Syllabus, "Parchment," 2021

STUDIO FOR CREATIVE PRACTICE

Fall 

Faculty Leaders: Mollye Maxner, Betsy Towns, and Abby Yager

Collaborating Artists: Taryn Griggs, Abel Brone-Hammer, Richard Phillips, Chris Yon

Mollye                                                    Betsy                                                 Abby

413-687-4434                                         919-428-1717                                    917-543-4701

maxnerm@uncsa.edu                             townsb@uncsa.edu                            yagera@uncsa.edu

Office Hours and Conferences; please make appointments in advance: 

Mollye: Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:15-6:45.  

Betsy: Wednesday 6-7pm or by appointment

Abby: Thursdays, 9-10 pm-- after studio, or by appointment.

Please contact us with any questions.

Weekly Rhythm

Monday

1-2 Faculty Design meeting at CDI

6-10 Student Work Time / Richard

 

Tuesday 

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 Prepare for Open Session

7-8 Open Session 

8:15-9:30 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work 

9:30-9:45 Clean Up

 

Wednesday

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

6-7 BT Office Hours at CDI

7-7:30 Practices

7:30-9 Content/Context/Research (Betsy / Mollye)

9-11 Work Time

 

Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

6-7 Ideas Hour (optional) 

7-9:30 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices

9:30-9:45 Clean up

Abby office hours 9-10

Friday: look for your Friday email with details about neext week

Weekend Open Studio— once we know everyone’s schedule, we’ll set hour for you to work in studio with ideating/problem solving support from a highly able studio alum

 

Everyone will be expected to spend at least 10 hours outside of class on research in all its myriad forms as described above. 

 

The Studio for Creative Practice is a laboratory for research and testing of making original, transdisciplinary art work. Built on the belief that research underpins all aspects of the creative act, the Studio fuels inquiry in composition, collaboration, and critique. In the Studio, students develop their own creative processes at the intersection of the arts, liberal arts and sciences.

The Studio offers time and space for students to experiment with ideas, approaches, and artistic forms. Students have ample opportunity to follow their interests and take creative risks, learning to see and understand the impacts of their artistic choices. Through weekly iteration of draft works, students gain stamina for creative investigation required for making new work.

The Studio cultivates innovative and engaged artist citizens. It equips them with the skills and confidence needed to dialogue within and across disciplines, facilitating entry into a variety of cultural conversations to create work that resonates with a wide array of audiences.

Some defining of terms for the purposes of our work together

RESEARCH: Within the Studio, research is curiosity in action. It involves active engagement with empathy and inquiry. It approaches the world through questions and openness. Research might involve conversations, readings, podcasts, films, interviews, trips to specific places, daydreaming, trying out new things, etc etc etc. Research in the Studio is also the act of making new work. When we are making compositional choices, we are doing research. When we are testing out ideas in one form or another, we are doing research. When we are sharing our work, we are doing research. When we are dialoguing about work, we are doing research. It’s probably fair to say that EVERY aspect of the Studio is research. The Studio is a time to dive deeply and with commitment into the actions of research. What does research do? What are the meanings of and challenges in research? 

For this semester, we are investigating four specific threads of research. Remember that threads intertwine…..

• Research thread: PRACTICES - developing pathways to attention and reflection

• Embodied investigation into impacts of specific repeated practices

• Building skill and meaning in reflection as practice

• Research thread: CONTENT / IDEAS - developing knowledge, deepening context, increasing awareness, growing capacity for ideas

• Engaging together into specific contexts of art and making, in history and present day. The work it takes in investigating form, content, and context to “join the big conversations.”

• Individual dives into individual questions - EACH STUDENT WILL CHOOSE THEIR OWN TOPIC(S) OF RESEARCH and commit to the act of content research, following wherever it may lead, throughout the entire semester.

• Research thread: COLLABORATIVE DRAMATURGY: “Action work,” collaboration, composition, feedback

DRAMATURGY - Taking the etymology [drama- (action, deed, to do, make, act, perform) 

-turgy (ergon “work, activity”)] dramaturgy can be thought about as ACTION WORK. We will talk in depth and frequently about this point of view of dramaturgy during your time in the Studio. Dramaturgy is about the action the work is doing, and HOW it is doing that action. Dramaturgy lives at the intersections of form and content, structure and impact, meaning and mode of expression. 

