This course introduces students to the field of critical dance studies. Students will discuss relations between dance and other disciplines (such as art history, anthropology, cultural and media studies, performance studies, and philosophy), while asking why the field of dance studies has taken so long to develop. The class will think critically about the body as an object of study and will consider the opportunities and challenges that come with analyzing movement. The course explores debates regarding the performance of identity, issues of appropriation, the migration of expressive culture, documentation, the role of the critic, and critical theories of the body. Students will read foundational texts that present a variety of methodological and theoretical approaches, including writings by Anurima Banerji, Barbara Browning, Jane Desmond, Susan Foster, Mark Franko, José Gill, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, André Lepecki, and Randy Martin. In addition to reading, students will watch videos of dance and attend live performances – in “high art” spaces, in clubs, and on the streets.