2010 BIST Argentina and Uruguay

Course: GST 206 Avant-garde, Art, and Tango in Argentina and Uruguay
Dates: 4-29 January 2010
Instructors: Jan Pearce and Eileen McKiernan González

Dancing the tango in Argentina

What did/does it mean to be Argentine? ... to be Uruguayan? What is it like to dance the tango? This international travel course will journey to Argentina and Uruguay to learn the answers to these questions and more ....

The tango is a close form of couple's dancing based upon walking which is impressive to watch, fun to dance, and whose basics are easy to learn. The development of the Tango in Argentina and Uruguay parallels a rich development in the arts of the avant-garde. Ideas of identity, social activism, and nationalism that appear during the late 19th and early 20th century have had strong repercussions into the present. The rise of tango can be seen as emblematic of the transformation of Buenos Aires and Montevideo at the turn of the 20th century. Tango blended European, South American, and African rhythms and styles into something unique to the region. As such, it provided new identity for a society in flux. The arts of the avant-garde likewise sought to create a new space—intellectual, socially active, middle class, and urban that was unique to the region.

In this course students will read, research, visit art museums, watch performances, meet local people, and learn to dance the tango.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and permission of the instructors. Knowledge of Spanish is helpful, but not required.

Cost of Participation: TBA

Questions?

For specific questions about this course, contact Jan Pearce or Eileen McKiernan González.