Application
This course teaches students the theory and practice of make-up design and application, through a combination of lecture, discussion, demonstration and intense application. Students independently complete an extensive research portfolio called a “make-up morgue” while learning the principles of make-up design and application in weekly classroom laboratory format. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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THDA 194 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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THDA 210 - Community-Based Theatres
In almost every town in the world, in a rich tradition spanning millennia, communities make theatrical representations of themselves: their heroes, their unsung neighbors, their struggles, their aspirations. Community-based theatre is made by, for and about communities, and the varieties, strategies, controversies and triumphs of this form are the content of this course. In the United States, which is the geographical focus of this course, community-based theatre has emerged from rural and urban communities, communities of color, communities of coalitions united toward a cause - we will learn from historical and scholarly accounts, and from participants, about many of these efforts. We also will explore the Twin Cities’ own deep history of community-based theatre-making, and participate in at least one major community project during the semester. Offered every other spring semester. (4 Credits)
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THDA 213 - Cultures of Dance
This course will introduce you to dance forms from around the world. We will investigate a variety of forms and their cultural contexts through attendance at concerts, films, class discussions, readings, group research projects and movement activities. We will examine how dance functions in the lives of individuals and societies through various lenses including feminist, ethnographic, and africanist perspectives. We will move. Every spring. (4 Credits)
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THDA 215 - Reading the Dancing Body: Topics in Dance History
Dance is an art of the body in time, space, and culture. It is a language that reflects individual, economic, social, and religious forces. This class will “read” the gender, race, and politics of the dancing body within African-American and Euro-American dance traditions from the 19th century to the early 21st century. The focus will be on theatrical dance forms in the United States including ballet, modern, and musical theater dance. Social dance will also be looked at as a predecessor to some of these genres. We will read, write, discuss, dance, view videos, and attend performances. Every fall. (4 Credits)
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THDA 220 - Voice and Speech
An introduction to the fundamentals of correct and successful playing of the vocal instrument of the individual human body. Using techniques of Lessac, Linklater, and Rodenburg, students learn all the elements of elocution: communication awareness and confidence; breath support; healthy voice production and projection; posture and poise; articulation; Standard American English pronunciation; vocal expressiveness. Essential for all theatre and performing arts majors, including singers, and extremely useful for anyone choosing a career such as law, teaching, politics, leadership, etc., which demands speaking to groups and public presentations. Students learn to craft their own process of vocal support practice through a continuous self analysis, journaling of classroom exercises, explorations and performance. This is a dynamic, physical, highly experiential, practical, and performance-based, lab course. Every spring. (4 Credits)
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THDA 230 - Physical Approaches
This laboratory course offers intensive training in making theatre from action . Based on the teaching of Jacques Lecoq and his school of physical theatre training in Paris, work will focus on the observation, re-creation and transposition of daily life to create a theatre that is at once playful, emotional and creative. Course work will include an examination of the natural world and all its movements, our relationship with space and time, the neutral and larval masks and object manipulation. We will use improvisation, games and exercises to develop physical and creative skills with which to create original work; training includes basic acrobatics, balancing and juggling. Applied analyses of professional productions are required, as are written analyses of course work and individual progress. The goal of the course is to encourage curiosity and exploration to engage the student as creator, designer and performer. Enrollment limited to 12 students. Prerequisite(s): or other performance training strongly encouraged. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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THDA 235 - Fundamentals of Scenography
Scenography is the creation of imagined spaces for performance. In this course we will study the fundamentals of scenography holistically, including scenic, lighting, costume, sound, and projection design. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze and critique elements of performance design, articulating design ideas verbally and through writing, and completing a design project from analysis to tangible object. (4 credits) Every fall. (4 Credits)
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THDA 240 - Brain to Bone: Aliveness, from Rehearsal through Performance
