Making Courses

COMPLIT 280X: Data and Transmedia Storytelling
Insatiable Coldness: A Soundscape Composition Project about Climate Control
Junting Huang

Over the past decade, data science has influenced the humanistic disciplines in a variety of ways.
Historians use network analysis to discover previously unknown historical connections, literary scholars utilize sentiment analysis, natural language processing, and text mining to identify genres and other stylistic patterns, and media studies scholars use web scraping to develop digital archives.
While data science has proven its analytical prowess, its potential for storytelling is often overlooked in many data-driven projects. This course aims to examine the philosophical foundation of data-driven storytelling and explore how data is incorporated into contemporary transmedia storytelling. The course will also explore how data can provide not only an analytical but also an experimental mode of scholarship. Topics covered may include data visualization, database aesthetics, game studies, and pattern recognition/discrimination, among others.

Arts Integration Component: “Insatiable Coldness” is a collaborative soundscape composition project that crowdsources local environmental sounds of water, ice, and steam to tell stories about Boston's historical involvement in global climate control. Students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops conducted by practicing artists. 

MUSIC 188R: Composer-Performers of the African Diaspora
Vijay Iyer, Yosvany Terry

This course surveys the work of six living music-makers of the African diaspora. In two-week-long units devoted to each artist, we will study examples of their creative work in depth, and we will spend time in conversation with each of them. The composer-performers studied (subject to change) will include Chucho Valdez, Pamela Z, Tania Léon, Craig Taborn, Yvette Janine Jackson, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Our aim is to generate new critical writing, new interpretive frameworks, and new creative work inspired by these artists’ strategies, methods, and histories. Students will be responsible for engaged participation, in-class group presentations, and three small projects responding to the work of the surveyed artists. Projects may employ analytical, comparative, historical/cultural, and/or creative approaches. 

Arts Integration Component: Students will conduct a series of deep dives into the work of six living artists, culminating in a dialogue over Zoom with each artist.

CHINESE 103A/B
Integration of Chinese Painting Techniques into Pre-advanced Modern Chinese course
Bin Yang

The aim of this course is to further develop students’ Chinese proficiency in both spoken and written language. By reading texts based on current issues and cultural phenomena and engaging in in-depth class discussions, students will continue to expand their vocabulary, master more complex grammatical structures, and develop an ability to perform tasks involving description, narration, and argumentation at the discourse level. 

Arts Integration Component: Integration of Chinese Painting Techniques into Pre-advanced Modern Chinese course.

French 20: Intermediate French
Francophone Culture in Local Communities
Karen Turman 

In this intermediate-level language course we will explore cultural topics such as music, dance, and cuisine in French-speaking countries around the world. We will in turn expand our discovery of Francophone cultures through conversations with online language partners, interactive discussions with French-speaking guests, and exploration of local Francophone communities. Themes such as family life in West Africa, sustainability in the French-speaking Pacific, and First Nation dancers in Quebec will be broached through communicative activities in order to build on oral, written, and intercultural competences. Using various texts, films, and multimedia resources as a basis for discussion, we will also build vocabulary and review and refine various grammatical structures. This course will also include online partner conversations through the Boomalang platform. 

Arts Integration Component: Students engage with visitors from local French-speaking immigrant communities and, in turn, participate in an activity off campus with one of these Francophone groups.

Explore Gateway courses!

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Jennifer Roberts
Undergraduate Program Coordinator: Marcus Mayo

Integrating Arabic calligraphy into the Arabic language classroom
Muhammad Habib

In learning Arabic calligraphy, students will learn why it is the most esteemed art form in the Islamic world. As well as improving their handwriting, they will learn to identify the function and visual characteristics of some of the key scripts represented in the featured artworks, and recognize ways calligraphers use the shapes of letters to decorate objects and convey a wide range of messages. At the end of the course, students will be encouraged to put together an exhibit to demonstrate their work.​ 

Arts Integration Component: Students learn, explore and experience Arabic calligraphy through artmaking.

JAPNLIT 170: Traditional Japanese Literature: From Mythology to (Early) Modernity
metaLAB Creative Course Workshops & additional Facilitation Workshop Series
Jeffrey Schnapp, Sarah Newman

Poetry written by gods, incestuous aristocratic romances, exorcist theater, samurai fantasy novels, fart literature: traditional Japanese literature has something for everyone, and invites us to rethink our assumptions about what literature is and how creativity works. From the most ancient myths up to the 19th century arrival of Western style modernity, we will explore together the relationships between high art and pulp fiction, the stage and the page, words and illustrations, manuscript and print, language and the sacred. We will probe the literary imagination of beauty, nature, desire, and heroism, and ask—through creative experiments and reflections that connect what we are reading to our own lives—what Japanese literature can tell us about what it is to be human.All are welcome; no prior knowledge of Japanese literature or history is required.

Arts Integration Component: The course workshops utilize design-thinking strategies to contend with conceptual and philosophical questions through a series of exercises and artistic production.

