New York University 4 credits Core: Cultural Exploration & Analysis
How do ritual and play shape us? How do they constrain us? How do they free us? Much of modern society sees ritual as too rigid and play as too frivolous to matter. Yet the two are difficult to disentangle from each other and underlie performances of all kinds. Ultimately, both prove critical to effect personal and social transformation. Ritual and play entertain us, educate us, gather and synchronize us. They help us to navigate lifeβs milestones and to grapple with crisis. They push us towards the supernatural and the virtuosic and yet ground us in the fundamentally human. Drawing on theater, anthropology, sociology, and history among other disciplines, this course explores rituals of religion, healing, politics, law, and protest, as well as forms of virtual, deep, and dark play. Students engage with classic and contemporary texts, films, and live events, before they produce and/or document a rite or a game of their own.
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