Urban Choreography: Bodies and Cities in Motion
Schools of Public Engagement: Global, Urban, & Environmental
CRN: 14320
Credits: 3
Jane Jacobs described her neighborhood’s daily habits as a “sidewalk ballet,” a valorization of the rhythm and movement that characterize urban life. Jacobs’ invocation of ballet–a highly technical and stylized form of dance–unbares the routine movements that structure our inhabitation of cities. This course uses the framework of urban choreography to look at these patterned practices of motion from the scale of the body to the street, neighborhood, region, and globe. We examine the well-oiled grooves of sidewalk interaction, walking, crowd flows, transit and vehicular circulation as well as deliberate ruptures such as flash mobs, police surveillance, and protests. We analyze how various groups comport their bodies and move through space, often constrained by social factors such as race, class, gender, sexuality, and other dimensions. Students will examine their own movement habits as well as devise aspirational choreographies of urban flows.
College: Schools of Public Engagement (NS)
Department: Global, Urban, & Environmental (GLUE)
Campus: New York City (GV)
Course Format: Seminar (R)
Modality: In-Person
Max Enrollment: 18
Add/Drop Deadline: February 4, 2024 (Sunday)
Online Withdrawal Deadline: April 16, 2024 (Tuesday)
Seats Available: No
Status: Closed*
* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 11:34pm EDT 4/27/2024