Theater 393P - S- Contmp Native Amer Perform

Contemporary Native American Performance is an area of study with deep roots in culturally specific production and an ever-evolving practice by a wide range of artists. In this Junior Year Writing course we will read plays and performative texts created by Native American artists since the 1960's. We will begin our study by acknowledging the limitations of language and the always contentious issue of labels. Within this critical framework, we will study the art as well as the attending social, political, and historical contexts. We will examine innovations and experimentation with artistic form and study each artist?s use of language, style and thematic content. Imperative topics of discussion will include gender roles, expressions of sexuality, class position, and cultural identity as articulated by the artists we study. Theater is an interactive, living art form. With this in mind we will attend relevant performances and generate in-class performances.