Vogue'ology looks at the dance form of Vogue in relation to its rich and complex social context, namely the House and Ballroom Scene and the broad history of struggles against oppression undertaken by racial, sexual and gender minorities and the poor. Many people want to learn to Vogue. As we go about doing so, however, we ask: What is one actually learning when one learns to Vogue? What is the relationship between the body of the performer, the body of the teacher and the body of the community? How do we embody history? What kind of knowledge is transmitted in this teaching and learning and what are the consequences of the different ways in which Voguing is taught? We will look at the roots of Vogue in performance forms dating from the slave era and the social shifts that occurred during the Harlem Renaissance. We also will examine the relationship between a dance practice and the social world. This includes a concern not only with race and gender but also with class and aesthetic, political and religious ideologies. Among the authors we will read are W.E.B. Du Bois, Kelly Brown Douglas, Eboni Marshall-Turman,Tricia Rose, Marlon Bailey, and examine both Jenny Livingston's 1990 documentary "Paris is Burning" and recent television shows such as FX's "Pose", HBO's "Legendary" and Vice's "My House". This course counts toward the Gender Studies minor.

Vogue'ology looks at the dance form of Vogue in relation to its rich and complex social context, namely the House and Ballroom Scene and the broad history of struggles against oppression undertaken by racial, sexual and gender minorities and the poor. Many people want to learn to Vogue. As we go about doing so, however, we ask: What is one actually learning when one learns to Vogue? What is the relationship between the body of the performer, the body of the teacher and the body of the community? How do we embody history? What kind of knowledge is transmitted in this teaching and learning and what are the consequences of the different ways in which Voguing is taught? We will look at the roots of Vogue in performance forms dating from the slave era and the social shifts that occurred during the Harlem Renaissance. We also will examine the relationship between a dance practice and the social world. This includes a concern not only with race and gender but also with class and aesthetic, political and religious ideologies. Among the authors we will read are W.E.B. Du Bois, Kelly Brown Douglas, Eboni Marshall-Turman,Tricia Rose, Marlon Bailey, and examine both Jenny Livingston's 1990 documentary "Paris is Burning" and recent television shows such as FX's "Pose", HBO's "Legendary" and Vice's "My House". This course can satisfy an Arts program LINA (Interdisciplinary Arts) requirement, a Contemporary Dance elective requirement, or towards the Gender Studies minor.