Honors: Shall We Dance?
Dance as Narrative in American Film
Fall 2013, Dance CN# 0931 001
TR 11-12:20,Tuttleman 107
(press 4 and 5 together, then 1 for entry)
Instructor: Rori Smith
office hours M 1-2pm and T 12:30-1:30pm
please schedule appointments in advance to confirm location
Course Coordinator: Dr. Kariamu Welsh
Course Description:
“Shall We Dance?” is a course that uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the role dance plays/has played in informing and acknowledging social trends in the twentieth century. Connections are made between dance and immigration, industry, politics, fashion, social change, class and gender, nationalism and war. We will look at the role of dance in popular culture because dance is a ubiquitous activity that permeates and symbolizes all aspects of American life and culture. Dance perpetuates and challenges social and cultural issues of power, class, gender, sexual orientation, and age, and acts as a mirror to society. Areas to be covered include popular perceptions of dance, dance in Hollywood, and dance as a reflection of social change, including: political and economic, social, ritual and contemporary notions of the “Impossible Body”. The students will be tested on class lectures, discussions, film viewing, and reading assignments.
Course Goals:
“Shall We Dance?” is a Gen/Ed Arts course geared to develop your understanding of the arts. This course is designed to teach you:
-To experience and respond to a work of art or creative process.
-To recognize or interpret a work of art or creative process in its social, historical and cultural context.
-To describe or evaluate a work of art or creative process using appropriate terminology.
-To appreciate the value of art in our lives and in society.
Specifically, this course will teach you:
-To learn, appreciate and understand the progression of the use of dance in film from historical, social, aesthetic and cultural viewpoints.
-To discuss, analyze and evaluate developments and trends in dance in selected historical periods.
-To learn how dance operates as text and narrative in film.
-To recognize and analyze the artistic and aesthetic function of dance in furthering the film’s landscape.
Mandatory Texts and Films:
Students are responsible for obtaining films by their own means and viewing the films prior to meeting in class.
The following films are available through ARES on Blackboard as streaming video:
The Gay Divorcee
Singin' in the Rain
West Side Story
Cabaret
Hair
The remainder of the required films will be placed on reserve at Media Services, located on the ground floor of Paley Library. The Media Services phone number is 215-204-8204. There are limited copies and you will be sharing access to these reserves with ALL sections of Shall We Dance. For this reason students are highly encouraged to seek their own methods of obtaining films (Netflix, etc.) and/or to watch the films in groups. Students who have difficulty finding a reliable way to view the films should contact me immediately.
Readings to supplement each film will be provided on Blackboard through Ares or as weblinks. No textbook is required for this course.
Mandatory Performance Attendance:
Students must attend Temple University Theater Department’s production of Oklahoma! October 9-20. Specific showtimes should be available on the Theater Department website or at the box office. The cost to students is 5 dollars and students are responsible for purchasing their own tickets. The box office opens on September 9 and is open M-F from 12-6pm. Tickets are also available online. Students must purchase tickets by September 17 and bring them to class to be counted. The box office does not accept cash.
If you have a conflict with attending the performance please speak to the instructor during the first week of classes and indicate the conflict on your Course Contract. Students will write a comparative reflection paper on the staged and film versions of Oklahoma. Details will follow.
What will happen during the course of the semester:
●Students are required to complete all assigned reading and watch each film in its entirety prior to the class when the film will be discussed.
●Students will be tested on knowledge of the film and reading with brief weekly quizzes in class or online through Blackboard.
●Students will reflect on and analyze the films by creating written discussion questions.
●Group discussion and in-class projects will require students to reflect, analyze and evaluate their own work and the work of others.
●Movement classes will introduce students to basic dance steps featured in films.
●Students will organize and manage groups to create short presentations analyzing the films throughout the semester.
●Students will collaborate on a final presentation on the topic of their choice.
Class environment:
●Students should come prepared to participate in group discussions and group project work.
●Students should wear flat, skid resistant shoes and comfortable clothing for movement classes.
●Beverages are permitted.
●Cell phones should be turned off or SILENCED upon entering the classroom.
Participation:
Class participation includes making comments during discussions and willingness to share views and ideas. Participation also includes attention and sensitivity towards the view and ideas of your peers.
Questions and Concerns:
Please contact me via email to make an appointment or if you have any questions or concerns. I will reply to all emails within 24 hours. Please compose emails with your full name. Office hours are held during the times allotted, but appointments should be made via email at least a day in advance.If a medical or personal crisis prevents you from doing your best work, let me know so we can discuss available options.
Course Evaluation:
*Class Participation (10%)
Talk in class, be fully present (i.e. cell phones away, tablets and laptops for note taking ONLY), give 100% of your intelligence each class. Go above and beyond average expectations and past experience to grow as a scholar.
*Discussion Questions (10%)
Students will compose written discussion questions about each film to share in class. Questions will be assessed on quality of critical thinking (i.e. does the question address an important social, historical, aesthetic, etc. aspect of the film) and ability to produce fruitful discussion (i.e. not a yes or no question). Several students will be selected for each film to start the class discussion.
