Bates College: The Catalog: Theater and Rhetoric

The material on this page is from the 1998-99 catalog and may be out of date. Please check the current year's catalog for current information.

Professors Branham, Andrucki, Acting Chair (fall semester and Short term), and Kuritz, Chair (on leave, fall semester and Short Term); Associate Professor Nero; Assistant Professor Seeling; Ms. Plavin, Mr. Pope.L, Mr. Williamson, Ms. Vecsey, and Ms. Gage

Theater

The major in theater combines the study of dramatic literature from the Greeks to the present with work in acting, directing, dance, and design. Students thus acquire skills in production and performance while learning the history of one of the world's major forms of artistic expression. Majors are prepared for graduate work in the humanities or for further professional training in theater. The theater major is also a valuable asset for a wide variety of careers -- such as business, law, or teaching -- requiring collaborative effort, public poise, imagination, and a broad background in the liberal arts.

In addition to its academic work, the department annually produces more than a dozen plays, dance concerts, and other performance events in its three theatres. These require the participation of large numbers of students, both majors and non-majors. All members of the community are invited to join in the creation of these events.

Majors in theater and rhetoric who are interested in secondary-school teaching should consult the Department of Education about requirements for teacher certification.

The theater major is required to complete the following:

1. All of the following:
  Theater 101. An Introduction to Drama.
  Theater 130. Introduction to Design.
  Theater 200. The Classical Stage.
  Theater 210. The Revolutionary Stage.
  Theater 261. Beginning Acting.
2. One course required from among:
  Theater 231. Scene Design.
  Theater 232. Lighting Design.
  Theater 233. Costume Design.
3. One course required from among:
  Theater 370. Directing.
  Theater 227. Seventies and Eighties Avant-Garde Theater and Performance Art.
  Theater 251. Dance Composition.
4. One course required from the following:
  Theater 220. The Modern Stage.
  Theater 225. The Grain of the Black Image.
One course or unit in the Department of Art and one course or unit in the Department of Music, one of which must be in the history of the field.
A comprehensive examination in the senior year, except for those majors invited by the department to enroll in Theater 457 or 458.

Theater majors must also earn five production credits by the end of the senior year. Students considering a major should consult with the department chair early in their careers for information on fulfilling this requirement. In addition, the theater major must enroll in one semester of dance, or in a physical education activity course approved by the Department of Theater and Rhetoric.

(Students in the Class of 1999 may elect the major requirements in the 1995-1996 Bates College Catalog.)

Secondary Concentration in Theater. The secondary concentration in theater consists of six courses or units and other production and performance credits. Students interested in pursuing a secondary concentration should consult with the department chair.

Secondary Concentration in Dance. This dance program emphasizes original, creative work in dance, integrated into the mainstream of a liberal arts education. The secondary concentration in dance consists of six courses or units and other production credits.

The following courses or an equivalent are required:
Theater 250. Twentieth-Century American Dance.
Theater 251. Dance Composition.
Theater 252. Twentieth-Century American Dance II.
Theater 253. Dance Performance Repertory.
One Short Term unit or an Independent Study (Theater 360) in Dance Education.

Theater s29. Dance as a Collaborative Art.

One course from the following:
Theater 227. Seventies and Eighties Avant-Garde Theater and Performance Art.
Theater 232. Lighting Design.
Theater 233. Costume Design.
Theater 360. Independent Study in Dance.
Any music or art history course.

Students are expected to take modern technique and/or ballet twice a week and perform in two productions a year for a minimum of two years.

In addition, 2.5 production credits are required.

A summer at the three-week Bates Dance Festival is recommended, but not required.

Courses

101. An Introduction to Drama. A study of the elements of drama and performance focusing on a half-dozen periods in theater history: fifth-century Athens, England in the Renaissance, France and Japan in the seventeenth century, Russia and Scandinavia in the nineteenth century, and postmodern America. Readings may include works by Sophocles, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Zeami, Molire, Ibsen, Chekhov, Brecht, Fornes, and S.-L. Parks. Topics for discussion include styles of acting and performance, the varieties of theater space, the principles of scene design, the function of the director, and the relationships between stage and society. Attendance at films and performances supplements work in class. M. Andrucki.

102. An Introduction to Film. A survey of film style and technique, including an overview of film history from the silent era to the present. Enrollment limited to 70. M. Andrucki.

