Theater of Everyday Life: Ethnographic Writing in Public Spaces
Term
Format
On Campus
Subject Area
Course Number
MLA 5030 640
Course Code
MLA5030640
Course Key
90123
Schedule
Day(s)
Tuesday
Time
5:15pm-8:15pm
Instructor
Primary Program
Course Description
HYBRID Tuesday evenings (virtual 5:15pm) with 3 in-person Saturday sessions (9am-1pm)
Class Times: Tues. evenings virtual (5:15pm); with 3 Saturday in-person sessions on campus for interactive fieldwork experiences and ethnographic encounters: (these 3 Saturdays will run 4 hrs each: 9am-1pm (Sat. Jan. 30; Sat. Feb. 20; Sat. March 20: make up day for any cancellations due to weather: Sat. April 10)
Course Description:
You stare self-consciously at the doors of a crowded elevator, dress for your first day of classes, or tell the story of a grueling exam. Although these actions and interactions may seem to be natural elements in our everyday lives, according to sociologist Erving Goffman, can also be viewed as pieces of theatre, the staging and parts of which we have learned through years of training. In unpacking the role of performance in our daily lives, we may begin to see how life is like theatrea site where meaning is created and enacted through dialogue, choreography, and dramatic action.
This seminar combines aspects of ethnography with issues pertinent to public culture to ask: How does performance function in everyday life? When do we cast ourselves in starring roles or take our place in the audience? What aspects of life do we explain through social dramas, ritual, or festival? In answering these questions, we draw upon scholarship in folklore, anthropology, and theatre as we consider the theatricality of our own lives; a natural history museums staging of the ritual drama of cultural others; and cultural performances of students own choosing. The course is structured around three essay/multi-modal projects, so that by the end of the semester you will have practiced exploring this question through the lens of prevalent styles of ethnographic expression.
The 3 face-to-face sessions provide important experiential and ethnographic experiencesan introduction to using self as instrument of observation; an exploration of self in relationship to objectsexploring museums through the lens of back-stage/front stage exhibition practices; and mapping the field through a Walking Tour creating a dynamic (re)presentation of space.
While we practice together, students have the opportunity to choose your own contexts to study, making this course adaptable to various programs and courses of study.
Class Times: Tues. evenings virtual (5:15pm); with 3 Saturday in-person sessions on campus for interactive fieldwork experiences and ethnographic encounters: (these 3 Saturdays will run 4 hrs each: 9am-1pm (Sat. Jan. 30; Sat. Feb. 20; Sat. March 20: make up day for any cancellations due to weather: Sat. April 10)
Course Description:
You stare self-consciously at the doors of a crowded elevator, dress for your first day of classes, or tell the story of a grueling exam. Although these actions and interactions may seem to be natural elements in our everyday lives, according to sociologist Erving Goffman, can also be viewed as pieces of theatre, the staging and parts of which we have learned through years of training. In unpacking the role of performance in our daily lives, we may begin to see how life is like theatrea site where meaning is created and enacted through dialogue, choreography, and dramatic action.
This seminar combines aspects of ethnography with issues pertinent to public culture to ask: How does performance function in everyday life? When do we cast ourselves in starring roles or take our place in the audience? What aspects of life do we explain through social dramas, ritual, or festival? In answering these questions, we draw upon scholarship in folklore, anthropology, and theatre as we consider the theatricality of our own lives; a natural history museums staging of the ritual drama of cultural others; and cultural performances of students own choosing. The course is structured around three essay/multi-modal projects, so that by the end of the semester you will have practiced exploring this question through the lens of prevalent styles of ethnographic expression.
The 3 face-to-face sessions provide important experiential and ethnographic experiencesan introduction to using self as instrument of observation; an exploration of self in relationship to objectsexploring museums through the lens of back-stage/front stage exhibition practices; and mapping the field through a Walking Tour creating a dynamic (re)presentation of space.
While we practice together, students have the opportunity to choose your own contexts to study, making this course adaptable to various programs and courses of study.
Subject Area Vocab
