PERFORMING ARTS | University Primer (update version JUL26) by

University preparation: PERFORMING ARTS

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-16 09:42:02 UTC

The UP padlets offer students a wide selection of mini-lessons and other resources that explore and unpack the latest issues and events related to the performing arts, enabling students to link learning to the real-world, develop a more critical eye, and demonstrate their interest in the subject.

The advice on the final slide of the presentation provides specific advice on how the story will help to deepen their knowledge, introduce them to key thinkers, and relate to wider issues going on in the world.

Choose which version of the mini-lesson you want, depending on the programme you're following. IB students can use the TOK mini-lesson; other students should follow the link on the second slide of the presentation, to take them to the non-IB Diploma version.

Check back regularly, because we add new mini-lessons every month

NEW MUSIC

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:37:18 UTC

A mini-lesson based on an ABC video, looking at how new music by the Beatles is being produced via the use of AI.

DEAF & LOUD

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:37:30 UTC

A mini-lesson based a Conversation article and video, exploring how the rap sub-genre of dip hop is changing what it means for music to be heard.

CO-PRESENT & IMMEDIATE

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:37:38 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Conversation article and video, exploring the line between real and digital ‘live’ music performances via an exploration of Abba’s ‘Voyager’.

MACHINE-GUIDED CURATION

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:37:52 UTC

A mini-lesson based on an NPR article, looking at how social media algorithms 'flatten' culture by making decisions for us.

VINYL VS. STREAMING

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:37:59 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Wired article, looking at the viability - and the value - of preserving 3 million vinyl records in the age of digital streaming.

SHARED HUMANITY

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:38:07 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a FT article, arguing that art can help us overcome division and conflict by helping us to focus on what we all have in common.

AVOIDING REDUCTIVE ASSERTIONS

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:38:21 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Conversation article, in which a professor of literature argues that Taylor Swift should be taught alongside Shakespeare.

MUSIC AND HUMANITY

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:38:35 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a 9-minute Big Think video, which discusses how our innate musical abilities (and limitations) define us as a species.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE SPIRIT

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:39:06 UTC

A mini-lesson based on an NPR article, looking at the decision by the Chechnya government to ban all music that isn’t between 80 and 116 beats per minute.

ART & OWNERSHIP IN THE DIGITAL AGE

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:39:14 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Conversation article, examining why it’s hard for people to feel like they have ownership of digital music.

A BIG WAVE

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:39:22 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Guardian article, looking at how rap music has changed the way young people throughout the UK use language.

GENRE- SUBVERTING ART

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:39:29 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Conversation article, looking at the ‘genius’ of Beyonce’s new album, Cowboy Carter, which it says is based on the way it defies and challenges our perception of musical genres.

MYSTICAL PROPERTIES

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:39:40 UTC

A mini-lesson based on an ARTnews article, looking at the forthcoming sale of Wu-Tang Clan’s album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, of which only one CD exists.

MUSIC VS. GEOPOLITICS

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:39:47 UTC

A mini-lesson based on an Independent article, reporting on calls by former contestants, and some media outlets, to ban Israel from taking part in Eurovision 2025 due to events in Gaza.

ART FIRST, AND SCIENCE SECOND

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:39:55 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Guardian article, looking at how a team of artists and scientists has ‘resurrected’ composer Alvin Lucier, enabling him to continue creating music, despite having died in 2021.

MUSIC AND MEMORY

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:40:02 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Conversation article, which looks at recent research suggesting that listening to music not only triggers memories – it might even change how you remember them.

POWERFUL PERSUADERS

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:40:11 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Vox article, exploring the relationship between political campaigns and music, and why artists are so sensitive about their work being used without permission.

THE BATTLE BETWEEN TRUTH & LIES

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:40:39 UTC

A TOK mini-lesson based on an FT essay by Simon Schama, which discusses how writers and artists have led the way in the fight for human rights.

AN AESTHETICO-ETHICAL DANCE

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:41:28 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Big Think interview with Claire Dederer, which discusses the age-old question of art vs. artist, and why the goalposts have moved in the online age.

ON THE RED CARPET

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:41:34 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Reuters photo-essay tracing the way outfits at the Met Gala have become more ostentatious, why this is, and what it tells us about wider society.

HAMLET WITH FLAMETHROWERS

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 14:41:43 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a BBC article, reporting on how two actors put on a virtual production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet inside the computer game, Grand Theft Auto.

MAKING SENSE OF INTUITION

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 15:02:40 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Guardian article, examining the science of intuition, in an attempt to explain the role it plays in helping us know about the world.

INGROUPS AND OUTGROUPS

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-05-19 15:06:28 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Big Think video with David Eagleman, in which he argues that the first step in understanding the world is understanding the way your brain works.