“COLLABORATION is the capacity to partner.” 

COMPOSITION - To activate dramaturgy, one must be facile with tools of composition, with choices, limitations, and impacts therein. 

FEEDBACK/ Critique - An empowered, facile, and respectful relationship with critique is important for makers of new work. Two aspects of critique will be explored: leading one’s own critique process for greatest impact on developing one’s work, and dramaturgical acuity as a part of collaborative processes. To grow in both of these aspects, we will develop skills of seeing and articulating dramaturgical elements of live performance, develop agency in one’s own critique process, and develop skills in communicating about the dramaturgy of a work in collaborative making processes. We will investigate the WHY and HOW, the PURPOSE and the MEANING of feedback. And we will develop the capacity to engage responsively and with empathetic and dramaturgical skill in the critique processes of others.

For the purposes of the Studio, COLLABORATIVE DRAMATURGY is the capacity to work together in the rich intersections of compositional craft, humanity, context, ideas, and impact. To grow in these skills is to grow in being able to make one’s own work, as well as to wisely midwife the work of others. 

• Research thread: Making and Sharing Work 

This is a makers lab for testing ideas and putting all tenets of collaborative dramaturgy into action. We will make and make and make again. In fact, everyone will make work EVERY WEEK. We will investigate what we mean by “make” and what we mean by “work.” We will create collaboratively in different ways, all semester long. We will discover where it leads….

EXPECTATIONS  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Faculty will: 

• Expect commitment and depth of work from all in the Studio, including themselves

• Craft the work of the Studio in a responsive approach 

• Offer skills, approaches, practices, readings, viewings, etc, to enhance the learning and growth of the members of the Studio

• Engage fully with the work of the class

• Raise questions and problems to broaden our thinking

• Engage in weekly “dismantling-Bias” work with other Studio faculty

• Investigate “teaching” as a partnership and as a creative and laboratory act 

• Commit to one’s own creative practice

• Hold the student’s (and fellow faculty’s) feet to the fire, or encourage them to go swimming in a calm cool lake, or support them in holding their own feet to the fire, or support them in listening to their own signs that it might be time to find that quiet lake. 

Students will: 

• Engage and reflect throughout meeting times and beyond

• Commit to all aspects of Research, Making, Critique/Collaborative Dramaturgy, and Practices

• Keep field notes throughout the term, responding to texts, discussions, observations… in a journal, blog, sketchbook, graphic visualization, vlog, etc. Refer to definitions of Commonplace Books to start your process at three points in semester, you will pull from your field notes in research meetings with Betsy

• Prepare three polished, summative narratives, one for each section of the course. (These may be oral, performative, written, multimodal.) YES

• Design/make live performance work as part of and expression of creative research processes

LEARNING OUTCOMES: 

• Demonstrate use of compositional tools in collaborative interdisciplinary settings

• Engage in informed dramaturgical discussions with fellow artists about their work

• Engage more fully and in more informed ways with the “big conversations” occurring in the world of art-making

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the term students should be able to :

• Embody confidence and skill in creative and research processes, particularly “where/how to begin” collaborative work on their own out in the world

• Demonstrate use of compositional tools in collaborative interdisciplinary settings

• Engage in informed dramaturgical discussions with fellow artists about their work

• Demonstrate respectful agency in their own critique process 

• Dialogue about the relationship between practices, research and creative process

• Gain understanding of the relationship between the “content” and “form.” 

• Embody a deeper understanding of one’s own creative practice, outside of the structure of the University

INCLUSIVITY STATEMENT 

This course offers varied ways to engage with being a contemporary artist, including work to grapple with contemporary issues. Topics we will consider are often both intellectually and emotionally challenging. While we expect rigorous discussion and even disagreement in the course of our class discussions, we ask that you engage in discussion with care and empathy for all members in the classroom. We will work together to explore ways to disagree without becoming disagreeable. In this class we will not shy away from the uncomfortable. Critically examining and assessing our assumptions, biases, privileges and values and reflecting on those that differ from us are key to becoming an engaged artist, and are vital to living an authentic, connected  life. We urge you to have the courage to embrace the uncomfortable in this class. We sustain constant work to create safe and equitable, but also brave, spaces to support you in taking intellectual and emotional risks.

