There is a rich and vast history of dance around the globe. Students have a choice to find a focus within each module and the course.

Pick a reading from below that mosts interests you.

• Thoroughly read the article.

• Pick 3 words that you were unsure of the meaning, look them up, write the definition down.

• Write 100-200 words summarizing the article.

  • You can write in first person.

  • You can tie other areas of study to your observations and learning.

  • We've provided written summaries to help aid in your reading choice and added extra links to help with the context of the articles.

Reading choices Module 1 Land:

• Jeyasingh, Shobana. “Imaginary Homelands: Creating a New Dance Language.” The Routledge Dance Studies Reader, edited by Alexandra Carter, 1998, pp. 46-52

  • This article discusses how author and London Based Choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh identifies with both her Indian heritage and her heritage growing up in the UK and the artistic expectations that are placed on her culturally by her place of birth

• Murphy, Jacqueline Shea. “Dancing in the Here and Now.” The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Politics, edited by Rekekah J. Kowal, Gerald Siegmund, Randy Martin, 2017, pp. 535‐558

  • This article by UC Riverside and critical dance studies scholar Jacqueline Shea Murphy discusses two different companies who perform contemporary indigenous dance.

    • Here is a link to Dancing Earth one of the dance companies featured in the article for more context

    • Here is a link to Catalyst Dance , the company Emily Johnson runs and is also featured in the article

• "Lessons in Dance (as) History: Aboriginal Land Claims and Aboriginal Dance, circa 1999," Dancing Bodies Living Histories: New Writings about Dance and Culture, edited by Anne Flynn and Lisa Doolittle, Banff Centre Press, 2000.

  • This article written in 1999 by Jacqueline Shea Murphy at the early stages of her academic career as a white female dance scholar focusing on indigenous dance and culture. She speaks about what she learned about dance history on a visit to BANFF cultural center in Canada.

  • Here is a youtube video featuring Muriel Miguel talking about her life as an artist. She choreographing the piece "Throw Away Kids" discussed in the article.

• Shapiro-Phim, Toni. “Mediating Cambodian History, The Sacred, and The Earth.” edited by Naomi Jackson, Toni Shapiro-Phim, 2008. 304-322

  • This article by Toni Shapiro-Phim discusses how Cambodian refugees found "place" in dance, when they were disconnected from their "land" during the Khmer Rouge occupation.

Group Annotated Bibliography Instructions