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Dance and Gender Studies II-B

Course Number: DNCA 214-001

3 Credit Hours

Term: Spring 2023

Meeting Days/Times: T/TH 9:30-10:45am

Location: RJ 140 

Instructors: Derreck L. Williams, Eryn R. Cade, and Bria J. Tyner

 

Contact Information:

Campus Directory:

Prerequisites:

Course Catalog Prerequisites:

  • No Prerequisite Required

Course Description and Goals:

Course Description and Credit Hours:

  • This 3 credit hour course examines a variety of texts to disseminate and challenge common notions of dance and gender. Students will explore gender, sexuality, and power to recognize the ways in which choreography reflects history, identity, and social interactions. Through the lens of feminism, queer, and masculinity, this course will investigate the role gender plays in dance as a social and performance art. Through weekly lectures and movement based explorations, students will gain a broader understanding of how societal notions of gender affect dance and choreography. 

Required Texts:

Required Texts from UA Supply Store:

 

Learning Objectives:

During lecture based classes, students will:

  • Outline philosophies by writers, artists, and choreographers to identify diversities in values, time periods, methods, styles, and aesthetics.  

  • Compare feminist theories, queer studies and masculinity through journal reflections to recognize the effects of gender roles in the arts community. 

  • Examine gender roles through historical context, to determine its influence on modern day society. 

 

During movement based classes, students will:

 

  • Deconstruct and identify gender-based movement practices to identify common relationships between movement styles, elements and codified techniques. 

  • Critique gender theories through movement explorations, written assignments and journal entries. 

  • Design a plan to dismantle hierarchies in gender roles in the arts community. 

Student Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students will be able to: 

  • Demonstrate an increased awareness of gender roles in dance.

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of what historical contexts have shaped the way gender roles are viewed in dance, choreography and the arts community. 

  • Demonstrate the ability to develop strategies that dismantle hierarchies in gender based movement practices. 

Course Materials:

  • See required texts listed above.

 Outline of Topics:

  • Module 1: Weeks 1-6

    • Exploration of Dance and Gender: Feminist theory

  • Module 2: Weeks 7-11

    • Exploration of Dance and Gender: Queer theory

  • Module 3: Weeks 12-16

    • Exploration of Dance and Gender: Men studies 

 

Grading Policy

  • Concert Attendance: 5%

  • Journals: 20%

  • Written Exams: 60%

  • Final Project: 15%

Method of Evaluation: 

  • Students are expected to attend all classes and to arrive at the scheduled times.

  • ATTENDANCE POLICY: The Dance and Gender class meets every T/TH from 9:30-10:45 am. Students are required to attend all meeting days as it is essential to educational growth. Since the class meets twice a week, students will be given two absences, free of penalty. Every absence beyond will affect the final grade by one letter. Students are expected to learn any missed material prior to returning to class. If a student is aware of an upcoming absence, please inform the instructor at least one week in advance to avoid a penalty.

  • TARDY: Please be on time. Three tardies = one absence. 5 min late is considered tardy (participation is allowed).  If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, you will not be allowed to participate (and therefore, will be counted absent).

Exams and Assignments:

Concert Attendance: 5%

  • Students are REQUIRED to attend all dance program performances. For each attended performance, students can email a photo of the program, selfie in the theater, or ticket stub to instructor for credit. Concert dates listed below.

-Alabama Repertory Dance Theater (March 2-5, 2023)

-Dance Alabama (March 30-April 2, 2023)

-Dance Collection (April 22, 2023)

-Purchase tickets here: https://ua.universitytickets.com/?cid=167

 

Journals: 20%

  • Students will be required to submit weekly journals via Blackboard. The journal is a written document that records the progress and reflection of your overall discoveries of gender and dance within the studio and lectures. Each journal should be a two-page, double-spaced document, including your name and submission date in the right-hand corner, followed by a creative title in the center. Times New Roman, 12pt. font. All journals are due on or before the due date at 11:59 pm. The journals will serve as the foundation for written assessments that are due after each module. (see written assessment below). Students should use the following questions as catalyst for their journals:

    • As a student, what knowledge and opinions do I already have?

    • What information was new to me?

    • What question do I have?

    • What is one thing that stuck out to me during the lecture/movement exploration and why?

    • How can I apply what I learned to other courses and creative explorations?

Written Assessments: 60%

  • There will be three written assessments in this course. Each assessment (3) will be worth 15% and will be due at the final week of each module. The assessment will be cumulative, combining all information learned during the module and will be submitted in paper form totaling 5-8 pages in length. Due dates are listed below.

    • Exam #1: Feminism  Due Date: February 18th 

    • Exam #2: Queer  Due Date: March 31st

    • Exam #3: Masculinity Due Date: April 21st

Final Project: 15%

  • The final project will be a 10-minute oral presentation. Students have the option of submitting a PowerPoint or choreographic study. The presentation should include research on interesting facts and discoveries found throughout the course. The grade will be solely based on the information presented and the quality of the presentation. There will be a rubric given closer to midterm to offer further details.

Policy on Missed Exams and Coursework

A portion of the coursework will be movement based. Should a student have to miss class, it is their responsibility to notify the instructor and outsource to learn knowledge that was missed. For exams and journals, students should notify the instructor when absent and communicate potential times to make up the work. Students will have up to ONE week to make up the exams/journals. Any exam/journal not completed will result in a zero.

Notification of Changes

The instructor will make every effort to follow the guidelines of this syllabus as listed; however, the instructor reserves the right to amend this document as the need arises. In such instances, the instructor will notify students in class and/or via email and will endeavor to provide reasonable time for students to adjust to any changes.

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