Microaggressions and more:

We will talk together to create our ways to recognize and address microaggressions, doing our work as a small community to create and ensure a safe and brave space in the Studio. 

“GRADING” 

Grading is in quotes because, though we are inside a system of higher education that depends on grading for its policies, grades are in many ways unrelated to this laboratory setting. Let’s use this opportunity to reframe grading in a way that makes sense to our work together. As such, Students and Faculty will engage in discussion including evaluation and reflection of level of personal commitment to, depth of work in, and engagement with the Studio, and how those translate to “grades.” This reflection will include all areas of our work : Research, Making, Embodied Practices, Critique, Collaboration, Dialogue, Process Inquiry, and Exercises in Refining Ideas.  Students may request discussion about their work, including its translation to grades, at any time. 

We will think of work in terms of Craft (care and attention to detail, unity of work), Creativity (inventive solutions to problems, and original and critical thinking), Collaboration (nature of engagement with others), and Content (depth and substance of material created).  

Translation of work into Final Grades will be captured as sums of percentages in the areas of our engagement as determined through discussion between Students and Faculty

 

POSSIBLE TEXTS / BIBLIOGRAPHY ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Reading/viewing/listening  and practice assignments will be assigned based on the design we create together in the first two weeks.perhaps: based on the threads of inquiry that emerge in the first five weeks  Instructors will share all readings digitally on the blog or canvas. The bibliography below gives you an idea of the works we’re considering:

Dramaturgy/On Practice

Theater of the Unimpressed - Jordan Tannahill

Interview with David Sedaris and George Saunders

Thank you, Ester Forbes - George Saunders

Breaking the Story - Rebecca Solnit

Several Short Sentences on Writing - 

The Team Documentary 

This American Life - August 9th, 2020 Act One

Mud and Antler Bone - Interview with Martin Shaw

On Being - Interview of Ocean Vuong 

 

NARRATING Justice

Michelle Alexander

James Baldwin

Tressie McMillan Cottom

Angela Davis

Nikki Giovanni

John Lewis

Ibram X Kendi

Adrienne Maree Brown 

 

Narrative as Instrument of Power

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi

Fred Wilson

The News this Week  

Biggest Little Farm

Selections/performances from class narratives

Sins Invalid Collaborative

Michel Foucault, Discipline and punish

Sunara Taylor 

Narrative and Gender 

bell hooks, “We Real Cool” 

Eve K. Sedgewick, “How to bring your kids up Gay”   

Michael Moon, from A Small Boy and Others and Darger’s Resources

bell hooks, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi and Johanna Obenda on black hair 

Jill Burke on renaissance hair 

 

Time, Place  and Creativity

Brittney Cooper

bell hooks

Riyad A. Shahjahan

Yi-Fu Tuan 

Michelle Wright

 

Creative Community

Patti Smith’s Just Kids

Fully Awake

The Artist Is Present

More: Burning Man, Meowolf, Haystack, Penland, MIT Medialab, Studio for Creative Inquiry, etc

 

Art as Research

Shamelle Bell

Jacinta White

Patricia Leavy

Fred Moten

Wu Tsang

Ocean Vuong 

Supplies 

• Commonplace book/journal/sketchbook 

• Various drawing and writing materials 

• Others, tbd, based on Creative Practice 

Participation

We will write the values together.   

