Sister Acts: Black Feminist/Womanist Theater of the African Diaspora
ENGL 371
Spring 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
FGSS 371, THEA 371, AFAM 371 |
This course surveys the dynamism and scope of contemporary feminist/womanist drama written by black women playwrights of the African Diaspora. Reading select plays from Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, England, and the United States, alongside theory and criticism, we examine the impact of race, gender, identity, and sexuality politics on black feminist/womanist theater. Throughout our study of these dramatic texts, their performances, and their subsequent critiques, we are equally invested in the bridges and the gaps, the audibles and the silences, and the overlaps and the divides, as they are formed. Significantly, this analytic undertaking involves a simultaneous critique of the role of the playwright, the spectator, and the critic of black feminist/womanist theater. At all times, consideration is given to the ways in which these playwrights collectively use theater as a platform to explore black and female and diasporic subjectivities across regional, national, and, at times, linguistic differences. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (African American Studies Minor)(African American Studies)(Education Studies)(English)(Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)(Social, Cultural and Critical Theory Certificate)(Theater) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Required Plays: Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghana, Africa), DILEMMA OF A GHOST; Christina Anderson (USA) GOOD GOODS; Tanya Barfield (USA), BLUE DOOR; Eisa Davis (USA), BULRUSHER; debbie tucker green (UK), BORN BAD; Danai Gurira (Zimbabwe, Africa), ECLIPSED; Lorraine Hansberry (USA), A RAISIN IN THE SUN; Robbie McCauley (USA), SALLY'S RAPE; Tarell Alvin McCraney (USA), IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER; Lynn Nottage (USA), POOF; Lynn Nottage (USA), RUINED; Winsome Pinnock (UK, Jamaica), TALKING IN TONGUES; Djanet Sears (Canada), HARLEM DUET; Ntozake Shange (USA), FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF; Sistren Theatre Collective (Jamaica), QPH.
Required and Optional secondary reading includes select critical scholarship, personal essays, manifestos, and production reviews, authored by: Cheryl Clarke, The Combahee River Collective, Catherine Clinton, Sharon Friedman, Angelette K. M. Gourdine, Lorraine Hansberry, Mae Gwendolyn Henderson, June Jordan, Sophia Lehmann, Katherine Jean Nigh, Ann E. Nymann, Barbara Omulade, Aliyyah I. Abdur-Rahman, Ntozake Shange, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, Esther J. Terry, Alice Walker, and Michelle Wallace."
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two Short Essays; Research Project Abstract, Outline, and Presentation; Research Paper |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Contributes to the fulfillment of the following English major requirements: TH;LH3;AL
POI Application for ¿Sister Acts: Black Feminist/Womanist Theater of the African Diaspora¿ enrollment:
(Please note that as an English research-intensive class, this course is not open to first year students.)
Preference will be given to students who demonstrate prior study and engagement with African Drama, Black Theater and Performance, African Diaspora Theater and Performance, African American Literature, Black Cultural Studies, and/or Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality studies. This is not the course to take if you are not topically interested and invested in the material.
Please submit your answers to the following questions on a formal, single-spaced, typed document (.pdf or .docx formats only). Documents should be emailed to Professor Shaw McMahon (rshawmcmahon@wesleyan.edu) NO LATER THAN NOON ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH.
On your document, please include the following:
1) Your NAME (preferred AND full), MAJOR(S), MINOR(S), and CLASS YEAR.
2) A list of all previous relevant courses, taken across the university. Be sure to indicate how you know that these courses are/can be connected to the topics/fields listed above.
3) A statement of interest that details why you would like to take the course (5 sentences).
4) A research area/topic you would be interested in exploring within the course (5 sentences).
5) Three (3) questions you would like to ask of the texts and/or three topics that you would like to learn more about within the course (three sentences/bullet points).
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| Instructor(s): McMahon,Rashida Times: ....R.. 01:20PM-04:10PM; Location: BOGH110; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 15 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
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