One student choreographed a ballroom dance. One illustrated a graphic novel. Another painted a watercolor.
As part of their Core III requirement, Scripps students were encouraged to express their knowledge of their specialized academic topic by using a multi-media platform.
Through their presentations, students displayed the analytical and critical thinking skills they have refined in three semesters of Core, a rigorous academic program unique to Scripps College.
Students in David Cubek’s 20th-century music class wrote a paper about their topics, in addition to preparing a 20-minute presentation.
Cubek’s class is one of several Core III seminars held in recent weeks in which students spoke on a specialized interdisciplinary topic, giving them a chance to display their self-designed projects and research. Cubek is an assistant professor of music and is director of the Claremont Concert Orchestra.
Elena Sharma ’14, who wrote two short stories based on the philosophy and compositional techniques of 20th-century music master John Cage, said the presentations in Cubek’s class were “wonderful, challenging, and enlightening!”
Sherilyn Tamagawa ’14 choreographed a ballroom dance performance using music she studied in the seminar. Her dance used movements from quickstep, tango, and the waltz so that she could critically comment on compositions by Tchaikovsky, Kurt Weill, and Stravinsky.
Anna Walton ’14 wrote and illustrated her own graphic novel, “The Adventures of a Woman in 20th-Century Music.” Her story allows the reader to determine the female protagonist’s fate by deciding, while reading the story, what steps she will take. The main character’s destiny is inspired by plots of 20th-century operas studied in class.
“Anna uses clever humor to guide the audience through the gruesome experiences of female characters in 20th-century operas,” says Skye Olson ’13, who observed the presentations. “It was a creative and humorous critique.”
As these Scripps students culminated their work in Cubek’s music seminar, their self-expression and scholarship struck the right note.