Weekly Rhythm

Monday Studio Open 6-10; tech and ideating/problem solving support with Richard Phillips, CDI Systems Architect, available

 

Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work

 

Wed (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

6:00-6:45 BT Office Hours at CDI

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research (Betsy / Mollye)

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  (Planning Time for Studio Faculty-- weekly letter goes out on Thursday by midnight)

 

Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices (Abby, Mollye, Taryn/Chris)

 

Weekend Open Studio— once we know everyone’s schedule, we’ll set hour for you to work in studio with ideating/problem solving support from a highly able studio alum

Important  Dates

Two Tuesdays 8:30-10 for ZOOM SALONS

WORKSHOP Devising with Andy Paris time tba

W 9/25 7-8:30   field notes and refined/re-find narrative submitted

W 10/23 7-8:30 field notes and refined/re-find narrative submitted

FINAL TWO HOUR ENGAGEMENT November22 , 4:30-6:30. ALL MEMBERS OF THE STUDIO MUST BE PRESENT FOR THIS EXAM PERIOD SESSION. Please be sure to get it on your calendar for winter planning! 

CLASS CALENDAR

Any changes will be made with advance notice via email and posted to Canvas and blog. 

 

WEEK ONE

T 8/23   7-10  Building Creative Community and Designing the Studio

W 8/24   7-10 Building Creative Community and Designing the Studio

TH 8/25   7-10  Building Creative Community and Designing the Studio

works for week I

community agreements blog-- read tuesday night, bring in thoughts, additional areas, ideas  to test on the agreements wall? 

works for week II? 

7-8:30   Dr. Shamell Bell:  https://www.jacobspillow.org/events/pillowtalk-meet-shamell-bell/

and 

Listen to an interview with Ocean Vuong: https://onbeing.org/programs/ocean-vuong-a-life-worthy-of-our-breath/

(I recommend the UNEDITED version.)

 

TO CONSIDER AS YOU LISTEN:

CONSIDER the FORM of the questions being asked by the interviewers. 

CONSIDER how the artists address FORM in their making, or how FORM functions in their work....(and, what are the different kinds of the "making" that these artists / people are doing?) 

What happens in your body, spirit, mind, imagination, as you are encountering the interviews of these two artists / people?

WEEK TWO

Monday Studio Open 6-10

8/31 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: materials assignment tbd

9/1 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

9/2 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

WEEK THREE

9/6 Labor Day.  Studio Space closed. 

9/7 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work

9/8 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

9/9 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

 S 9/?? POSSIBLE REQUIRED WORKSHOP WITH ANDY PARIS

WEEK FOUR

9/13 Monday Studio Open 6-10

9/14 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work 

9/15 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

9/16 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

WEEK FIVE

9/20 Monday Studio Open 6-10

9/21 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: Reflection 1

9/22 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work: Reflection 1

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

9/23 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

 

WEEK SIX

9/27 Monday Studio Open 6-10

9/28 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: materials assignment tbd

9/29 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

5:30-6:45 BT Office Hours at CDI

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

9/30 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

 

WEEK SEVEN

10/4 Monday Studio Open 6-10

10/5 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: materials assignment tbd

10/6 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

5:30-6:45 BT Office Hours at CDI

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

10/7 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

 

WEEK EIGHT

10/11 Monday Studio Open 6-10

10/12 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: materials assignment tbd

10/13 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

10/14 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

WEEK NINE

10/18 Monday Studio Open 6-10

10/19 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: materials assignment tbd

10/20 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

10/21 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices

WEEK TEN

10/25 Monday Studio Open 6-10

10/26 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: Reflection 2

10/27 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work: Reflection 2

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

10/28 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices

 

WEEK ELEVEN

11/1  Monday Studio Open 6-10

11/2 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: materials assignment tbd

11/3 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

11/4 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices.    

  

WEEK TWELVE

11/8 Monday Studio Open 6-10

11/9 Tuesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 5:15pm

5:45-6:45 Faculty Anti-Bias Sessions / Equity work

6:45 All available prepare for Open Session

7-8:15 Open Session 

8:30-10 Dramaturgy for Transdisciplinary New Work: materials assignment tbd

11/10 Wednesday (STUDIO 7-10)

Space opens for students at 6:00 pm

7-8:30 Content/Context/Research Trans New Work Materials assignment tbd

8:45-10 Process / Practice / Collaboration Session  

11/11 Thursday (STUDIO 7-10)

