Dyane Harvey-Salaam leads students in DAN 211/AAS 211. Photo by Crystal Liu

Like schools across the country, Princeton’s undergraduate education is fully remote this fall due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a recent feature story by Princeton University’s Office of Communications, faculty in the sciences, arts, humanities and social sciences talk about how they adapted and innovated their classes for virtual teaching, from science labs and dance classes to introductory lectures and small seminars, with help from the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning.

One class featured in the story is “The American Experience and Dance Practices of the African Diaspora” taught by Lecturer in Dance Dyane Harvey-Salaam. Offered each semester, the popular studio course introduces students to American dance aesthetics and practices, with a focus on how its evolution has been influenced by African American and European American choreographers and dancers. Harvey-Salaam seeks to provide her students with the physical experience of cultural dance practices while analyzing — through readings, video viewings and guest lecturers — the effect on cultural practices of the United States and the world at large.

“I’d like my students to experience the value of cultural practices, especially those that are different, the value of the arts in our lives, and that a sense of community is absolutely necessary in these troubling times. We are all responsible for each other.”
— Dyane Harvey-Salaam

Hear more from Harvey-Salaam about how she adapted her course to an online platform, along with other courses at Princeton, in the full story on the Princeton University homepage.