*Quizzes (20%)
Students will be tested on basic knowledge of the film and readings with short, in-class quizzes.
*Dance Concert Response (10%)
Students are required to attend Oklahoma and write a3-4 pagecomparative response paper drawing upon sources in dance and film criticism. Guidelines will follow in class.
*Midterm Project(20%)
Students will interview an elder with whom they have a strong personal connection about their early memories of dance and film. Students will use the information provided by the interviewee to conduct research in dance history. Students will then compare their own dance and film experiences to those of their interview subject. The final written product will combine research-driven and creative writing.
*Scene Analysis Presentations (10%)
Students working in pairs will present short analyses of a dance sequence from an assigned film.
*Final Group Project (20%)
Students working in small groups will select a topic relating to dance and film that we have not thoroughly discussed in class or a dance film other than those we have watched and perform presentations. The emphasis indicates that students will strive to embody their research.
Grading Scale
A 100-93 / B+ 89-87 / B- 82-80 / C 76-73 / D+ 69-67 / D- 62-60A- 90-92 / B 86-83 / C+79-77 / C- 72-70 / D 66-63 / F 59-0
Late Assignments
-Discussion questions will not be accepted late. If you are absent from class you must email your questions to the instructor prior to 11am to receive credit.
-Essays will be accepted up to one week late with a 10% penalty to your grade. After one week essays will not be accepted.
-Quizzes may be made up ONLY on the day following their in-class delivery. I.e. if you miss a quiz on Tuesday, you must arrange with the instructor to make up on Wednesday. If you miss on Thursday, you must make up on Friday. Students may make up no more than TWO quizzes.
-Presentations may not be rescheduled. If you have a conflict with the date of a presentation you have been assigned it is your responsibility to swap assignments with another student. Please email the instructor and CC all parties involved before confirming any swaps.
-Exceptions will only be made for verified medical and personal emergencies.
Dance DepartmentAttendance Policy
In order for students to gain the intellectual, physical, social, and emotional benefits of university general education classes in dance, full participation is required. For this reason, only two absences are permitted without penalty.Your final grade will be lowered by a half-letter grade (3% of final grade) for each additional absence. Absences will only be excused for deaths in the family, court dates/jury duty with written documentation, events mandated by the university, or religious holidays. A doctor’s note will not excuse an absence unless there are extreme circumstances.After the fourth absence, your academic advisor or Dean of Students may be consulted for advice. Students with 6 ormore unexcused absences forany reason will be required to withdraw from the course orwill receive a failing grade.
Tardiness will not be tolerated orexcused and a pattern of lateness will adversely affect yourgrade. Tardiness accumulates into absences. Three late arrivals will equal one absence. Entering the class after attendance has been taken (i.e. after your name has been called) will result in your being marked late. Leaving class early will also be counted as tardiness. Coming to class more than 15 minutes late or leaving more than 15 minutes early will count as an absence. Lateness will also influence your grade for participation in the course. If you come to class late, please enter quickly and quietly so as not to disrupt the course proceedings. Be sure to notify the instructor that you arrived at the end of class.
Plagiarism:
Any student found plagiarizing (using someone else’s ideas and/or words as your own without giving credit to the source) will receive a failing grade for the course.
Disabilities Accommodations:
Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs as soon as possible but preferably within the first two weeks of class. In addition, please contact Disabilities Resources Services at 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accommodations. The Disabilities Resources and Services (DRS) is the office that determines appropriate accommodations. This office bases that decision upon documentation collect from the student with a disability, the student’s functional limitations, established guidelines and appropriate practice at Temple University. The DRS phone number is 215.204.1280.
Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities:
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) can be accessed with this link:
Academic Integrity:
Those giving the instructor reason to believe that the TU Student Code of Conduct has been violated will be subject to University Sanctions. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures for more information:
Honors: Shall We Dance? Fall 2013
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
*Subject to Change*
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WEEK / TUESDAY / THURSDAY / READ OVER WEEKENDWeek 1
Shall We Dance? / August 27
Course Introduction and Syllabus
Homework for Thursday:
Read-
Belton, John.
American Cinema, American Culture, Third Edition. Chapter 1 pages 3-20 / August 29
Early Film
Film Criticism, Scene Analysis and Dance on Film
Course Contracts Due / Belton, John.
American Cinema, American Culture, Third Edition. Chapter 7, pages 144-163
Athena Meets Venus: Visions of Women in Social Dance in the Teens and Early 1920s Author(s): Julie Malnig Source: Dance Research Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 34-62
Week 2
Begin Unit:
The Era of Famous Dancers
Sex and Romance:
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers / September 3
From Stage to Screen: Vaudeville and Busby Berkeley
Begin: The Gay Divorcee / September 5
The Gay Divorcee cont’d
Quiz #1 / Bogle, Donald.Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. Chapter 1, pages 3-18
and
Chapter 3, pages 35-52
Week 3
Spectacularly Invisible: Race and Dance Blackface
Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple / September 10
The Littlest Rebel
Guest Lecture:
Dr. Kariamu Welsh
The Waltz / September 12
Quiz #2
Scene Analysis #1
The Littlest Rebel cont’d
Introduce Midterm Interview Project / Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. Chapter 5, pages 117-143
Quiz #3: Take Home
Week 4
Stereotypes and Popular Icons
Bill Robinson, Katherine Dunham, The Nicholas Brothers / September 17
Guest Artist: Linda Wolfe, Lindy Hop / September 19
Stormy Weather
Scene Analysis #2
Scene Analysis #3 / Belton, John.