7-10 Share work and Critique/Dialogue Practices 

WEEK THIRTEEN

T 11/16 7-10  SHOWINGS OF WORK IN PROGRESS 

W 11/17 7-10 Individual Work

TH 11/18 7-10 SHOWINGS OF WORK IN PROGRESS 

 

WEEK FOURTEEN

M 11/22 7-8:30 FINAL SHOWINGS OF WORK

T 11/23 7-10 FINAL SHOWINGS OF WORK

WEEK FIFTEEN

Final Individual and Shared reflective work 

 

??? “Exam” Period 4:30-6:30 / Final Meeting of the Studio. All required to Attend. Please let us know ASAP if there is a conflict. 

Police-y Policy  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Syllabus Boilerplate

COVID-19 Safety Julie Buffalohead, ~2011 N. Veera Kimbar, Self Portrait, 2020	As citizens of our community, we call on students to both protect themselves and help safeguard their fellow students, staff, and faculty. Some members of our community are particularly vulnerable to illness and we need to be responsible for each others’ wellbeing.  In these extraordinary circumstances, we must nurture and care  for one another to ensure that everyone has the opportunity for a positive conservatory experience this semester.Masks or face coverings will be required on campus, including in classrooms, studios, labs, and in other instances where social distancing is not possible. Students are permitted to remove mask or face covering in classroom, studio or lab settings only when explicitly granted permission to do so by the instructor (such as when singing or playing a wind instrument) and while at an appropriate physical distance from others; in those cases extra protective precautions will be taken. Maintaining appropriate social distance between themselves and others when in public spaces, both indoors and outdoors. Any unofficial student gatherings should be limited to 10 people or less, whether on campus or off. We strongly encourage students to wear masks in social situations as well as in official UNCSA activities. Maintaining good hand hygiene by washing hands frequently, using hand sanitizer when entering and exiting shared spaces, and being conscious of the surfaces you touch, as well as wiping down high-touch surfaces before and after use. Completing the daily COVID-19 screening self-assessment. Students should report potential symptoms of COVID-19 that are not related to another medical condition to Health Services by phone (336-770-3288). Students should not report to class in person when experiencing symptoms of any illness and should instead participate online. Students should consider the community around them when balancing the UNCSA culture of hard work against our current safety needs. This is not just an individual responsibility; students must encourage each other to fulfill this commitment to the safety of the community and hold each other accountable in positive ways. It is the policy of UNCSA for the Fall 2020 semester that as a condition of on-campus enrollment, all students are required to engage in the above safe behaviors to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Refusal to wear a face covering is considered grounds to prohibit a student from attending class in person. The student may participate in the online component of the course. Continued or repeated refusal to wear a face covering during in-person instruction will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action.
Writing Center:	The Writing Center is a free support service for UNCSA students. The goal of the Writing Center is to assist students with all kinds of writing, including academic papers, thesis work, and projects for arts classes. Scheduled term hours are posted on the UNCSA website on the “For Students” page. Students may drop by the Writing Center for help during open hours.  No appointment is necessary.  The Writing Center is located in the new Library Annex, above the Library Café, in the Teaching and Learning Center, Room 2308. Scheduled hours for the current semester are posted on the UNCSA website at https://www.uncsa.edu/mysa/current-students/academics/writing-center.aspx.   For further information, contact Nora Streed, Director of the Writing Center by email to: streedr@uncsa.edu or by phone at:  336.726.6965.
Academic Integrity Policy:	UNCSA is committed to fostering an intellectual, artistic, and ethical environment based on the principles of academic integrity as a critical part of educating artists and citizens.  Academic integrity is essential to the success of the University’s mission, and violations of academic integrity constitute offenses against the entire UNCSA community.  Students who violate University rules on academic integrity are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University.  Since such academic integrity violations harm the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on academic integrity will be strictly enforced.  For further information please visit the College Handbook website:  http://www.uncsa.edu/studentlife/forms/Handbooks/CollegeHandbook- current.pdf