110. Women in Film. This course investigates the depiction of women in film from the silent era to the present. Using feminist film criticism as a lens, it examines the impact of these film images on our society. The history of women filmmakers is also surveyed, highlighting the major contributors in the field. Enrollment limited to 50. E. Seeling.

130. Introduction to Design. An approach to the principles and elements of design, offering instruction in drawing, simple drafting, sculpture, painting, and costume and mask construction. Accompanying research in world styles of visual expression informs the exploration of line, mass, shape, time, space, light, and color. Research topics may include African festival, Islamic design, Asian dance-drama, European carnival, and Russian fairground theater. The goal of the course is to “tease out” a fresh expression using the simplest of elements. No previous artistic or theatrical training is required. Enrollment limited to 14. E. Seeling.

132. Stagecraft. This course provides an introduction to the technical skills and techniques used to produce theater productions. Students are introduced to theater terminology, stage lighting equipment, scenery and property construction, scene painting, sound engineering, and theater management. Crew work on department productions required. Enrollment limited to 25. J. Williamson.

135. Gay and Lesbian Theater History in the United States and England prior to 1968. This is a survey course of gay and lesbian playwrights, producers, actors, and directors in England and in the United States prior to 1968, when repeal of the "Padlock Ordinance" in New York ushered in the era of openly gay and lesbian theater. The course explores the gay and lesbian sensibilities of the Shakespearean canon, the Marlovian theory of the authorship of the canon, Aphra Behn's radical treatment of prostitution in her plays, the cross-dressing of Charlotte Cushman, lesbian representation in turn-of-the century Yiddish theater, and the intersection of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the work of Angelina Weld GrimkŽ. C. Gage

200. The Classical Stage. According to the mad Frenchman Artaud, classical drama was the original “theater of cruelty.” This course studies the aristocratic violence and punitive laughter of about a dozen tragedies and comedies from Aeschylus to Racine. Correlated readings in the theater history and dramatic theory of classical Greece and Rome, Elizabethan England, and seventeenth-century France establish the social and intellectual context for the most challenging and disturbing body of drama in the Western tradition. Required of all majors. Not open to students who have received credit for Theater 201. Open to first-year students. M. Andrucki.

210. The Revolutionary Stage. From 1700 to 1900, Europe was transformed by the revolutionary currents of radical politics, industrialization, and romantic individualism. This course studies the impact of these forces on the central dramatic ideas of character and action in plays by (among others) Beaumarchais, Goethe, Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, and Shaw. Correlated readings in theater history and dramatic theory establish the cultural and intellectual context for these subversive playwrights. Required of all majors. Open to first- year students. P. Kuritz.

215. Popular Performance in Urban America: 1820-1920. An examination of various forms of American popular performance in the context of changing urban social relations involving class, race, gender, and ethnicity. Students read and analyze secondary histories, as well as written and musical examples of melodrama, minstrelsy, musical comedy, ethnic theater, vaudeville, and cabaret. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): one of the following: History 141, 142, Sociology 236, 240, Anthropology 101, or Theater 101. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Staff.

220. The Modern Stage. A visionary modern theorist of the stage wrote from his asylum cell, “We are not free and the sky can still fall on our heads. And the theater has been created to teach us that first of all.” By examining the mirrors and masks of Pirandello and Genet, the incendiary rallying cries of Kaiser and Brecht, the erotic and violent silence of Pinter and Handke, and the surreal iconoclasms of Apollinaire and Shepard, this course surveys the ways the contemporary theater seeks to elucidate the baffling condition of humanity. Correlated readings in theater history and dramatic theory explore a cultural context which proclaims “ALL WRITING IS GARBAGE.” Required of all majors. Open to first-year students. M. Andrucki.

225. The Grain of the Black Image. A study of the African American figure as represented in images from theater, movies, and television. Using the metaphor of “the grain” rendered by Roland Barthes and Regis Durand -- “the articulation of the body...not that of language” -- this course explores issues of progress, freedom, and improvement, as well as content versus discontent. Correlated readings in critical literature and the major classical plays by Hansberry, Baraka, Lonnie Elder, and others, as well as viewings of recent movies and television shows. Open to first-year students. Staff.

