HS100

Description

Students will explore the Higgins School's symposium theme in-depth through event attendance, readings and screenings, in-class discussions, and short written assignments. While the symposium program is interdisciplinary by nature, the section instructor will draw particularly from their areas of specialization. This half-unit course may be added to a standard four-course load without fifth course approval, is offered on a "pass/fail" grading basis, and may be repeatable for credit. As with other Higgins School courses, this class is designed to help students to strengthen and enhance their college experience and to forge connections across and beyond conventional coursework. SPRING 2024: Change is inevitable, and its essence is movement. Movement can describe simply the act of altering position or location in space, such as walking, running, or dancing. Huge glaciers move (improbably!), as do human populations that scatter with migration and diaspora. Movement describes fluctuations in the value or prices of assets, stocks, commodities, or currencies in economic or financial contexts. It refers to the evolution of periods or styles in the arts and culture, the progression of specific eras or periods in history, or the succession of discrete sections in a larger piece of music. The organized efforts to achieve specific social or political goals are movements, as are the progression of developments in intellectual or conceptual positions, philosophies, or ideologies over time. It is the step across the threshold, the idea on the page, the note being sung; movement is the shifting of our minds. Where - and when - do we move? Our symposium on "movement" this spring will feature events as varied as talks on twerking, forced diaspora, post-Dobbs reproductive rights advocacy as well as workshops on dance in hip hop and a newly composed jazz suite on climate change and activism. We'll examine our various understandings and uses of "movement," and celebrate it, as we interrogate the changes it brings. Among the questions we'll take up in this seminar are: Does movement always represent progress? When does a trend become a movement? What happens with retrograde movement? How does movement benefit us as people. How does it inspire us? Change us? And, is it ever okay to just be still? Attendance and participation at all symposium events are mandatory. We'll supplement these activities with readings and lively discussions.