THD 304-01 - Studies in Drama II

4 credits (Fall)

Cross-listed as: GLS 304-01 [Inactive]. Black American Theatre History. In this course, we will explore a wide-ranging variety of theatre and performance created by Black artists ranging from the early nineteenth century to now. Using the works of contemporary and historical thinkers and writers like Ibram X. Kendi, bell hooks, James Baldwin, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, we will consider circumstances and outcomes surrounding the development of Black identity and experience through theatre. We will also consider questions around privilege, class, sexuality, gender identity, religion, and ability and their intersections with race. This course investigates the nature of representation versus reality and the impacts of storytelling. Who gets to tell the story? How is power reinforced, resisted or transformed by the story being told? How is historical fact shaped by fiction?

Prerequisite: One 200-level course from any of the following departments: General Literary Studies, Philosophy, History, Religious Studies, Anthropology, English, Classics, Theatre and Dance, Spanish, German, Russian, French, Chinese, Art and Art History.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Miller