226. Minority Images in Hollywood Film. African American scholar Carolyn F. Gerald has remarked: “Image means self-concept and whoever is in control of our image has the power to shape our reality.” This course investigates the ideological, social, and theoretical issues important in the representation of racial and ethnic minorities in American film from the Depression to the civil rights movement. It examines the genres, stereotypes, and gender formations associated with film images of Native Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans. Open to first-year students. W. Pope.L.

227. Seventies and Eighties Avant-Garde Theater and Performance Art. This course is a hands-on poetic exploration of the binary territories of “language as object” and “subject as language” as they have been articulated in the work of contemporary performance-theater artists from Robert Wilson, Richard Foreman, and Fluxus to Holly Hughes, Karen Finley, and Jim Neu. Some background in performance is recommended. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. Written permission of the instructor is required. W. Pope.L.

231. Scene Design. A study of the dynamic use of stage space, from Renaissance masters to twentieth- century modernists, offering instruction in scale drawing, drafting, scene painting, model- making, and set construction. Students may use scheduled departmental productions as laboratories in their progress from play analysis and research to the realization of the design. This course focuses on the use of visual imagery to articulate textual idea, and is recommended for students with an interest in any area of drama and performance. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): Theater 101 or 130. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 14. Written permission of the instructor is required. E. Seeling.

232. Lighting Design. The Aesthetics of Light. This course provides an introduction to the unique aesthetic and technical considerations a lighting designer must make. Students examine the modern lighting aesthetic by studying popular culture and learning to translate these images to the stage. Students also are required to serve on a lighting crew for one of the department's productions and design part of the spring dance concert. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): One of the following: Theater 101, 130, or 132. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 14. Written permission of the instructor is required. J. Williamson.

233. Costume Design. An approach to costume design offering instruction in drawing the figure, color rendering, script and character analysis, and the various skills of costume construction from pattern-making to tailoring. Work in fabric printing, mask-making, and makeup is available to students with a special interest in these areas. Research in period styles informs the exploration of the design elements of line, shape, and color. The goals of the course are skill in the craft and the flair of creation. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): Theater 101 or 130. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 14. E. Seeling.

240. Playwriting. After reviewing the fundamentals of dramatic structure and characterization, students write one full-length or two one-act plays. Recommended background: two courses in theater or in dramatic literature. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Written permission of the instructor is required. W. Pope.L.

241. Spanish Theater of the Golden Age. This course focuses on the study of Spanish classical drama of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Reading and critical analysis of selected dramatic works by Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderon de la Barca, Miguel de Cervantes, Ana Caro and Maria de Zayas, Sor Juana InŽs de la Cruz, among others offer an insight into of the totality of the dramatic spectacle of Spanish society during its imperial century. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): Spanish 215 or 216. This course is the same as Spanish 241. Enrollment limited to 20. B. Fra-Molinero.

250. Twentieth-Century American Dance I. Dance activity in America presents an overwhelming array of talent and diversity ranging from turn-of-the-century artists such as Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, through such mid-century innovators as Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, to Merce Cunningham and the Judson Dance theater in the sixties. In addition to these artists, the course studies dances from musicals and ballets by choreographers such as George Balanchine and Agnes De Mille. Most works are seen on video, but students also attend live performances. Open to first-year students. M. Plavin.

251. Dance Composition. Through movement experiences, discussions, and readings, this course explores a variety of approaches to the creative process, such as improvisation; short compositional studies; and problem-solving techniques involving imagery, art, and music. Emphasis is on creation and organization of these movement materials into a coherent and communicative whole. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. M. Plavin.

252. Twentieth-Century American Dance II. This course focuses on a variety of contemporary questions in dance, including the following: What is the “body image” that grows out of our culture's view of the body? How do cultural diversity and cultural blending influence contemporary dance? How are gender roles and sexuality finding expression through movement? Discussions center on the ways choreographers and dancers confront these issues. Most works are seen on video, but students also attend live performances. Open to first-year students. M. Plavin.

253. Dance Repertory Performance. Modern dance consists of a plethora of styles with each choreographer's process and technique expressed through his or her work. In this course, students experience three points of view with three different guest artists, as each guest artist sets a piece on them during an intensive two- week residency. Students then perform the piece informally at the end of the residency. The following week, after receiving feedback from the artist, the students continue to rehearse and polish the piece. The process begins again with each of the remaining artists. At the end of the semester, the three pieces are performed in a more formal setting. Recommended background: some previous dance experience. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. Written permission of the instructor is required. M. Plavin.

