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The Minor in African American Theatre
The minor in African-American Theatre provides the opportunity for all students from liberal arts departments throughout the University of Michigan to complement your major course of study with exposure to the history, literature and practice of African-American theatre.
This minor may be especially appealing if you’re majoring in African-American and African Studies, Film & Video Studies, Women’s Studies, English Language & Literature, Comparative Literature, Communications, Anthropology, Sociology or Psychology— but is not limited to these majors. Students in Music, Dance, Theatre and Musical Theatre are welcome and invited to take these courses as well, but may not elect to minor in African-American Theatre.
Course Requirements for the African-American Theatre Minor
Prerequisite (3 credits): Theatre 222: Introduction to Black Theatre
An introductory overview of the history, theory
and practice of African-American Theatre from
African roots to the present.
You will also take a total of 15 credit hours of the following required and elective courses:
Requirements (9 credits)
Theatre 233: Acting and the Black Experience (3 credits)
(Prerequisite for Theatre 340: Black Theatre Workshop)
A basic acting class that explores the Black experience through dramatic scripts and personal stories.
Theatre 324: Contemporary Black Theatre (3 credits)
Explores the evolving aesthetic of current African-American Theatre and examines the relationship between that aesthetic and the African-American community.
Theatre 326: Script Analysis for Black Writers & Directors (3 credits)
Analyzes the way African-American characters and dramatic stories are constructed by reading plays and viewing films from the vantage point of the actor, director, writer or designer; enhances the student’s ability to imagine and create.
Electives (6 credits)
You may elect TWO courses from the following:
Theatre 332: Performing Gender: Dramatizing from Oral Sources (3 credits)
A research/performance class that explores Black womanly images by adapting narratives of real women into “eyewitness” performances
Theatre 340: Black Theatre Workshop (3 credits). Prerequisite: Theatre 233
Develops performance skills in conjunction with an exploration of theory and technique as they relate to the African-American theatre experience. Culminates in a performance experience for the class before an invited audience. May be repeated.
Theatre 440: Special Topics in African-American Theatre (3 credits)
* Comparing Black Aesthetics: Caribbean, African-American and African Drama: Compares Black aesthetics, African-American dramatic literature and traditions and modernity in African drama.
* African-American Dramatic Literature: Explores the African-American experience through an in-depth examination of plays and other sources. Covers the period beginning with the African Grove players and ending with A Raisin in the Sun.
* Traditions and Modernity in African Drama: Explores the general situation of African Theatre and Drama as a cultural manifestation and representation of African peoples.
Some other courses from the Department of Theatre & Drama and other
departments may also be elected, in consultation with your minor advisor
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