The performance experience, for both actor and spectator, is a collaboration in “aliveness:” switched-on cognition, participatory embodiment systems (muscles, nerves, organs, etc.), moment-by-moment discovery. This course will establish effective, body0based practices for character exploration and original performance creation. The work of the class will involve anatomy study and research, exercises and explorations, and ultimately, solo performance work. The class is physical and meets six hours per week. Preference given to students with acting experience, though well-described curiosity and commitment will be considered favorably. Prerequisites: sophomore standing and permission of instructor. Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing and permission of instructor. Offered alternating fall semesters. (4 Credits)
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THDA 242 - Playwriting and Textual Analysis Cross-Listed as
Students will read a variety of plays that exemplify structural and genric concerns of writing for live performance: tragedy; comedy; the courtroom drama; farce; experimental, others. Students will elaborate their own interests in these forms through a series of time-bound conventions: the 3-minute, 10-minute and ultimately one-act form. In-class exercises and prompts, and small-group workshopping and reading will challenge writers’ development. A mid-term and final playreading series will allow students to hear their work read in a supportive public setting. Offered alternate spring semesters. (4 Credits)
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THDA 250 - Experiential Anatomy and the Mind Body Connection
Through reading, writing, research, hands-on exercises, and structured movement activities, this course will explore the body’s design and function of the respiratory, musculo-skeletal, skin, and organ systems. We will use dance and the Alexander technique as tools to cultivate direct knowledge of anatomy and alignment. This course is designed to integrate scientific models of anatomy and one’s lived experience of body and movement. We will also practice mindfulness meditation. The emphasis is on embodied exploration. Every spring. (4 Credits)
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THDA 255 - Lighting Design
This course is an introduction to basic lighting design and the history of lighting. While emphasis is on theater, it also teaches the lighting design of film, television, dance, opera, and environmental settings. This course is primarily an approach to lighting design, but the student will be expected to have a basic grasp of lighting hardware as well. The first aim of the course is to make the student more aware of color and light around him/her every day. Demonstrations are an integral part of the lectures. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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THDA 262 - Performing Feminisms Cross-Listed as
Feminisms in performance - whether on an actual theater stage or in offstage force fields of politics, history and culture - are the concern of this course. Through feminist, queer and performance theories of the body, representation, identification and spectatorship, and through the reading of plays, students will engage with the historic and contemporary practices of feminisms and performance-making. Attending performances, viewing films and performance documents will contribute to students’ capacities to write critically about feminist performance practices. Offered alternate spring semesters. (4 Credits)
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THDA 263 - African American Theatre Cross-Listed as AMST 263
This course is an overview of the development of theatre by and about Black Americans. It examines the historical, social, political, and cultural context of African-American Theatre. After investigating the roots of African-American Theatre in African culture, performance modes, and social values, it focuses on a study of plays written by Black Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. Prerequisite(s): sophomore standing or permission of instructor Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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THDA 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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THDA 310 - Theatre Methods: Shakespeare to Viewpoints
This course is an experiential survey of major European and U.S. performance methods, 1600-present. Through readings in theatre and performance history and theory, students will investigate the social forces that have shaped acting-as-representation: from Shakespeare’s Globe through commedia dell’arte , from Stanislavski’s “magic if” to Brecht’s V-effekt, Barba’s “paper canoe” to the ongoing U.S. performance inquiry into “presence.” In a weekly intensive lab component, students will learn the specific techniques developed by and required of these practitioners and genres. Research projects will culminate in an open community workshop of exercises and techniques, incorporated by the students as part of their comprehensive inquiry into additional innovators or genres. Requirement for Theatre and Dance majors. Enrollment limited to 12 students, with preference given to Theatre and Dance major and/or minors. Every fall. (4 Credits)
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THDA 341 - Intermediate Dance Composition
In this course, the student has the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the craft of dancing-making. They embody the tools of space, time and energy with greater clarity, and become fluent with compositional structures as they choreograph solo, duet, and group forms. They begin to touch more deeply into their distinct power and vision as an artist. Collaboration, risk-taking, investigation, and joy are valued within the support of a shared space. Prerequisite(s): or permission of instructor Every fall. (4 Credits)
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THDA 350 - Directing and Devising: Making Meaning on the Stage
