Listening to the Periphery: Traditional Arts in a Global Context

This four-week course provides students with an introduction to various performing arts genres and their contemporary performance styles and uses. This class offers a particular focus on Korean history, culture, and 21st-century developments, especially with regard to Korean soft power, national branding, and identity though music, but will consider the arts of other countries as well. One of the primary goals of the class is learning the concepts and methods for understanding the role of performing arts in society generally. As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on both traditional academia and the performing arts hall, digital audio-visual media literacy has become essential for professors, students, and artists.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Final projects will focus on digital storytelling. Students will choose a genre, concert, or specific song or piece that interests them and create a guided 20-minute multimedia audio-visual introduction that accompanies their written research. These presentations will be shared with other students during the final week of class. Class formats will include online lectures and Zoom-type virtual meetings. Face-to-face meetings may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

REQUIREMENTS: 

• Fluency in spoken and written English (must be able to produce a 500-word essay and read academic texts)

• Fluency in Korean a plus but not required

• Digital camera/audio recorder (smartphone)