Want more drama in your life? Follow the English-Lit Studies “Theatre and Drama” path.
If you want to follow this path, look for these courses next semester:
ENLS 290.01 Ethnic Show Business TR 10-11:20am Meenakshi Ponnuswami
When it comes to racism, there’s truly “no business like show business.” From medieval times to the present, the entertainment industry has eagerly capitalized on popular prejudices, fears, and voyeurism by creating sensational figures like Uncle Tom, the Hottentot Venus, Pocahontas, and more. Some of these figures have become intensely cherished icons (Babar the elephant); others have found their way into sports logos and team merch (the Washington Redskins mascot); all too many have played a role in justifying hatred and holocausts (Shylock). How have contemporary entertainment arts responded to this history? Do ugly old stereotypes ever actually disappear? Do they simply taken new forms, like Aunt Jemima’s image on the pancake box? Our course will explore the legacy of ethnic show business and consider the backlash that contemporary artists have faced as they’ve protested and reinvented this legacy. ARHC FRST
ENLS 393.01 Theatre & Black Power TR 2:30-3:50pm Meenakshi Ponnuswami
What role do the arts play in the fight against injustice? Can theatre change the hearts and minds of people in power? Can it help people who have no power organize themselves into a force for change? Many such questions confronted idealistic young African Americans in the 1950s and 60s, a period of fiery political and social movement and immense creativity. Focusing on the theatre and performance arts of the era, as well as music, pop culture, and comedy, our course will introduce students to the history and politics of the Black Power movement. We will study the major events of the period, focusing on key players, concepts, and strategies, including Malcolm X, debates concerning non-violent resistance, the Black Panthers, and the Black Arts Movement. By exploring this history, we will examine how profound social and political change can begin to take shape. ARHC RPI
Other courses recently offered or expected to be offered in this path include:
- Introduction to Drama (ENLS 117)
- Latinx Theatre (ENLS 217)
- Jewish American Comedy (ENLS 229)
- Masculinity in Modern US Drama (ENLS 247)
- Radical Black Drama and Performance (ENLS 254)
- Shakespeare and Film (ENLS 255)
- Shakespeare (ENLS 257)
- Studies in Shakespeare (ENLS 258)
- Modern Drama (ENLS 287)
- Performing Disability in Early Modern England (350)
- Shakespeare and History (ENLS 358)
- Theatre of the Absurd (ENLS 393)
- Ethnic Show Business (ENLS 393)