ANIMATING THE ABSTRACT

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-06-04 08:06:37 UTC

A mini-lesson based on lovely little Big Think article, exploring the concept of ‘cosmic realism’ - small-scale stories that express universal themes - and how they are the secret to great works of literature.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-06-04 08:10:44 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a copy of a letter by artists published in Tribune, arguing that the Irish rap band Kneecap are being persecuted and deplatformed by the authorities.

OUTSPOKEN OR PERSONAL?

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-06-04 08:14:14 UTC

A mini-lesson based on an Art Newspaper article, looking at a new work by Banksy, on display in a location in Marseilles, and trying to interpret its message and meaning.

A VACCINATING EFFECT

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-06-04 08:18:57 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Guardian article, reporting on the news that a new ‘historically accurate’ digital replica of Auschwitz will allow films to be set there, breaking the taboo that currently exists.

THEFT VS. COMPETITION

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-08-05 13:28:21 UTC

A BBC story, investigating the new band The Velvet Sundown, which may (or not) be totally AI-fabricated.

AN ACT OF THEFT?

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-10-08 06:08:29 UTC

A Guardian story, looking at how the arrival on the scene of ‘AI actor’ Tilly Norwood is being condemned by members of the film industry.

SHIFTING THE MOON

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-11-15 10:09:12 UTC

A Guardian story, which discusses whether AI is helping composers to create new music, or if it’s about to put them all out of business.

OVER-PROCESSED HOTDOGS

theory_of_knowledge — 2025-11-15 10:12:43 UTC

A Guardian story, which reports on Robin Williams’s daughter, Zelda, requesting fans stop generating AI videos of her father.

UPENDING THE MALE GAZE

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-01-16 06:53:40 UTC

A BBC story, looking at a Levi’s advert from 1985 that was one of the first to upend the traditional principle of male gazes on female bodies.

CONNECTION & INDIVIDUALITY

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-01-16 06:59:06 UTC

rA Conversation story, analyzing the “marketing genius” of Spotify Unwrapped, the yearly round-up of users’ music habits.

ODE TO JOY, ODE TO HATE

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-01-16 07:02:57 UTC

A Guardian story, in which music journalist Tom Service explains how he has told the history of the world via 50 pieces of music.

A MOVING BRIDGE

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-02-11 14:37:02 UTC

A New Statesman story, featuring dancer Jasmin Vardimon, who talks about bodies as “tools of expression to communicate thoughts”.

MAD ARTISTIC GENIUSES

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-02-11 14:39:47 UTC

A Conversation story, exploring whether the ‘mad artistic genius’ trope stands up to scientific scrutiny, or whether it is a false assumption.

EVOLVING ARTISTIC TASTES

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-03-24 19:51:36 UTC

A BBC story, tracking the way critical assessment of the British artist Beryl Cook has developed over time, and what this says about artistic appreciation.

“ALL GOOD ART IS POLITICAL”

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-03-24 19:54:23 UTC

An Al Jazeera story, reporting on Arundhati Roy’s decision to quit the Berlin Film Festival in protest against Wim Wenders’ assertion that artists shouldn’t be political.

A CULTURAL LIFELINE

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-03-24 20:00:40 UTC

A Reuters story, looking at the impact of Bad Bunny’s halftime Superbowl show, and how it “offers a cultural lifeline to a besieged Hispanic community.”

TRUE TO THE SPIRIT

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-03-24 20:03:48 UTC

An Independent story, offering a very negative review of the new adaptation of Wuthering Heights, prompting questions about the responsibilities of filmmakers.

MONSTER OR LOVER?

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-04-16 06:52:40 UTC

A Conversation story, examining how the character of Dracula has evolved over time, culminated in Luc Besson’s latest film, presenting him as a ‘red hot lover’.

THE LANGUAGE OF POP

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-04-16 07:08:11 UTC

A BBC story, looking at how - according to Spotify - pop music's bias towards English is fading, as other languages such as Spanish, Korean, and Arabic emerge in the industry.

THE DEATH OF HOLLYWOOD?

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-04-17 08:48:27 UTC

A Sky News story, reporting the popularity of the AI influencer ‘Chloe vs. history’, and why her rise is worrying Hollywood.

A DANGER OF DILUTION

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-04-17 09:44:13 UTC

A BBC story, assessing whether pop art icon Keith Haring has been santitised by the huge range of merchandise available based on his work.

LEWD AND IMPURE

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-04-17 09:46:49 UTC

A Guardian story, looking at how a once-banned music rhythm is now a ubiquitous sound on the streets and squares of Uruguay.

TRUTH VERSUS AUDIENCE SIZE

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-05-05 06:43:36 UTC

A Wired story, reporting on the ‘civil war’ that has kicked off as a result of the release of the biopic about Michael Jackson, pitting truth against audience size.