DANC 125
Music and Social Dance in Latin America Spring 2023
Division I Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed MUS 125
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

This course offers a full-spectrum introduction to a number of Latin American social dance forms, including samba, salsa, tango, and the Suriname Maroon genre, awasa. Through critical listening and viewing assignments, performance workshops, and readings from disciplines spanning ethnomusicology, anthropology, dance studies, Latin American studies and history, students will combine a technical understanding of the musical and choreographic features of these genres with a consideration of their broader contexts and social impact. Among the questions that will drive class discussions are: How do sound and movement interrelate? What aspects of gender, sexuality, class, race and ethnicity arise in the performance and consumption of Latin American genres of social dance? How do high political, economic, and personal stakes emerge through activities more commonly associated with play and leisure? This class is driven by academic inquiry into these various social dance practices; it does not prioritize gaining performance skills in the genres discussed. While there will be experiential components included throughout the course (for instance music or dance workshops), the majority of the class will be conducted in a discussion/seminar format. While the ability to read musical notation is helpful, it is not required.
The Class: Format: seminar; seminar/studio
Limit: 20
Expected: 20
Class#: 3845
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: Regular short assignments, three 5-7 page papers, final project or paper (10-12pgs)
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: upperclassmen, majors in music, dance, Latino/a studies.
Unit Notes: MUS World Music/Ethnomusicology
Distributions: Division I Difference, Power, and Equity
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
DANC 125 Division I MUS 125 Division I
DPE Notes: Together, the music and dance genres discussed here indicate the diversity of social dance practices within Latin America, broadly conceived. Each unit of the course delves into aspects of political, historical, and cultural context and their resonance within the realm of music and dance. Specific attention is paid to racial and intercultural aspects each genre's formulation, practice, and circulation, as well as the politics of representation in embodied expression.
Attributes: GBST Latin American Studies
MUS World Music/Ethnomusicology

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