Whether the stage is a narrow room, an open field or a proper theatre, making nonhaphazard meaning there requires knowledge of performance history - “what came here before ?” - compositional skill - “how and in what combinations do these visual/aural languages signtify ?” - and collaborative expertise. Students in this course will research the international history of theatre directing and devising since the late nineteenth century, learning from a variety of documents about process, vocabulary, composition and production. They will collaborate on an original class devising project, establishing the new work’s aesthetic codes, communication practices, and production logistics. They will also conduct extensive research, script analyses and design prospectus of playwrights’ work for their final public directing assignments in the one-act play form. Enrollment limited to 12 students. Prerequisite(s): THDA 120 , THDA 125 and THDA 235 or permission of the instructor Every spring. (4 Credits)
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THDA 360 - Acting Theory and Performance II
Advanced work in characterization and additional acting techniques with continued focus on voice, movement, improvisation and textual analysis. A continuation of Acting I, this course is designed to deepen the student’s understanding of his/her instrument as well as develop an individualized working method. Included in the course is a consideration of style through scene work in other genres. Enrollment limited to 12 students. Prerequisite(s): THDA 120 sophomore standing and permission of instructor required. Every year. (4 Credits)
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THDA 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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THDA 465 - Advanced Lighting Design
Continuation of THDA 255. Meets simultaneously with THDA 255. Emphasis will be on furthering skills and techniques used in developing lighting design concepts. Projects are more complex and require more precision in their execution. Group discussion/critiques and field trips are included. Students’ final projects will be a mock United Scenic Artist Lighting Design Exam. Prerequisite(s): THDA 255 or permission of instructor Alternate years. (4 Credits)
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THDA 475 - Advanced Scene Design
Continuation of THDA 235. Meets simultaneously with THDA 235. Emphasis will be on furthering skills and techniques used in developing a design concept and how those design concepts are presented in three dimensional models or color renderings (paintings). A design portfolio will be the outcome of this course. Prerequisite(s): THDA 235 or permission of instructor Every spring. (4 Credits)
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THDA 489 - Seminar in Performance Theory and Practice
What are the hopes of performance and performance theory in the current era of globalization? How do aesthetic and social projects, including visual art, theatre, performance events, and dance, engage with the many registers of thinking, what Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak calls ‘a planetary’ arts and criticism? In this class we assess some of the ways that performance artists and theorists conceptualize and address formal artistic methodologies, culture, and the politics of performance in an era of globalization. Our premise is that all researchers are cultural producers, at once located within processes of globalization and mapping their terrains. Understanding theory as the attempt to practice and articulate methods of action (nothing more, nothing less) we examine some of the essential critical vocabularies for thinking performance and the social together. Readings in Performance research, in addition to Critical Theory, Feminist/Queer Theory, and critical race theory contribute to our study of contemporary Performance Theory. Specific theme may vary by semester, depending on instructor. (4 Credits)
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THDA 490 - Capstone: Senior Research Collective
This course synthesizes the research, artistic and technical practices acquired by all Theatre and Combine Theatre and Dance majors. Each senior completes a capstone project in her/his area of emphasis, and these projects are supported through weekly advising, a monthly senior seminar format, and several presentation/evaluation formats throughout the arc of the senior year. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Offered every year. (1-4 Credits)
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THDA 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
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THDA 601 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (1 Credits)
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THDA 602 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (2 Credits)
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THDA 603 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (3 Credits)
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THDA 604 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (4 Credits)
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THDA 611 - Independent Project
For the advanced student capable of independent study requiring library research and/or experimental work in the theatre. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (1 Credits)
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THDA 612 - Independent Project
For the advanced student capable of independent study requiring library research and/or experimental work in the theatre. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (2 Credits)
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THDA 613 - Independent Project
For the advanced student capable of independent study requiring library research and/or experimental work in the theatre. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (3 Credits)
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THDA 614 - Independent Project
For the advanced student capable of independent study requiring library research and/or experimental work in the theatre. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (4 Credits)
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