PERF-353 African Performance as Politics (3)

Performing arts in Africa have often been the catalysts for social change from small daily interventions to revolutionary political shifts. This course examines the complex and often fraught relationship between politics and artistic performance in music, dance, and theatre. It explores various historical, cultural, religious, and social contexts for the performing arts’ rich traditions in select African nations and how these traditions have motivated significant socio-political change. In particular, the course examines how the arts are used by governments, NGOs, and individual artists to educate, challenge, or reinforce certain ideologies and socio-political practices in each society, often at odds with each other. Crosslist: AFAM-353.