MUSIC 207R: Ethnomusicology: Seminar
Creative Ethnographic Practice: Sound, Writing, and Film
Richard Wolf

Creative Ethnographic Practice: Sound, Film, Photography. Students will explore the “art” side of ethnographic writing and documentary film-making, learning to represent musical life through the camera lens, the microphone, and the pen.  How, we ask, can different modes of documenting sound and human interaction inflect our understanding of music-making, culture, and our surroundings more generally?  Students will build toward their final project through a series of weekly exercises and experiments. The final project will be a creative work accompanied by a short paper. Students will learn how to record, edit, and create narratives and arguments, using sound and video. Writers and photographers will also be invited to employ and expand their skills in creative non-fiction projects. Although no particular background is needed, students interested in music, anthropology, and any kind of visual or sound art are particularly welcome. A special feature of the course this year is the residency of a musician from northern Afghanistan, who will allow us to document his first months in the United States.

Arts Integration Component: Students will explore the “art” side of ethnographic writing and documentary film-making, learning to represent musical life through the camera lens, the microphone, and the pen.

FRENCH 11: Beginning French II: Paris in Virtual Reality
Student Art on View: Augmented Reality in the Harvard Art Museums.
Nicole Mills

This second course in the Beginning French sequence will immerse you in the French language and Parisian life. You will discuss what it means to be Parisian from the point of view of diverse Parisians and compare real versus imagined perceptions of Paris through immersive virtual reality experiences and interactive discussions with native French speakers. Through the exploration of various course themes centered around Parisian culture, you will begin to be able to speak and write in the past, present, and future tenses, make suggestions, express emotions, express opinions, extend, accept, and refuse invitations, give advice, and express hypothetical situations. Class sessions will be filled with ample opportunities for interaction and communication and online assignments will develop your interpretive and presentational skills in French.

Arts Integration Component: Students’ surrealist creations will be “on view” in the surrealist gallery of the Harvard Art Museums through augmented reality, merging digital and physical works, facilitating interactions between student and professional artist creations, and fostering discussion in French among students.

TAM 101, 102, 103BR: Elementary Tamil
Naṭakam: Dramatic Arts in the Tamil Language Classroom.
Jonathan Ripley

An interactive introduction to Tamil, the oldest of the Dravidian languages of South India with a literary tradition that spans millennia. It is designed for students with no previous background in Tamil and progressively introduces speaking, listening, reading and writing using textual and audio-visual materials. After taking the TAM 101 series, students will have a working knowledge of the fundamental grammatical structures necessary to navigate colloquial and literary modern Tamil and to begin reading older Tamil literature as well.

Arts Integration Component: A. Revathi, Tamil transgender activist and actor, will guide Tamil language students at Harvard in adapting a Tamil short story into a play that they will perform, deepening their engagement with Tamil beyond classroom-based pedagogy through performance.

FYSEMR 35N: The Art and Craft of Acting
Remo Airaldi

We’ve all watched a great performance and wondered, “How did that actor do that?” Acting is undoubtedly the most popular, most widely experienced of the performing arts, and yet, in many ways, it remains a mystery. This seminar will give students an opportunity to demystify the art of acting by introducing them to the basic tools of the trade—they will learn about the craft of acting by actually “doing” it. It will provide an introduction to acting by combining elements of a discussion seminar with exercises, improvisations and performance activities. Improvisation will be used to improve group/ensemble dynamics, to minimize habitual behaviors, and to develop characters. Students will explore a range of acting techniques designed to give students greater access to their creativity, imagination and emotional life. The aim will be to improve skills that are essential to the acting process, like concentration, focus, relaxation, observation, listening, collaboration and so on. Students will attend and critique theatrical productions at the Loeb Drama Center and in the Boston area. Material from these productions will be used by students in in-class performance activities.

Arts Integration Component: Students will participate in class modules based on the performances they attend and will write reviews of each production. Final monologue presentations will be fully staged and designed.

TDM 97: Foundational Concepts in Theater, Dance & Media
Derek Miller

This course will introduce students to the fundamental issues in and methods of theatre and dance studies. We will engage a number of plays, essays, videos, and live performances to explore the potential of expressive forms, and ask, what can be experienced and known through performance and performing? In doing so, we will address key questions:What constitutes a theatrical event?  What are its component parts?  What is the relationship between written dramas, scripts, scores, and embodied performance on the stage and in everyday life?  What responsibilities do the actors, dancers, directors, choreographers, designers and other members of the production team have to previous incarnation or to an author’s expressed intentions?  How does the spectator co-create the meaning of a given production? How does one situate performance historically and from a theoretical perspective?  And how can performance become a critical tool to engage cultural, political, and philosophical issues?You will be encouraged to develop your ability to think about performance from many different perspectives and to defend your individual ideas with strong critical skills. Additionally, throughout the course of the semester we will define and demystify the complex terms that operate within this field. This course aims to give students a solid foundation to see, experience and think as performers, as artists, and as scholars of expressive behavior.

