Performing Arts and Social Change (Minor)
The minor in Performing Arts and Social Change employs the restorative practices of theater and dance to foster community-engaged learning and to affect social change. Students practice creativity, critical reflection, and empathy that extends well beyond the theater and into the wider community.
This program fosters community-engaged learning and bridges the study of literature with the restorative practices of performing arts. Students will work with various community partners–performing arts organizations that focus upon the fight for equity and justice for marginalized communities. Students explore issues of social justice, especially at the intersection of race, class, disability, sexuality, and gender, in plays, works of choreography, and relevant literary texts.
Under the guidance and mentorship of literary scholars, social justice advocates, artists, and technicians in professional theater, students wed theory to practice in specialized coursework. The minor culminates in a capstone experience featuring a professional internship with an approved community partner. The internship is enhanced by a faculty-led community of practice where students critically reflect on their experiences and develop a final project suited to their professional and academic goals. Signature work could be scholarly, creative, digital, or performance-based.
Program Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Reflect critically on their identity as a person, a professional, and a community member.
- Analyze the relationship between agency and structures that produce inequity in diverse communities.
- Act creatively and collaboratively to learn within diverse community contexts.
- Co-create artistic and restorative practices through performance that promote equity and enhance well-being.
Required Courses:
CASC 3400 | Theory and Practice for Community Action and Social Change | 4.00 units |
ENGL 3016 | Shakespeare for Social Justice | 4.00 units |
Electives:
Select four units from the following. Additional courses may meet requirements with Department approval.
Capstone
CASC 4996 | Community-Engaged Internship | 2.00 units |
CASC 4905 | Community of Practice and Signature Work | 2.00 units |
Total Credit Hours: 16