Course Description
Survey of dramatic literature that foregrounds issues of race, gender, culture, and/or ethnicity. Emphasis is placed on African American, Asian American, Latino/Latina, and Native American drama and theatre. The origin and development of these theatre movements are contextualized within the social and cultural milieu of the times.
Athena Title
Voices of Diversity
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in THEA 2110
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught 95% or more online.
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This is a lecture/discussion course with extensive readings of selected plays, supplemented by media resources illustrating the extent of activity of these communities throughout the USA. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of works authored by key men and women, performed by actresses and actors in various venues from Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway, as well as in regional theatres, colleges, and universities. This is a rich indication of the multifaceted expression of all the cultures under consideration.
Topical Outline
Week One Introduction and Historical Overview of American Drama and Theatre Week Two African American Theatre History and Development Week Three Plays: Charles Gordone’s No Place to be Somebody, George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum, and August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone Week Four Plays: Alice Childress’ Wedding Band: A love/hate story in black and white and Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf Week Five Latino/Latina Theatre History and Development Week Six Plays: Luis Valdez’ Zoot Suit, Jose Rivera’s The House of Ramon Iglesia Week Seven Plays: Milcha Sanchez-Scott’s Roosters and Nilo Cruz’ Anna in the Tropics Week Eight Asian American Theatre History and Development Week Nine Plays: Frank Chin’s The Chickencoop Chinaman, David Henry Hwang’s M Butterfly Week Ten Plays: Wakako Yamauchi’s And the Soul Shall Dance and Philip Kan Gotanda’s Yankee Dawg You Die Week Eleven Plays: Anuvab Pal’s Chaos Theory, Aasif Mandvi’s Sakina’s Restaurant, and Shishir Kurup’s Merchant on Venice Week Twelve Selected Plays by Filipino and Vietnamese Authors Week Thirteen Native American Theatre History and Development Week Fourteen Selected Plays by Native American Playwrights Week Fifteen Research and Writing Projects and Conclusions