Arts Integration Component: Students travel to NYC for an overnight that includes a visit to the NYU Fales Library Downtown Collection and a conversation with archivist, Nicholas Martin; a visit to the LaMama Archives and a conversation with archivist Ozzie Rodriguez; three performances which include artist and performer talkbacks after the show. We will also attend 3 shows in the Boston area that will directly intersect with our curriculum.

TDM 150: Directorial Concepts and Set Design of the 20th and 21st Centuries
Julia Smeliansky

What are the similarities between Las Vegas pop diva concert design and performances at the Theater of Dionysus in 5th Century BCE Athens? How do theater architecture and design reflect changes in society? What is the process of designing an opera or a musical? This course will introduce students to some of the most influential 20th and 21st-century directors, designers, and performance artists. We will explore a range of artistic movements that cross-pollinated the visual arts and theater over the past century, and trace the artistic heritage of current theatrical experiments to their avant-garde roots. Examining how meaning in the theater is derived not only from text but also from spatial composition, light, and overall design concept, we will study a variety of approaches to storytelling in theater, dance, and opera. Working with primary sources in the Harvard Theatre Collection, students will develop and present short creative projects based on a wide range of theatrical texts. Students will also meet with guest artists to engage in a dialogue about contemporary design practices.

Arts Integration Component: Students will experience live theater, opera, or a dance performance in New York City, and visit the studio of a set or costume designer.

TDM 194: The Making of a Musical: The Creative Process
Ryan McKittrick

This course introduces students to the collaborative process of creating a musical through an analysis of both revivals and new musicals. Through readings by historians, theorists and practitioners, and engagement with artists across the field, students will learn about the key components of a musical including: book and adaptation; music and lyrics; choreography; and visual design.  There will also be a class devoted to the art of producing and the business of musical theater. Students will study a range of American musicals, including work in development at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.).  In addition, the course will give students direct exposure to the development of the A.R.T.’s world premiere production of Real Women Have Curves, which will open at the Loeb Drama Center in December, 2023. Over the course of the semester, students will write a paper analyzing the process of adaptation from source material to musical on stage.  They will also work collaboratively to develop a vision and “pitch” for their own musical theater project. Students will attend a workshop rehearsal of an A.R.T. musical in development in New York City and see a TBD production on Broadway.

Arts Integration Component: Students will engage with writers, composers, directors, choreographers, and designers of two new musical adaptions by the ART.

TDM 169S: Singer + Song = Story
Stew Stewart

In Singer + Song = Story we are inviting you to experiment with a fresh approach to musical theater making which, first and foremost, seeks to cast off the debilitating self-criticism that takes the fun out of creating. Singer/Song/Story casts aside the pressures of proficiency, perfection and “how it’s usually done”, as it welcomes you to carve creative paths to destinations that are all your own. This course injects personally-political, free-spirited, DIY, Punk practices into the process of musical theater making, with an aim to shake up the show-tune. You will learn how to build “mini-musicals” using a technique called “autobiographical myth-making” and will be encouraged, not only to tell your own stories, but to “autobiographically mythologize” your personal narratives into Tales worthy of your Truths. Auto-Bio-Myth-Making seeks to sidestep the potentially cringey pitfalls of confessional narratives, while encouraging playfulness, idiosyncrasy, whimsy and wrongness. Auto-Bio-Myth-Making invites you to take control of your story, rather than having your story take control of you. If you have a desire to explore the fire of self-discovery, via the creation of song and dialogue, you should take this class. Auto-Bio-Myth-Making has been the process behind all of Stew Stewart's music-theater pieces, including the Tony Award winning Passing Strange for which he won Best Book of a Musical. 

Arts Integration Component: Seven class visits from an array of story-tellers both in and outside of the musical theater realm whose works involve story-telling in ways that might be considered uncommon by musical theater standards. The art-making component results in a work of musical theater that is unique to each student’s life experiences and tastes.

FYSEMR 34V: Broadway Musicals: History,  Race, and Performance
Carol Oja

This seminar will explore a core group of Broadway musicals. Historical, musical, and theatrical discussions will be paired with student performances and staging of individual scenes; stagings will be done under the guidance of Allegra Libonati from the A.R.T. Institute. There will be a consistent emphasis on race. The seminar will touch on signal moments over the course of the “Golden Age” of the musical, stretching up to the present day: Oklahoma! (1943), South Pacific (1949), West Side Story (1957), A Chorus Line (1975), Wicked (2003), and In the Heights (2008). Blending historical study and hands-on practice, this seminar aims to offer a wide range of perspectives on the interpretation and performance of Broadway musicals. 

Arts Integration Component: Students examine canonical musicals from multiple methodological perspectives while they also sing, act, and dance. Allegra Libonati will lead 3 class sessions devoted to staging segments of the shows being discussed.