English as a Second Language:	International students and other English language learners can visit the Writing Center or make an appointment with the ESL Director for short-term or ongoing help with writing, reading,  speaking, and understanding spoken English. For further information, contact Nora Streed, Director of the Writing Center and ESL Program, Room 2309 in the Teaching and Learning Center, 2nd Floor, Library Annex, just above the café. Email: streedr@uncsa.edu  Phone: 336.726.6965.
Library Services:	The UNCSA Library provides materials and services which support the University of North Carolina School of the Arts' educational, artistic, and performance objectives, and which serve the intellectual, informational, and cultural needs of the students, faculty, and staff of the school, as well as other members of the local community. http://library.uncsa.edu/home/use
Learning Resources:	Staff in the office of Learning Resources assist students in the academic environment as they seek balance within an intense and exciting educational experience. We offer a full-time Learning Specialist devoted to assisting students with academic success. Students may choose from a variety of workshops and 1:1 instructional techniques that can be applied in the classroom and utilized for both personal and professional endeavors. We also offer a variety of resources for students who would like to improve their approach to learning. Students can access: •1:1 Sessions — tailored to meet a student’s specific needs •Assistive Technology •Accessibility Resources •Lunch & Learn Workshops for Academic Success •Military-Connected Student Resources •Peer Tutoring •University Testing Services For more information, stop by the office located in the Teaching and Learning Center, 2nd Floor, Library Annex, just above the café.  You may also call/email for an appointment – 336-726-6963 or waybrantj@uncsa.edu.  https://www.uncsa.edu/mysa/current-students/academics/learning-resources/index.aspx
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:	Accessibility Resources are offered on campus to students with documented disabilities.  If you are a student with a disability and anticipate the need for an accommodation in order to participate in this course, you must submit supporting documentation to the office of Learning Resources located in the Teaching & Learning Center – 2nd Floor, Library Annex, above the café.  Their phone number is 336-726-6963, and a contact email is waybrantj@uncsa.edu. Once your documentation has been approved and you have registered for Accessibility Resources, you will be provided with a faculty accommodation letter. You are then required to meet with all instructor(s) of the course to request eligible accommodations.  At that time, the instructor(s) will discuss how each accommodation request will be implemented in the course. Thank you! https://www.uncsa.edu/mysa/current-students/academics/accessibility/index.aspx
Early Departure:	While Early Departure before the end of the term is discouraged, UNCSA recognizes that, from time to time, extenuating circumstances will necessitate approval of such Early Departure. Students seeking permission to leave school early should meet with the Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts and with their Arts Dean to obtain a permission form and to discuss Early Departure. (NOTE: Travel or vacation plans are NOT acceptable reasons for Early Departure. Students should carefully consult the academic calendar and plan accordingly.) For approval of Early Departure from undergraduate academic and arts classes, an Early Departure Form must be signed by the appropriate academic and arts instructor(s) and returned to the Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts and the Arts Dean no less than three weeks prior to the end of the term. Students who leave campus before the end of the term without having been granted the appropriate permission will be considered to have unexcused absences.
Add / Drop and Course Withdrawal:	Students may add or drop courses during the first week of classes without penalty. Add / drop ends on August 21st, 2020.  Changes during this week do not appear on the student's permanent record. Students who have cleared all holds and wish to add or drop courses during this period must do so through online registration.  Beginning with the second week of classes to the conclusion of the withdrawal period, students must officially "withdraw" from a course. The last day for students to withdraw is October 2nd, 2020.  Students are permitted to withdraw from a maximum of 16 credit hours over the course of their degree or degrees. Once the student has reached that maximum number, no additional withdrawal requests will be granted, with the exception of Withdrawals with Extenuating Circumstances. See the Bulletin for the complete withdrawal policy.
Inclement Weather:	In the case of overnight weather situations, such decisions normally will be made before 6 a.m. and will be posted on the UNCSA home page (www.uncsa.edu), on the recorded greeting at the main phone line (336-770-3399) and sent to UNCSA Alert subscribers. You may also find notices of school closings, cancellations or delays posted via local media outlets. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to subscribe to UNCSA Alert by visiting: https://uncsa.bbcportal.com/.

KEHINDE WILEY, Femme piquée par un serpent, 2008