Broadway to Beyonce: Dance in American Popular Culture

Undergraduate

This lecture surveys the role of dance in American popular culture. Starting with the roots of American popular dance in the 18th and 19th centuries, the course focuses on the 20th and 21st, tracking the intersection of dance and music and the dissemination of both through stage, film, music videos, concerts, and the internet. The course pays special attention to how dance forms that originated in Black communities have spread through the wider culture, via Broadway shows, Hollywood films, television programs, and YouTube. The course draws its subject matter mostly from primary sources, mainly film and video, but also samples a wide variety of authors and perspectives. HU M 4pm-5:55pm