Institution: Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music
Instructor: Alyssa Schmidt
Description: Welcome to the emerging field of eco-performance studies and practice! We will together explore how and why certain artists are responding to ecological crises by crafting performances inspired by them, even transforming the way they tell stories and approach theatre. Many environmental thinkers and activists assert that a reality such as that of climate change can be neither effectively evaluated nor mitigated through strictly technical means. No mere scientific facts to be solved, environmental issues are imagined and engaged through cultural practices, and our responses are enabled—and limited—by our own means of expression. Drawing from social science perspectives and approaches, as well as such ecocritical frameworks as those of intersectional environmentalism, sustainability, indigenous knowledge, environmental justice, and queer ecology, students will analyze how environmental issues of climate change and resource insecurity are presented on stage through diverse forms of performance, ranging from the means of fiction to those of advocacy.
Level: Undergraduate
Timing: Every fall
Country: United States
Syllabus: Eco-Performance