THEA 241(F) Performing Race: From Shakespeare to Spike Lee (Same as Africana Studies 241 and Comparative Literature 241)*
This cross-historical survey considers plays, film, and performance art and the capacity of these artistic forms to reinforce racial stereotypes and, equally, to question them. The course begins in the Renaissance by approaching theatre as a visual (as well as literary) medium and asking: What do we see? How is race constructed on stage? With these conditions of performance in mind, we will examine the significance of race and racial iconographies in such works as Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and Othello and Ben Jonson's Masques of Blackness and Beauty. With Spike Lee's film Bamboozled as a transition, the focus will turn to the contemporary field encompassing drama by Djanet Sears, August Wilson, and Anna Deavere Smith, and video work by black British artist Isaac Julien, among others. Specific topics to be discussed include blackface performance; studio photographs of black actor Paul Robeson as Othello; and colorblind casting. In its application of a comprehensive definition of race, the course will address racial whiteness.
Format: lecture. Evaluation based on participation in class discussion; short papers; final exam.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 15 (expected : 15). Preference given to Theatre majors.
Hour: P. ERICKSON