Global Arc

Junior Independent Work requires students to complete a substantial piece of research and scholarship under the supervision and advisement of a Princeton faculty member. The work requires sustained investment and attention throughout the semester. See below for details on works-in-progress submissions and due dates.

How might our understanding of Toni Morrison's work change if we approach her not only as a novelist, but also as a reader, student, teacher, and editor? This seminar explores Morrison's fiction, criticism, speeches, and essays in relation to the writers, thinkers, and interlocutors who constitute her literary circle -- including Toni Cade Bambara, James Baldwin, and Virginia Woolf, among others. Throughout the semester, we will work with materials from the Toni Morrison Papers, using archival research to further illuminate the networks of influence, collaboration, and intellectual exchange that shaped her writing.

This course examines the nature of race & racism at the heart of the American project through a historical lens of wealth creation, labor markets, political culture, social institutions, immigration, human rights, foreign relations, & civic life. Drawing on African American & immigration history, (post) colonial studies, critical race theory, and whiteness studies, students will gain historical knowledge required for leadership in a 21st century, multi-racial democracy. Students who plan to work in non-profits, government agencies and policy circles will also gain analytical tools to help lead institutions in an ever more diverse world.

This course will introduce Juniors and Seniors in the Department of African American Studies to the empirical methods and interpretive approaches that animate the study of black life, politics, and culture, as well as the ethical dilemmas that have shaped research in the field. The course will have three aims: (1) To clarify the logic and practice of research in African American Studies; (2) To survey the major methodological debates and preoccupations that distinguish African American Studies from other fields of inquiry; and (3) To provide a common language with which majors can interpret the field.

Whether referred to as site-specific, site-responsive, or site-engaged, site is understood in interlocking and distinct ways in visual art, dance and across performance. Through the bisecting lenses of dance and visual art, this course will examine site-based work in land art, environmental and ecological art, urban intervention, community engaged practices, and public art. Art-making and performance practices that take site into account are inherently collaborative in their negotiation between place and person. Students will engage in movement practices and material explorations as a form of research into sites on and off campus.

What is the shared vocabulary of Movement and Light? How do we think about quality, timing, scale and form in both choreography and design? In this studio course we will explore light and movement to better understand how these elements inform each other in the creation of interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Students will take on the roles of both designer and choreographer, they will develop communications skills across disciplines and question traditional power structures in their making process. This is a hands-on course with an emphasis on creating, revision, communication and collaboration across disciplines and cultures.

This course offers a dynamic exploration of the intersection between dance theatre and popular culture. Bridging the realms of artistic expression and societal influence, students will embark on a multidisciplinary journey that spans historical, cultural, and performative landscapes. Through a fusion of theory, practice, and critical analysis, participants will gain a profound understanding of how dance theatre has both shaped and been shaped by popular culture, from the early 20th century to the present day.

Princeton Dance Festival is a studio course that culminates in two performances: the Princeton Dance Festival at the Berlind Theatre and a choreographic showing in the Hearst Theater. Students learn and perform dances either through collaboration with faculty or by learning significant dances from contemporary choreographers. In the choreography precepts, students engage in creative practices to gain fluency with a range of choreographic approaches. Readings and viewings support students' growth as performers, choreographers, viewers, readers and writers of dance.

This advanced studio course explores the interplay between foundational modern dance techniques such as Dunham, Graham, Humphrey/Limon, Horton, and Cunningham, alongside contemporary practices including Contact Improvisation, Gaga, Flying Low, and Umfundalai. Through intensive physical training with rotating faculty, students engage in a comparative, embodied approach to develop personal movement research. The course blends historical and contemporary perspectives, encouraging critical reflection on how dance engages with evolving ideas about the body, identity, and performance, offering a comprehensive view of contemporary dance.

This advanced studio course explores the Hip-Hop dance aesthetic from multiple perspectives, in order to help students develop their own personal relationship to the culture and its influences. Structured around a series of guest workshops by dancers from a range of Hip-Hop dance traditions, the course will engage with these forms on their own terms, but also with an eye towards exploring the more abstract artistic options that Hip-Hop dance offers.