- Contemporary paganism - Asynchronous (Thursdays)
- Art, Religion, and Contemporary Culture (Thursdays 5:45–9:00 p.m)
For the Art Class, the final project I am choosing is:
Final paper/project: this is an opportunity for students to draw on the readings, lectures, class conversations, and previous assignments to articulate their own informed understanding of the contemporary use of the arts as a means of theological or religious expression and reflection. Students will complete ONE of the following and present it to the class at the end of the term.
a) The creation of a work of art or popular culture, such as a painting, dance, poem, sculpture, graphic novel, etc. that speaks to an aspect of your religious practice. This will be accompanied by a researched, footnoted artist’s statement of approximately 5 pages that describes your ideas and contextualizes them.
I'm going to do do a burlesque dance. I am. I'll make sure not to go down to pasties nor would I be making anything sexy. But there is something truly divine and spiritual about stripping away the surface level story and revealing the vulnerable truth and message underneath through dance. So I'm not sure what yet but I'll have things written on my skin. I may do something with fans or Some form of flow in there as well - this is meant to be BEAUTIFUL not sexy and fun. I want to show the ART of burlesque.
As for the 5 page papers...
- page breaking down how burlesque is a spiritual act - this will delve into last semester's resources about authenticity as sacred, grab references from my queer performance paper.
- Introduction to my spiritual practice - Shadow work and witchcraft; Circle back to burlesque - an example of imitative magic for shadow work. Explain imitative magic. Explain shadow work. Then explain the big picture
- introduce the gods I work with and which ones inspire me for the dance. (Cernunnos , Lilith, Brigid)
- Break down the song and costume choices
If she says no I will do a research paper on burlesque as the art piece and see if she'll approve that instead. that would need to be 11-12 pages... the practice being witcraft and shadow work, devotional dance, and celebrating the authentic divinity of the soul.
For my sources:
- Lartey, Emmanuel Y., and Hellena Moon, eds. Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care: Challenges of Care in a Neoliberal Age. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2020
- - page 27 on what spirituality is
- Lartey, Emmanuel Y. In Living Color: An Intercultural Approach to Pastoral Care and Counseling. 2nd ed. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2003.
- pages 55-59: Lartey, in his solo book In Living Color, provides several models of pastoral care including social action, empowerment, and personal interaction - all of which are embodied in through
- Dodds, Sherril. “Embodied Transformations in Neo-Burlesque Striptease.” Dance Research Journal 45, no. 3 (2013): 75–90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43966084.
- Explain the power of Burlesque! https://www.jstor.org/stable/43966084?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
- Buszek, Maria-Elena. “Representing ‘Awarishness’: Burlesque, Feminist Transgression, and the 19th-Century Pin-Up.” TDR (1988-) 43, no. 4 (1999): 141–62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1146802.
- On women in theater and how their independence is a threat to society (Lilith focus)
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/1146802?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
- Pollack-Pelzner, Daniel. “Shakespeare Burlesque and the Performing Self.” Victorian Studies 54, no. 3 (2012): 401–9. https://doi.org/10.2979/victorianstudies.54.3.401.
- More on burlesque as a personal performance for self.
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/victorianstudies.54.3.401?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
- Buckland, Theresa Jill. “Dance, Authenticity and Cultural Memory: The Politics of Embodiment.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 33 (2001): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519626
- Dance in conversation with other areas of study
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/1519626?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
- COYLE, SUZANNE M. Uncovering Spiritual Narratives: Using Story in Pastoral Care and Ministry. Augsburg Fortress, 2014. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt22nm7hf.
- PRetty self explanatory. I'm buying this damn book so it better be helpful in the future
- Gaskill, Malcolm. 2010. Witchcraft : A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed April 26, 2025. ProQuest Ebook Central.
- Book on Witcraft.. honestly i think i could get some really good quotes from this.
- https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.theoref.idm.oclc.org/lib/dtl/reader.action?docID=684591&ppg=1'
- Benussi, Matteo. (2019) 2023. “Magic”. In The Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology, edited by Felix Stein. Facsimile of the first edition in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Online: http://doi.org/10.29164/19magic
- https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/magic
- https://anthroholic.com/forms-of-magic?srsltid=AfmBOoplHEziSc_FdogfJxn52KE_9Zwf34G3Fc-WLAVU1MwbNCwnFrDE
- BERGER, HELEN A., ed. Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fh7kf.
- Another book on Witcraft I can probably use a lot on.
- https://www-jstor-org.theoref.idm.oclc.org/stable/j.ctt3fh7kf