American Cinema, American Culture, Third Edition. Chapter 5, pages 87-90
Week 5
American Romanticism
Gene Kelly, Donald O’Sullivan, CydCharisse / September 24
Singin’ In the Rain
Scene Analysis #4
Scene Analysis #5 / September 26
End of “Dancers” Unit
Early Experimental Dance Films: Maya Deren / Long, Robert Emmet. Broadway, the Golden Years. "CHAPTER ONE: AGNES DE MILLE." 21-59.
Week 6
Begin Unit: The Era of Famous Choreographers
The Frontier and the American Dream
Agnes DeMille / October 1
Oklahoma!
Quiz #5
Scene Analysis #6 / October 3
Oklahoma!
Midterm Abstracts and Indicative Bibliography Due / Hart, Henry. “West Side Story.” Rev. of West Side Story, dir. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. Films in Review. November 1961: 549-552.
Eichenbaum, Rose and Hirt-Manheimer, Aron, Ed. The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2008. pgs. 130-136, Rita Moreno
Greene, Frank. “Cinematic Translation: The Film that Made West Side Story a Legend of Musical Theatre.” The Sondheim Review. Winter (2007).
Bosman, Julie. “Jets? Yes! Sharks? Si! In Bilingual ‘West Side.’” The New York Times. 17 July 2008: E1.
Week 7
Urban Drama, Youth and Conflict
Jerome Robbins / October 8
Introduce Oklahoma Assignment
Introduce Final Project
Conferences / October 10
Conferences Continued
West Side Story
Scene Analysis #7 / Belton, John.American Cinema, American Culture, Third Edition.Chapter 15, pages 339-361
Week 8
Urban Drama, Youth and Conflict
Jerome Robbins / October 15
No Class / October 17
Guest Artist- Tatiana Hassan-Arias, Jazz
Final Presentation Topic Choices Due / “Cabaret", America's Weimar, and Mythologies of the Gay Subject Author(s): Mitchell Morris Source: American Music, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring, 2004), pp. 145-157
Williams, Carla. “Bisexuality in Film.” GLBTQ: The World’s Largest Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. December 28, 2004.
Week 9
Expatriates in the Weimar Republic
Bob Fosse / October 22
End West Side Story
Scene Analysis #8
Begin Cabaret / October 24
Cabaret / Tharp, Twyla. Push Comes to Shove. New York, NY: Linda Grey Bantam Books, 1991, pgs. 224-237.
Week 10
The 1960’s: Counterculture Strikes Back
Twyla Tharp / October 29
Hair
Scene Analysis #9
Scene Analysis #10
Midterm Projects Due / October 31
NO CLASS- Happy Halloween!
Oklahoma! Essays Due by Email November 1st, 12pm / Dodds, Sherril. Dance on Screen: Genres and Media from Hollywood to Experimental Art. Chapter 2, pages 36-44
Eichenbaum, Rose and Hirt-Manheimer, Aron, Ed. The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2008, pgs. 195-199, Marine Jahan
Week 11
Begin Unit: Issues in Contemporary Dance Film
Aesthetics of the Body Perfect / November 5
Hair Quiz
Contact Improvisation Movement Day / November 7
Flashdance
Scene Analysis #11
Final Presentation Indicative Bibliographies Due
Week 12
Aesthetics of the Body Perfect / November 12
Guest Lecture: Colleen Hooper, Flashdance / November 14
End Flashdance
Final Presentation Work Day
Ask any last-minute presentation questions!
Week 13 / November 19
Final Presentations / November 21
Final Presentations
Week 14 / November 26
Final Presentations / November 28
NO CLASS
Week 15 / December 3
Final Class Meeting and
Reflection
Course Contract
Honors: Shall We Dance?
Fall 2013, CR #0931, Section 001
T/R 11:00-12:20
Instructor: Rori Smith
This certifies that I have read and understand the syllabus, that I will meet all requirements and follow all rules pertaining to this course. Furthermore, if I have any questions and/or concerns regarding any aspect of this course, I will contact the instructor, Rori Smith, immediately to discuss these matters.
This contract also certifies that I have arranged for a reliable method of obtaining each film required for this course. If I do not have a reliable method I will speak with the instructor prior to submitting this contract.
______
Printed Name
______
Date
______
Signature
Who are you?
Please tell me a little bit about yourself – your year in college, your major, why you chose to take this class – anything that describes how you see yourself at this point in your life. I look forward to your reply.
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