VISST-2000 courses develop students' visual analysis skills while providing the opportunity for in-depth study of the visual/structural artifacts associated with a particular topic, region, or movement. Students will also engage with the relevant primary/secondary literature for the topic at hand. Courses will pay particular attention to the larger cultural, historical, and theoretical/ideological contexts in which the visual artifacts and structures under consideration were created.COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis course will provide a survey of the history of performance art. Beginning with the theatrical experiments of the early 20th century avant-gardes, we will trace its developments in Europe, North America and Japan after World War II, and explore its global proliferation to the present day. Particular attention will be paid to the role of performance in political critique, examining the relationship of performance to feminism, political protest, collective mourning, and explorations of race, gender, and sexuality. Approaches to be discussed include actions, body art, happenings, durational performance, and ritual. Class discussions will be supplemented by videos, readings, and live performances around the Bay Area. Students will have the opportunity to explore the connection between theory and practice by developing their own performance practices in conversation with the course material.

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