261. Beginning Acting. This course introduces the student to the physiological processes involved in creative acting. The student studies the Stanislavski approach to the analysis of realistic and naturalistic drama. Exercises leading to relaxation, concentration, and imagination are included in an improvisational context. Studies in motivation, sense perception, and emotion-memory recall lead the student to beginning work on scene performance. Not open to senior majors in theater. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 16. P. Kuritz.

262. Acting for the Classical Repertory. Students extend their basic acting technique to explore the classical dramas of the world's stages. The unique language of the dramas--verse--is explored as both an avenue to character study and to vocal and physical representation. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): Theater 261. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.

263. Voice and Speech. Students examine the nature and working of the human voice. Students explore ways to develop the voice's potential for expressive communication with exercises and the analysis of breathing, vocal relaxation, pitch, resonance, articulation, audibility, dialect, and text performance. Recommended background: one course in acting or performance or public speaking. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. K. Vecsey.

264. Voice and Gender.This course focuses on the gender-related differences in voice from the beginning of language acquisition through learning and development of a human voice. A variety of interdisciplinary perspectives is examined according to the different determinants of voice production-- physiological, psychological, social interactional, and cultural. Students explore how race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and age affect vocal expression. Students also analyze “famous” and “attractive” human voices and discuss what makes them so. Recommended background: Theater 263, Women's Studies 100. This course is the same as Women's Studies 264. Open to first-year students. K. Vecsey.

300. Theories of the Stage. A survey of some of the major Western ideas about the moral, political, and spiritual purposes of the theater. Readings include selections from The Republic, Aristotle's Poetics, essays by Renaissance and eighteenth-century neoclassicists, and works by various radicals and romantics of the modern era. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: Theater 200, 210, 220, 225, Classics 202, English 213, or 214. Staff.

360. Independent Study. Independent work in such areas as stage management, directing, and speech. Departmental approval is required. Students are limited to one independent study per semester. Staff.

363. Playing Comedy. Students extend their basic acting technique to explore the peculiar nature of comic performance on stage. Concepts of normalcy, incongruity, ignorance, power, and situation are applied to comic traits, invention, and diction. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): Theater 261. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required. P. Kuritz.

365. Special Topics. Offered occasionally in selected subjects. Staff.

365B. Creating Community-Based Theater I. In the tradition of Molire, Aeschylus, Shakespeare, August Wilson, and Ellen Stewart, students organize and run a grassroots neighborhood theater program by and for the residents of a particular downtown Lewiston community. Since "the play exists halfway between the audience and the stage," in the words of playwright Robert Anderson, by understanding the practical skills and dynamics of working in, for, and with a community, students learn to apply the theory and craft of the playwright, actor, technician, designer, or director. Students plan, recruit, organize, teach, train, and inspire young people and their families to create a theater of their own. Recommended background: theater. Open to first-year students. C. Gage

365C. Creating Community-Based Theater II. Students learn the practical skills of directing, teaching, playwriting, and designing for a community-based youth theater located in downtown Lewiston. In a storefront theatre environment, students are responsible for the full production of an evening of one-acts with older teens, and a puppet-theater production with middle-school children. In addition, students conduct theater game workshops in the Lewiston schools. Written permission of the instructor is required. Open to first-year students. C. Gage

370. Directing. An introduction to the art of directing, with an emphasis on creative and aesthetic problems and their solutions. Included is an examination of the director's relationship to the text, the design staff, and the actor. The approach is both theoretical and practical, involving readings, rehearsal observation, and the directing of scenes and short plays. Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): Theater 261. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required. C. Gage.

457. 458. Senior Thesis. A substantial academic or artistic project. Students register for Theater 457 in the fall semester and for Theater 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Theater 457 and 458. By departmental invitation only for theater majors. Staff.

