LLC 320 - Performing the Real, Writing the Body

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): DE
Meets Explore Core requirement (students beginning Fall 2024 and later): RP
In “Performing the Real, Writing the Body,” students will explore how ‘the real’ is represented through various artistic and cultural mediums, mainly theater and performance art. The works of women and BIPOC artists will be privileged. We will also examine how these artistic practices allow us to understand history, coloniality, and the consequences of racism through the bodies of artists, witnesses, participants, and audiences. The course will challenge students to consider the body not just as a biological entity but as a site of cultural, political, and theoretical expression that can be “written” or constructed through text, performance, and visual arts. Throughout the course, we will analyze the values and pitfalls at the intersection of documentary theater practices and the lived experiences of diverse communities across the Americas.