Student-organized ethnic culture shows have long been a staple of college life. At the University of Michigan, we've also witnessed the growing popularity of dance crews as well. Both shows and performance teams align with home- or heritage-country cultural practices while also incorporating contemporary popular cultural practices.

This courses examines the student-organized cultural performance scenes of Asian/Pacific Islander American student communities on the UM campus. We will discuss both the contents of the shows and the cultural work that these shows accomplish for student participants. We will engage in the thoughtful critique of these activities and assess the pros and cons of these activities on campus. All insights will be brought to bear upon the Term Project which involves original research on a topic of choice.

Course Requirements:

Students will be required to attend four shows during the semester. (Show dates are still TBA.) Class attendance and participation is a major component of this course. Other requirements include assigned reading, the short reading reflection papers, the quizzes, a Term Project, and a take-home final exam.

Participation in a show or performance group is NOT required to take this class.