Short Term Units

s22. Contemporary Performance Poetry. An investigation of poetry as a performance medium. Included is a historical overview comparing the European traditions of Dadaism, Futurism, and their proponents in America to the Afro-American tradition exemplified by Shange, Baraka, and present-day hip-hop rappers. The approach is theoretical and practical, utilizing readings, discussion, film, recordings, and texts created and performed by students. Enrollment limited to 15. Written permission of the instructor is required. W. Pope.L

s24. Advanced Performance-Theater. Within a festival/workshop format and working under the supervision of faculty and visiting artists, students explore and extend their knowledge of making performance- theater. The unit includes physical work and studio games; reading/discussion of cutting edge performance-theater practice and theory; creating, performing, and producing performance-theater works; and master classes and performances by visiting artists. There is a materials fee of $25.00 per student. Recommended background: Theater 227. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 24. Written permission of the instructor is required. E. Seeling, W. Pope.L.

s25. Ballroom Dance: Past to Present. From 1875 through the turn of the century, social dancers in America rebelled against proper dance and the court dances of Northern Europe and Great Britain. This gave a new look to dance, introducing exotic, playful music and a new attitude of what social dance in America could be. In this unit, students learn the movements and study the cultures and histories of dances that were inspired by this new music. This unit begins with dances from the early 1900s and continues through ragtime, the swing era, the Latin invasion, jitterbug, and disco, to the present day of dancesport. The unit culminates with three performances based on the swing, the tango, and Latin American rhythms. Open to first-year students. M. Plavin

s26. Theater Production Workshop I. Working under faculty supervision and with visiting professional artists, student actors, directors, designers, and technicians undertake the tasks necessary to produce a play. Readings and discussions explore various ways of understanding and producing a text. Written permission of the instructor is required. P. Kuritz.

s27. Film and Theater. Films have always looked to the theater for stories and characters. This unit studies the transformation of plays into movies, paying particular attention to such fundamental differences between stage and screen as the use of space and time, the manipulation of point of view, and acting versus stardom. Students read extensively in dramatic literature and film theory, and view a variety of films based on plays. Included are works by such playwrights as Shakespeare, Shaw, Williams, Albee, Pinter, and Shepard, and such directors as Olivier, Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Kazan, Nichols, and Altman. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. M. Andrucki.

s28. The Living Stage: Theater in New York. A study of contemporary theater focusing on the experience of live performance in New York City. An initial on-campus period of reading and discussion of relevant modern texts precedes about two weeks of intensive theatergoing in New York. The unit surveys works from the Broadway mainstream to the farthest reaches of “Off-off-Broadway,” and includes performances by artists and ensembles representing the enormous variety of cultural perspectives available in America's largest city. Enrollment limited to 15. Written permission of the instructor is required. M. Andrucki.

s29. Dance as a Collaborative Art. The integration of dance and the other arts for the purpose of producing a forty-minute piece that is performed mostly for elementary school children. The productions, usually choreographed by guest artists during the first two weeks of Short Term, encompass a wide variety of topics from dances of different cultures to stories that are movement-based. Subject matter varies from year to year. Students participate in all aspects of the dance production necessary to tour for a three-week period of teaching and performing in schools throughout Maine. Open to dancers and non-dancers. Enrollment limited to 25. M. Plavin.

s30. Theater Production Workshop II. Experienced students, working under faculty supervision and occasionally with visiting professional artists, produce a play under strict time, financial, and material constraints. Readings and discussions explore various ways of understanding and producing a play. Prerequisite(s): Theater s26. Written permission of the instructor is required. P. Kuritz.

s32. Theater Production Workshop III. The most experienced theater students work under faculty supervision and in leadership positions with other students in the production of a play. Readings and discussions challenge students' notions about acting, directing, and design for the theater. Prerequisite(s): Theater s26 and s30. Written permission of the instructor is required. P. Kuritz.

s36. Work-Study Internship in Theater. Qualified students participate in the artistic and educational programs of professional theater companies. Each intern is supervised by a staff member. By specific arrangement and departmental approval only. Recommended background: two courses in acting, directing, design, or playwriting; participation in departmental productions. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.

s50. Individual Research. Registration in this unit is granted by the department only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a member of the department to direct the study and evaluate results. Students are limited to one individual research unit. Staff.

Rhetoric

The major in rhetoric offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of human communication. Students complete a series of core courses in rhetorical theory and criticism, complemented by courses on language, media, and communication drawn from the curricula of other departments. All students complete a senior thesis.

