Course Info: CSI-0181
| Course | CSI-0181 West African Dance & History |
| Long Title | West African Dance and History: Independence Struggles and Rise of National Ballet of Guinea |
| Term | 2016S |
| Note(s) |
Satisfies Distribution Textbook information |
| Meeting Info | Music and Dance Building RECITAL on M,W from 2:30-3:50 |
| Faculty | Amy Jordan |
| Capacity | 23 |
| Available | 6 |
| Waitlist | 0 |
| Distribution(s) |
Power, Community and Social Justice |
| Cumulative Skill(s) | Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research |
| Additional Info | Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. |
| Description | This course combines West African dance classes with discussion-based classes on the cultural and social history of Guinea. In most classes, students danced to rhythms from Guinea, including Yankedi, Coucou, Lamban, Sinte, Soli and Makru. Students performed a piece that combined Sinte and Soli for the final showing on the last day of class. In discussion classes, we discussed recent scholarship on the rise and evolution of militant theater and Ballets Africains during Guinea's independence era. Students read excerpts from Frantz Fanon, Robert Farris Thompson, Elizabeth Schmidt, Laye Camara, and Jay Straker. The literature included broader social histories of the struggle for independence as well as scholarly debates about conceptions of authenticity, modernity and the legacy of the cultural revolution. Students wrote three short essays and a longer research based film paper. |