DNCE 4550 - African American Dance in film

Credits: 3

This course is a critical examination of the advent of dance in the American popular film industry spanning late 1800s starting with the peculiar entertainment of minstrelsy to movie musicals to contemporary times with movies centrally themed about dance. Students will deduce how dance culminated on screen focusing on popular stereotypes, and icons, revealing how the roles of gender, race, fashion, economic factors and political forces effect the times. Students will observe and examine movies containing dance or dance themes. They will create discourse around dance, strengthen critical thinking skills through class discussion supported by mini-projects and unwrap social issues and subtext within the film through written response.

Prerequisite(s): Junion/Senior Level