The major in rhetoric consists of eleven courses distributed as follows:

Core Courses. Required are
Rhetoric 185. Public Discourse or Rhetoric 291. Introduction to Debate.
Rhetoric 275. African American Public Address or Rhetoric 386. Language and Communication of Black Americans.
Rhetoric 331. Rhetorical Theory and Practice.
Rhetoric 390. Contemporary Rhetoric or Rhetoric 391. Topics in Rhetorical Criticism.
Rhetoric 457 and/or 458. Senior Thesis.
Students are also required to complete at least one course from each of the following areas. No single course may be used to complete more than one requirement. No more than one Short Term unit may be counted toward the major.
Theories of Communication.
Anthropology 333. Culture and Interpretation.
Anthropology 334. Language and Culture.
Philosophy 195. Introduction to Logic.
Philosophy 235. Philosophy of Mind and Language.
Psychology 375. Seminar and Practicum in Group Dynamics.
Psychology 380. Social Cognition.
Representation.
Art 225. Iconography.
Art 287. Women and Modern Art.
Art 288. Visualizing Race.
Art/Political Science/Rhetoric 289. Hate, the State, and Representation.
Art 375. Issues of Sexuality and the Study of Art.
Sociology 270. Sociology of Gender.
Theater 225. The Grain of the Black Image.
Theater 226. Minority Images in Hollywood Film.
Media Studies.
Art s32. The Photograph as Documentary.
Political Science 212. Media and Politics.
Rhetoric 195. Documentary Video Production.
Rhetoric 255. Moving Pictures: Committed Documentary Film and Photography.
Theater 102. An Introduction to Film.
Theater 110. Women in Film.
Theater 226. Minority Images in Hollywood Film.
Social and Political Movements.
History 261. American Protest in the Twentieth Century.
Philosophy/Religion 212. Contemporary Moral Disputes.
Political Science 335. Black Political Thought.
Political Science 346. Power and Protest.
Political Science 352. Women as Political Subjects.
Religion 247. City Upon the Hill.
Rhetoric 278. The Rhetoric of Nuclear Culture.
Critical Methods.
African American Studies/American Cultural Studies/ Women's Studies 250. Interdisciplinary Studies: Methods and Modes of Inquiry.
English 295. Critical Theory.

Courses

150. Trials of Conscience. Why do people sue when they could kill? This course examines trials from the classical and medieval period (e.g., Socrates, Joan of Arc), as well as theoretical models for the role of litigation in Western culture. The course considers the role litigation plays in both generating and containing a critique of dominant ideology. It explores the interpretative problems that the rhetorical nature of the sources pose for historical analysis of these trials. Students analyze the rhetorical strategies that the actors in these trials deployed to fashion an identity in opposition to their communities, and analyze why these strategies usually failed at the trial but succeeded in subsequent historical memory. All readings are in English. This course is the same as Classical and Medieval Studies 150. M. Imber.

160. Classical Rhetoric. The Romans ran the ancient world by the sword, but also by the word. This course explores how they did the latter. Readings include classical works about rhetoric, examples of classical oratory, and the variety of exercises by which the practice of rhetoric was taught. Writing assignments include analyses of speeches by classical orators, as well as a range of ancient rhetorical exercises like fables, speeches of praise and invective, persuasive speeches to historical figures, and mock courtroom speeches. The course concludes with an examination of the Gettysburg Address and consideration of its debt to classical rhetorical theory. All readings are in English. This course is the same as Classical and Medieval Studies 160. M. Imber.

185. Public Discourse. This course is designed to develop an awareness of and skill in the techniques necessary to a speaker in varying situations, from the large gathering to the small group. Students study and compose public speeches on various political issues. Enrollment limited to 24. Staff.

195. Documentary Production. This course provides an introduction to documentary production, including videography, sound, lighting, and editing. Students learn both to produce documentaries and to recognize the importance of production decisions in shaping the meanings and influence of documentaries. Students collaboratively produce short documentaries on subjects of their own design. Recommended background: prior production experience and coursework in film criticism. Enrollment limited to 16. Written permission of the instructor is required. R. Branham.

255. Moving Pictures: The Rhetoric of Committed Documentary. Committed documentary filmmakers and photographers have traditionally sought to expose social problems, challenge ways of seeing, and mobilize support for political action. This course surveys the history and rhetorical techniques of documentary film and photography from the social reformers of the nineteenth century to the bold experimentalists of the present. Special attention is devoted to the work of women documentarists. Extensive film viewing is required. Open to first- year students. R. Branham.

275. African American Public Address. This course is a study of the history of oratory by African American women and men. Students examine religious, political, and ceremonial speeches. Historical topics include the abolition of slavery, Reconstruction, suffrage, the black women's club movement, Garveyism, and the civil rights and Black Power movements. Contemporary topics include affirmative action, gender politics, poverty, education, and racial identity. Open to first-year students. C. Nero.

