DNCE BC2565

Class grade 10% (Participation, Attendance...) Written Assignments 60% (3 written assignments) Final 30%

close reading essay (3 pages), midterm, research paper (10 pages), final

verrrry light - 2 papers, midterm, final. also have to attend 3 out of class performances.

This class was interesting, and Prof. Scolieri is such a kind and patient human being. The course gave students an overview of the history of dance ranging from the Aztecs, to Dance in South Asia, to Africa. The workshops were fun too, and you can tell that Prof. Scolieri has worked hard to bring teachers in to teach. I would say, however, that the grading standards for this class were confusing at best, and made many of us panic. Everything was graded out of 4 (??) and canvas was not set up properly so the grades kept getting multiplied and the courseworks overall grade displayed numbers like 207.59%. The final necessitated quite a bit of studying, and consisted of 50% Identifications from readings/ documentaries, 50% a 1250-word in-class essay (you get roughly an hour to write it). Also, if you don't know anything about dance, it can be quite difficult to participate in class discussions since many students are dance majors etc. This class is not hard if you stay on top of everything. What makes it stressful and confusing is the lack of a mark scheme, the fact that attendance grades are never released, and the logistical aspects of the course that are not well put together. We never even got the final exam grades back, they simply published our final class grade.

This class is very interesting and covers a lot of info. Seth is a great lecturer who is clearly super knowledgable on the subjects. He does a good job of making class engaging with activities and discussion. Nothing goes too in depth just kinda skims the surface on dance from all over the world. I've been a dancer my whole life and still learned a ton from this class. Lots of readings and dance films. You MUST go to lecture in order to do well in this class. It's ok to skim/skip a couple of the readings (I also didn't watch like any of the films) but everything important is covered in lecture. He posts the slides but they're not useful at all. Even if you get notes from a friend it's going to be very difficult to pass the exams if you didn't attend lecture.

Professor Gittens seems like a totally nice woman. She is probably very talented at dance, and she did go to Yale, so she is probably very smart. However, this class (World Dance History) was a joke. It was beyond a joke. I didn't buy the reader and I did extremely well. There are two (joke) papers, a midterm and a final. Every reading is re-capped by an in class presentation by one of your classmates so you never have to do the reading. The material covered is broad but at a middle-school level. Our "discussions" about "issues" involving culture and dance are laughable. This does fulfill the Cultures in Comparison req so if you need a hilariously easy 5th class, take it.

Light. 5 posts online - 3 before spring break and 2 after (200+ words each). 2 papers - 1 750 word and 1 1,500 word.

Paul's Class was amazing. The posts that suggest he only takes to dance students is false. He loves everyone, and actually takes the time to know every single person in class. He's very interested in who you are and what you also do outside of class. This class isn't actually hard and is very manageable, even if you rarely pay attention. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS CLASS. I learned a great deal and am so glad to have taken it.

8, 250+ word postings over the course of the semester; 2 papers; 1 final; usually a screening and/or reading for every class

I have a feeling that the only students who like Paul Scoleri's classes are dance students. Do not take this class if you're a Barnard student looking to fulfill your general education requirements (as I did). He is clearly partial towards students that have a proclivity for the arts. If you don't have a solid background in dance, I would advise against taking it. He claims in the beginning that you don't need any experience in dance, but he clearly cares. He also refuses to give extensions. I've never once asked for an extension in my entire college career, and the one time I really needed one he was useless. And of course, we didn't get the papers back until 4-5 weeks later so it's obviously not because he was in a rush to have them graded. He makes the class more dense than it needs to be. You're not going to remember 95% of the terms (often in different languages) that he throws at you so I don't understand why he burdens students with them. The class wasn't hard because it was academically challenging, because it isn't in the least bit. It's that he gives you so much more information than a student can possibly learn/digest in one semester, unless you're taking a light course load, and expects you to know it all. I love culture studies and was looking forward to this class, but quickly realized it was going to fall short of expectations.