Liminality is the state of in-betweenness; adolescence, being an immigrant, shape-shifting in mythology and literature, moving from dreaming to awakeness, and many other states connect with this idea. In this program, students will explore what it means to be in the threshold state—whether as human beings or in many aspects of the natural world. Weekly lectures and seminars will focus on elements of transformation and the many ways in which music, movement, food, and other expressive cultures can facilitate one's ability to be in between one state of being and another. Our work includes cultural keystone species (whales, ravens, owls, and more); code-switching; and playing with the differences between sacred, alluring, and dangerous. This is not a psychology program; instead, it leans closely on theories from anthropology and ethnomusicology to help us engage with the reality of neither/nor and both/and, and how those show up both in real life and in the expressive arts.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
4 - Expository Writing
4 - Cultural Studies
4 - Performing Arts
4 - Studies of Liminality
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Academia, Writing, Cultural Studies, and Performing Arts