ENG 284 - African American Drama

This course will focus on African American drama since the 1960s.  We will consider how playwrights worked to create a black aesthetic, question and rewrite history, explore intersectional identities, counter stereotypes, and build community.  These plays do not simply exist in opposition to some “mainstream” American tradition; rather, they are deeply, profoundly American, inviting all of us to engage discussions around race, history, privilege, and inequity that are deeply embedded in our artistic and social heritage as a country. At the same time, we will also ask: how do they reflect conversations within the Black community they represent?

Possible course authors include:  August Wilson, Katori Hall, Lynn Nottage, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Robert O’Hara, Suzan-Lori Parks, Anna Deavere Smith, Adrienne Kennedy, Amiri Baraka, and Lynn Manning.

Satisfies the Diversity requirement of the English major.
Satisfies a requirement in the Africana Studies major (Geographic Region: North America).
Satisfies a requirement in the Global Literary Theory interdisciplinary minor.
Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement.
Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement.