Macalester Moodle

Making Theatre is a messy business. In this studio course there are no scripts, no lines and no stage directions. We will invent everything ourselves by learning how to play with skill. We will explore improvisation, games, object manipulation, masks and the haphazard world of the clown. Training includes basic acrobatics, balancing and juggling. The goal of the course is to encourage curiosity, and to engage the student as creator, designer, and performer.

The specter of colonialism continues to loom large in contemporary society. Aiming to unpack this persistent influence, this course offers an in-depth examination of its enduring impacts. Utilizing scholarly debates and a curated selection of films, it offers a comprehensive exploration of colonialism’s multifaceted legacies, integrating academic and cinematic perspectives for deeper understanding. The first half of the course delves into theorizing the colonial experience and expansion, while the second half critically examines colonialism’s profound shaping of various aspects of today’s international order. This analysis includes a focus on the United Nation’s role in creating and perpetuating global inequalities during the decolonization process, alongside an exploration of colonialism’s impact on democracy, development, human rights, the environment, and ethnic conflicts. Ultimately, this course is not just an academic study; it is a journey into understanding the enduring influence of colonialism, revealing the persistent historical shadows that continue to shape our present and future.

In this topic-based course, students develop linguistic and cultural skills to move from “advanced low” proficiency to “advanced high” proficiency in Mandarin. Subjects studied include gender relations, education reform, population control, and housing.
This course places a special focus on reading. Students are encouraged and helped to further advance their oral proficiency while developing reading and writing skills. Students learn to expand their speaking repertoire from topics of everyday routines and interest to more intellectually and linguistically challenging topics such as social issues and current events. The combination of writing exercises after each lesson, discussions in class, debates and presentations as a group provides ample of opportunities for students to practice, and improve both language and interpersonal skills.

Music is a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. Your Uber driver wants to know if you’d like to listen to it. It’s playing while you bag up avocados, try on pants, eat a burger. It’s playing while you stretch in the seventh inning or wait in the waiting room. There’s a whole segment of it just for elevators. But sometimes a song cuts through this opaque din. Touches our hearts, soundtracks our lives, makes us want to scream wildly in a room with 20,000 strangers. So what makes a song stand apart? Well, a bit of magic, for sure. But Harlan Howard wasn’t wrong when he said the recipe for any great song is “three chords and the truth”. Strip a song down to its essential elements and you have lyrics, melody, and structure. In this class, we’ll be focusing on these pillars: how to tell a great story (from the personal to the universal), how to write a melody that sticks, and how form can shape the listener’s experience. We’ll examine the modus operandi of prolific songwriters, explore the tricks of the trade for getting started and finishing strong, and work collaboratively to write an album’s worth of hits! To take this class, basic knowledge of a musical instrument, such as guitar or piano, is preferred, but not required. You must simply be able to compose and sing melodies. You will be required to share your compositions with the class, either live or via basic audio recording.