TH3152W

What does it mean to be an artist in the Global South? This is a question that has been asked in different ways in twentieth century decolonization movements and the transnational media cultures of the twenty-first century. In Latin America, Africa, and Asia, the performing arts historically played key roles in staging postcolonial identities. Dramatists like Wole Soyinka and singers like Miriam Makeba were voices of the modern nation. They used European cultural forms to stage African cultures in ways that could be recognized by the world. These artists also addressed local audiences, staging satires of national leaders and critiques of war or economic globalization. This course examines the historical evolution of avant-garde cultural forms in Africa and Asia, analyzing links between artistic and political movements in genres including literary drama, devised performance, popular music, and modern dance. Our historical investigations of national art in this course aim to expand Eurocentric notions of avant-garde performance as an upper-class social phenomenon. In each course section, we compare 20th and 21st century cultural practices in the same context, showing how present-day performance improvises upon historical stagings of the nation.

02592

Historical Perspectives

Periodic Fall & Spring