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Special Topics in Advanced Theatre Studies (340-0-21)

Topic

Artwork out of Archives

Instructors

Danielle Bainbridge

Meeting Info

Wirtz 235 Seminar Room 1: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

This class combines archival research methodologies with critical artistic practice to create artworks out of archives. Designed for advanced undergraduates, the projects created for this class will illuminate the key properties of a given archival collection and animate them for a general audience. This can include projects such as designing an art exhibit, writing a play, creating a digital media project, or drafting a written piece of fiction or creative nonfiction. Students will learn how to combine the skills of archival research with their creative practice. The first half of the quarter is dedicated to locating archives of interest, analyzing their contents, and looking at key examples of archive inspired artworks. The second half of the quarter focuses on students workshopping and completing their own archival artworks. The archival artworks can be multidisciplinary and of the student's own design. Every week we will review a combination of theoretical texts, visual art, performance theory, theatre, and theatre history that all critically engage the archive. The class will be taught in collaboration with Northwestern's library and archives, with visits to the collections designed into the course.

Class Materials (Required)

1. The Archive and the Repertoire Diana Taylor Paper ISBN: 978-0-8223-3123-0
2. Cities of the Dead Joseph Roach ISBN: 9780231104609
3. Zong! M. Nourbese Philip ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0819568767
4. After the Party: A Manifesto for Queer of Color Life Joshua Chambers-Letson PAPERBACK 9781479832774
5. Fires in the Mirror Anna Deveare Smith ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 082221329X

Class Notes

This class will be a collaboration with Northwestern's libraries and archival collections. Students will be asked to pick an archive from a previously selected pool of materials. Class will sometimes meet in the archive to facilitate students engagement with the materials.