5 Cours
African American Drama
Course description and objectives:
This course aims at introducing third year students to African American theatre, and particularly August Wilson’s play Fences and its socio-historical context as part of his Pittsburgh ten-play cycle. Each session will be devoted to a theme or structural aspect of the play which will be dealt with, first through the instructor’s expository/analytic overview, then by having the class take part in a discussion and recapitulation of the most important aspects of the lesson. Students are also encouraged to develop their own analysis of the extracts and to read and assess the critical reviews provided by the instructor.
Course outline:
Week 1: African American Theater and Socio-Historical Context
Week 2: Introducing August Wilson
Week 3: Characterization/ Troy: tragic hero or victim?
Week 4: Racial discrimination/ Racism Vs self-loathing
Week 5: Fathers and Sons; Status quo Vs Change
Week 6: Religious discourse/The Death Allegory
Week 7: Baseball imagery and symbolism
Week 8: Symbolism of “fences”/Blues music
Week 9: Dreams and Illusions/ Old and new generations of black Americans
Week 10: Images of black masculinity/Black culture and community
Week 11: Climactic moments/Revision
Week 12: Mock Exam Essay
Aims:
-Introducing African American drama and its idiosyncrasies and main theoretical trends
-Using dramatic concepts for the analysis of extracts from the play
-This course can be used in correlation with the literary theory course for a deeper insight into the practical aspects of literary and critical analysis