Nicole Yost

Nicole (Nicki) Yost is an interdisciplinary artist scholar who combines an artistic practice with research to achieve an overarching goal of promoting scholarship outside of academia. She has her BS in chemistry with a minor in dance from Alma College, a MA in social sciences with concentration in history and a certificate in gender and sexuality studies from the University of Chicago, and is now pursuing another MA, this time in performance studies at New York University. Her current research looks at science through a performance studies lens by discussing the performative language of science. She has also choreographed, performed, and directed screendances, including one based on her MA thesis, I Have a Sister, looking at the gendered division of labor in the history of science.

Project Title: Science That Moves: A Documentary Proposal

Project Description: My final project is a proposal for a documentary I am developing on Dance Your PhD. Dance Your PhD is an annual contest run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Science magazine that challenges scientists to explain their PhD research through a dance video. The film will follow myself as I reconnect with my scientific roots on this journey to explore a new method of conveying information through performance, in a way that makes it more comprehensible to a broader audience. By meeting key figures of the contest and previous winners, I hope to gain enough knowledge to partner with a PhD candidate and create our own entry for the Dance Your PhD contest.

For the symposium, I will be showing the pitch reel and pitch deck for this film. Both elements are meant to sell the vision of the film and provide an in-depth understanding of what the film will be.

Academic Interests: Dance Studies, Science and Technology Studies, Public History, Gender and Sexuality Studies