Professor Angela Marino
Bampfa Auditorium IT75
MWF 11:00am – 11:59am
Professor Contact Information
Office Location: 15L Dwinelle Hall
Office Hours: see tdps.berkeley.edu
Graduate Student Instructors:
Miyuki Baker
Contact: see tdps.berkeley.edu
Laila Espinoza
Contact: see tdps.berkeley.edu
“An América sin fronteras (without borders). This is the new American theater.”
—Cherríe Moraga, playwright
Course Description
This course is about performance and its power to reflect and reproduce social systems of race and class in America. Throughout the semester, we will focus on how performance tells a story of the land and people of America, where the accent in the “e” of América in the course title suggests multiple possibilities, histories, and changing views of what it is to imagine and locate ourselves within this country and region of the world. From early colonial performance to contemporary drama and media, the material we examine in this course considers America as contested territory, where the multiple Americas are not just written but also performed. We will especially consider plays, film, and other cultural expressions of the late 20th century to present, including live theater of the Bay Area. Among the course requirements are short assignments, a midterm essay, and a final web-based multi-media essay. Active participation in section discussions and activities is required.
Reader & Texts
A course reader is available at Copy Central, 2411 Telegraph Avenue. In addition to some readings on bCourses, the reader will be the primary source of course materials for the semester. It is organized by assigned readings on a weekly basis. All readings should be completed at the beginning of the week for which they are listed since lectures will draw from and at times overlap material assigned that week. bCourse module assignments may also contain video and short readings. See assignments for more details.
Required Performance:
Who Shot Miguelito? by Sean San José | October 17-20, 2019 | Zellerbach Playhouse This play parallels the murder of a young street artist in San Francisco’s Mission District with the death of immigrant, working class neighborhoods. Mapping the Mission in murals, tags, stickers, stencils, and socio-political protest pieces, this performance piece invites viewers to see, hear, and move with refugees, immigrants, first gens—and ghosts.
Assignments and Grading
Participation 15%: Being an active participant in the discussion session involves first, being present, and second, students are expected to come to class prepared with notes from the readings. To be an active discussant means responding verbally to questions and exercising active listening of others. Discussion section instructors may have additional criteria for their classroom that apply. Active participation in course lectures and discussion sections is necessary for success in this class. Absences or persistent lateness will negatively affect the participation grade. Cell phone and Internet use in classroom or lecture hall are not permitted (see policy on Classroom Technology) unless invited by the instructor. Participation counts for 15 points of the overall grade.
bCourse modules 30%: Modules consist of viewings, sometime short readings, and response posts. Each module has a deadline listed in bCourses and on the syllabus. The bCourse modules count for 30 points of the overall grade. For help with bCourses see www.berkeley.edu/students.
Midterm 25%: The midterm is a take-home exam. Format details and questions will be distributed on October 11th in the lecture hall. Exam answers must be typed, printed and submitted in person on Wednesday, October 16th in lecture. Please block your schedule in advance to allow time for completion. The midterm counts for 25 points of the overall grade.
Final Project 25%: The final project for this course is a digital website including a short essay and a variety of media to be presented in the final week of class. Steps to the project are scaffolded in weekly assignments. The final project counts for 25 points of the overall grade.
Final Project Presentation 5%: These are ‘flash’ presentations of final projects that offer an opportunity for reflection and feedback. Sign-ups and more details will be provided at the launch of the final project. The final presentation counts for 5 points of the overall grade.
Grading is assessed on a point basis with 100 points total and the following breakdown:
93-100 A
90-92 A-
88-89 B+
83-87 B
80-82 B-
78-79 C+
73-77 C
70-71 C-
68-69 D+
62-67 D
All assignments and grading will be recorded on the Discussion Section bCourse site and will be available for review at midterm and at the end of the semester. If you have any questions on any matter regarding your grade, please consult directly with your Discussion Section instructor.
Add/Drop Course Policy
Students may add the class anytime during the first five weeks of the semester (according to fee schedule if you enroll between weeks 3 and 5). Students will understand that they will incur consequences if they add the class late (i.e., missed assignments, missed discussion section meetings, missed lectures).
Attendance Policy
Students taking the class are expected to attend all course lectures and discussion sessions. To miss the class means that participation grade is lowered, and it also changes the dynamic of the classroom for others. Your perspective is significant to the group and a vital part of this class. Please make assurances to attend all course sessions with this in mind, and kindly leave your spot to another if you choose not to make that commitment. Any issues with attendance should be communicated by email and/or discussed with a GSI or Prof. Marino in office hours (not at the beginning or after class, thank you!).
Classroom Technology Policy
Digital technology has increasingly become a way to more easily communicate, write notes, and organize important materials and ideas. However, it can also be a distraction and compete with the classroom dynamic, which is about face-to-face interaction and the exchange of ideas in a space that is influenced by you and your involvement. The expectation is active listening and presence, which is hindered by, for example, distracting glowing screens of people watching unrelated media, reading emails or listening to music or texting while in lecture. Anyone who engages in this will be asked to leave the room, where any persistent distracting use of technology may warrant being dropped from the class or being reported to the Dean of Students. That said, there may be times when students are encouraged to use common technology, share an online source or team up to organize calendars, notes, etc. Any such suggestions or encouragement will be announced. Otherwise, all technology should be turned off and put away during lecture and discussion. Lectures may not be recorded without an instructor’s consent.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a serious issue that ensures fair representation of ideas and another writer's work. Giving credit to someone whose work has helped you formulate your own ideas or arguments is not only an expectation, but also if not adhered to correctly, it is a crime called plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting as your own: a phrase, sentence or passage authored by another without quotation marks; facts, ideas or written text gathered or downloaded from the Internet without citation; another student's work with your name on it; or a purchased paper or 'research' from a paid source. Cal policy will be followed on any instance or suspected violation of academic standards. For more information on UC Berkeley's policy regarding plagiarism and our shared "Principles of Community," see berkeley.edu/about/principles.shtml.
Accommodations
Any student who is in need of accommodations due to disability should contact the Disabled Students Program at (510) 642-0518. Letters of Accommodation are accepted at any time. Please make sure to present the letter to or confirm its receipt with your Discussion Section instructor or Prof. Marino to receive accommodations.
Accommodation requests for any extra-curricular activity or schedule conflict including performances, athletics, job interviews, educational travel or due to any issues of religious creed or spiritual observation must be received by the second week of the semester to recommend a solution with the understanding that an earlier deadline or date of examination may be the most practical solution. It is the student’s responsibility to inform themselves about material missed because of an absence, whether or not they have been formally excused.
Resources
Student Learning Center: Every student at Cal interested in improving their writing and research skills should take advantage of this fabulous resource, which is available throughout the semester on campus. All students are eligible for appointments with writing tutors, and for workshops that are held periodically on various topics. For more information, please see: http://slc.berkeley.edu/.