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Comparing Domains of Improvisation
November 15, 2018, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The Comparing Domains of Improvisation Discussion Group was founded in August 2015 by Marc Hannaford (PhD student, Department of Music) and Andrew Goldman (Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience, Columbia University), and is sponsored by the Columbia University Department of Music and the Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience program. Marc runs the group currently.
We invite improvisers, scholars, and all who are interested to participate in a series of discussions regarding the way people improvise and what improvisation means in various domains. We consider the term “improvisation” in a broad sense, including various “masking terms” such as “the ad-hoc,” “workarounds,” “the spontaneous,” and so on.
We envisage a group that includes representatives from as many disciplines as possible; while music, dance, sports, and theatre have long been associated with improvisation, more recent scholarly work has brought the improvisatory to the fore in domains such as philosophy, design, urban studies, literature (including poetry), organizational theory, and law. We also seek to include athletes, martial artists, chess players, and other skilled practitioners of improvisation. How does the meaning of the term differ between domains and how is it similar? What are some of the different ways improvisation functions in these domains and what can be learned from their comparison?
Discussion sessions will be held 3 or 4 times per semester, two hours per session. We aim to assemble a core group of consistent attendees, but all are welcome to come to any meeting. Sessions will take one of three possible formats: invited performer(s)/speaker(s) followed by a roundtable discussion, particular literature that will be discussed, or a guiding discussion question for everyone.
Speaker:
We are pleased to welcome Michelle Yom (CUNY) on November 15 for a presentation on indeterminacy in Cecil Taylor’s solo music.
Additional dates:
December 4, 2018
February 21, 2019
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