278. The Rhetoric of Nuclear Culture, 1939-1964. The first quarter-century of the nuclear age witnessed the development, use, testing, and threatened use of atomic weapons. This course examines the diverse political, social, and cultural responses to life in the shadow of the bomb, including government public-relations campaigns, schoolhouse rehearsals for Armageddon, and organized political protest. Weekly laboratory sessions feature documentary and fiction films on nuclear issues, from Duck and Cover to Dr. Strangelove, from Godzilla to The Atomic CafŽ. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. Staff.

289. Hate, the State, and Representation. This course examines the representational strategies that the state employs to establish and maintain a stable identity among its constituencies by identifying and disciplining “deviance.” Possible topics include: body politics in the French Revolution; race and role models in contemporary culture; nationalism and sexuality in Western Europe; citizenship, “rootlessness,” and the Roma (Gypsies) in Eastern Europe; race, disease, and genocide in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. This course is the same as Art 289 and Political Science 289. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 54. C. Nero, J. Richter, E. Rand.

291. Introduction to Debate. A theoretical and practical study of academic debate designed for students without extensive previous experience in the activity. Lectures in debate theory are accompanied by student participation in several different debate formats, including a regularly scheduled public- discussion forum. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. R. Branham.

331. Rhetorical Theory and Practice. A study of the historical evolution of rhetorical theory through reading and analysis of primary texts, from classical times to the present. Students write, present, and discuss papers analyzing divergent rhetorical perspectives and refining their own. Specific attention is given to feminist and African American rhetoric. Prerequisite(s): one course in rhetoric. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. C. Nero.

365. Special Topics. Offered occasionally in selected subjects.

386. Language and Communication of Black Americans. Charles Dickens wrote in 1842 that “all the women who have been bred in slave states speak more or less like Negroes, from having been constantly in their childhood with black nurses.” This course examines the linguistic practices of African Americans, alluded to by Dickens. Readings focus on the historical development of “Black English” as a necessary consequence of contact between Europeans and Africans in the New World; on patterns and styles of African American communication, such as call-and-response, signifying, and preaching; and on sociopolitical issues, such as naming traditions, racial/ethnic identity, gender and language acquisition, and education and employment policy. Recommended background: Philosophy 266. Enrollment limited to 15. C. Nero.

390. Contemporary Rhetoric. A seminar devoted to the close textual analysis of recent and provocative political discourse. The texts for analysis are drawn from various media, including controversial political speeches, documentaries, music, and advertising. This course is designed to offer students extensive personal experience in criticism and to introduce key concepts in critical theory and practice. Enrollment limited to 15. Written permission of the instructor is required. R. Branham.

391. Topics in Rhetorical Criticism. The topic varies from semester to semester. The seminar relies largely upon individual student research, reports, and discussion. Enrollment limited to 15. Staff.

457. 458. Senior Thesis. A substantial academic or artistic project. Students register for Rhetoric 457 in the fall semester and for Rhetoric 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Rhetoric 457 and 458. Staff.

Short Term Units

s10A. Bates Theater Abroad: Budapest. In this unit, students travel to Budapest to present an English-language production of The Red Faust, a fictionalized study of Hungary's leading twentieth-century dissident, Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty. Authored by award-winning dramatist Zsolt Pozsgai, and directed by Bates faculty members, the production is staged at a professional theater in Budapest specializing in programming in English. In addition to rehearsing and performing, students study the historical and political backgrounds of the play, meet with leading figures in contemporary Hungarian culture, and visit relevant historical sites. Prerequisite(s): participation in the theater department's March production of The Red Faust. Written permission of the instructor is required. Enrollment is limited to 15. M. Andrucki and K. Vescey

s21. Documentary Video Production. In this unit, students direct and produce video documentaries on subjects of their own selection. Classic documentaries are viewed and discussed in class. Students make weekly presentations of their work-in-progress and analyze the works of others. Prior course work or production experience in film or video is recommended. Enrollment limited to 12. Written permission of the instructor is required. R. Branham.

s23. Debate Touring. Students research, analyze, prepare briefs upon, and debate a public-policy topic selected by the instructor for presentation to various audiences. Recommended background: Rhetoric 291. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 4. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.