The world of theater is as diverse as the ideas and the people that write and perform it. In this seven-week seminar, we will explore solo performance pieces, plays, and movies which address issues of social concern. At times inappropriate, at times irreverent, these pieces are always controversial and, hopefully, insightful. The work of playwrights OyamO and Rebecca Gilman; performance artists Anna Deveare Smith and Holly Hughes; and stand-up comics Margaret Cho and Lenny Bruce are examples of what we will be discussing. The goal of this course is to begin to identify where social identity and performance converge, as well as to introduce first-year students to Ann Arbor's unique theater scene.
| Week 1 - Rebecca Gilman |
Bell , Lee Anne. “Theoretical Foundations for Social Justice Education.” from Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice , Adams et. al. Routledge: New York 1997. 3-15.
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Gilman, Rebecca. Spinning Into Butter . 7-105
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| Week 2 - OyamO |
OyamO. I Am A Man (Power to Da Peepas) . Applause Books: New York. 1995. OyamO will be our guest in class.
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| Week 3 - Anna Deavere Smith |
Bonney, Jo, ed. Extreme Exposure . TCG: New York. 2000. Pg. 177-178.
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Smith, Anna Deavere. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 . Random House: New York. 1994. Pg. xvii-xxvi, 11-20, 70-73, 150-155, 159-162, 244-249.
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Week 4 - Holly Hughes |
Hughes, Holly and David Roman. O Solo Homo: The New Queer Performance . Grove Press: New York . 1998. Pg. 1-15
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Hughes, Holly. Clit Notes . Grove Press: New York . 1994. Pg.181-208.
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Holly will be our guest in class, although we may need to change our meeting time.
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Week 5 - Lenny Bruce |
Bonney, Jo, ed. Extreme Exposure . Pg. 42-43, 47-48.
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Cohen, John, ed. The Essential Lenny Bruce . Granada : Great Britain . 1975. Pg. 50-70.
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Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic and Secular Moralist . Monad Press: New York . 1974. Pg. 73.
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Week 6 - Margaret Cho |
I'm the One that I Want . 1999. Video on reserve in the Film and Video Library.
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