Life presents us with challenges. We must "audition" every day. Actors must audition for stage and film work. This class will provide practical guidelines on the process of auditions and useful tools for auditioning. Important audition elements such as concentration, truth, spontaneity, energy, humor, courage and skill will be covered. Topics will include: theatre scenes, monologues, as well as auditioning for film/television, and musicals. It will be lively, practical, hands-on class for anyone interested in getting their feet wet, or improving their skills. Novices and seasoned veterans are welcome.

The purpose of this multidisciplinary course is to explore the transformations of African musical cultures as they have evolved around the globe and contributed to the world's musical heritage. Music is explored, as culture, to understand social, historical contexts, the vast array of musical instruments, ensemble types, and the structural organization of the music itself. Both indigenous styles and modern acculturated forms will be examined to perceive transformations in African music from past to modern times.

This course will provide students with a framework for looking at gender as a social construction. In doing so, we will place American popular/rock music in varying theoretical contexts. We will investigate its impact on social perceptions of gender and gauge the differing social reaction and responses. Much of our focus will deal with theories pertaining to transgression and transformation of gender in this specific popular culture medium. We will ask the question: Why is popular music, and its expressive forms, a site of transgression and, possibly, transformation of gender (and its intersection with sexuality)? We will then assess the effect on the 'fan,' examining the concepts of 'imitation' and 'authenticity.' Throughout, we will continually survey the texts of cultural critics, fans and music.

This class will take a "disability studies" perspective on autism and related "disorders," examining artistic creations (literary, music, visual arts, etc.) of those "on spectrum," to gain more of a holistic understanding of the unique traits that people with Autism, Asperger's, Rett's, of PDD-NOS have, and the strengths they offer to society.

Do you have a favorite lyricist? Who is it? Why? From World War I until "Jailhouse Rock," several men (and a few women) made good money writing words to the songs we now consider popular standards. Songs like "White Christmas," "Let's Do It," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and "My Funny Valentine," don't get much radio play these days, but they've become a part of America's cultural heritage. Using Phillip Furia's "The Poets of Tin Pan Alley" and Max Morath's "Guide to Popular Standards," we'll engage this unique milieu that produced hundreds of lyrics that remain hilarious, heartbreaking, crassly commerical, communistic, and just plain clever.

This course is designed to give students who have no familiarity with The Bible an overview of its importance as the underlying text for much of Western Literature. It is based upon the premise that without first understanding what is actually on the page, students cannot accurately layer on another critical approach. Students will read parts of The Bible, as well as some of the more important literature which The Bible informs. The course is keyed to provide a "quick-book" approach, by teaching the two components jointly, not separately. There will be much reading, in class free-writing, two short quizzes, one three page paper, and a creative project.

Have you ever thought you were too old, tall, short, fat, thin, disabled. . .to dance? Many professional companies employ dancers that fit into these categories because it provides interesting variability on stage. Everyone had unique strengths that no one else has. Everyone can play, everyone can dance, and dance is fun! Professional mixed-ability dance companies are starting to gain media attention. What does this mean? This class will explore these and other issues while learning some of the techniques these companies employ. No experience required and ALL abilities welcome.

This class will explore the issue of homelessness through an examination of academic literature and exposure to the innovative approaches of local community activists. The research on homelessness will be approached topically, and will include readings, guest lectures and discussions about: the history and causes of contemporary homelessness, homeless women and youth, treatment of the homeless by social service providers, repression of and resistance by the homeless community and self-help housing.

This coruse deals with the social ramifications of new technology, primarily as a result of the mainstreaming of the Internet and the proliferation of personal computers. We will be looking at theories that seek to explain both the social effects of these technologies, as well as inherent politics that surround their dispersion. Much of theory dealt with in the class is recent and in direct response to those social phenomena, but we will also consider theorists whose ideas can be reified in a modern context to help explain the effects of these innovations on society.

Primarily, we will describe and analyze the short-term and long-term changes in American culture by its exposure to the music and behavior of The Beatles from 1964 to 1970. Secondarily, we will compare the changes wrought by The Beatles in the working and middle classes in America with those in Britain during the same time. Students will attend lectures, participate in discussions, and produce projects which show how The Beatles changed American (and British) society from the 1960s to the present.