Spring 2025
THEATER R1B 007 - LEC 007
Performance: Writing and Research
Exquisite Girls: Gender and Performance in Viral Cultures
Crystal Song
Jan 21, 2025 - May 09, 2025
Tu, Th
02:00 pm - 03:29 pm
Social Sciences Building 104
Class #:23521
Units: 4
Instruction Mode:
In-Person Instruction
Offered through
Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies
Current Enrollment
Total Open Seats:
-2
Enrolled: 19
Waitlisted: 0
Capacity: 17
Waitlist Max: 7
No Reserved Seats
Hours & Workload
3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, and 9 hours of outside work hours per week.
Course Catalog Description
Reading and composition in connection with the study of dramatic literature. R1A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R1B satisfies the second half.
Class Description
To be a woman in the world, wrote Anne Anlin Cheng, is to be “constantly self-curating.” This course brings a critical lens to the viral cultures and structures of feeling that have defined femininity in the 2020s—a endless landscape of new aesthetics to adopt, celebrities to emulate, and modes of self-improvement to employ. How has this ever-shifting economy shaped our understanding of agency, empowerment, and authentic self-expression? From the girlboss to the tradwife, what are the implications of its wildly divergent characters for feminist theorizing? And how are the ways we perform ourselves always entangled with these competing narratives about feminine worth and desirability? Together, we will acquire the critical tools to explore these vital issues of gender, sexuality, race, class, and embodiment in the realm of popular culture.
This R1B course fulfills the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement. The assignments are designed for students to refine their skills in academic writing and research. Regular opportunities for reflection, revision, and peer review will help students build confidence in their own scholarly voices.
Rules & Requirements
Requisites
- Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C-or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C-or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature and Composition. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination
Repeat Rules
Course is not repeatable for credit.
Requirements class fulfills
Second half of the Reading and Composition Requirement
Reserved Seats
Current Enrollment
No Reserved Seats
Textbooks & Materials
See class syllabus or https://calstudentstore.berkeley.edu/textbooks for the most current information.
Guide to Open, Free, & Affordable Course Materials
Associated Sections
None