Studies in African Literature (369-0-20)

Topic

African Drama

Instructors

Evan Mwangi

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 215: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This course examines African drama as a major literary and cultural form. By centering drama, the course foregrounds performance, embodiment, ritual, language, folklore, and audience—elements foundational to African expressive cultures and social life. African drama is studied not only as text, but as event and practice, shaped by space, voice, movement, and historical circumstance. The course focuses on Anglophone African drama, with particular attention to protest theatre, drama for education, ritual and folkloric drama, women's drama, and modern theatrical experimentation, including the African drama of the absurd. These forms are read as responses to colonialism, post‑independence disillusionment, apartheid, gendered authority, and political repression. Students will engage texts—and critical writings—by a wide range of dramatists and theorists, including Efua Sutherland (folklore, narration, and audience participation); Zulu Sofola (tragic form, custom, and women's authority); Tess Onwueme (gender, political satire, and the African drama of the absurd); and Kole Omotoso (African adaptations of classical tragedy). Comparative theoretical perspectives will include brief excerpts from Aristotle, Brecht, and Beckett, used selectively to frame discussion rather than to maintain perceived hierarchies. African drama will also be situated in comparative perspective, particularly in dialogue with Greek and European theatrical traditions, to illuminate shared concerns with tragedy, ritual, and political power. Special emphasis is placed on women dramatists, whose work has been central to African theatre yet remains underrepresented in many curricula.

This course is dedicated to the memory of Biodun Jeyifo (1946-2026), Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1938-2025), and Micere Githae Mugo (1942-2023), whose scholarship, artistry, and commitment to performance, language, and resistance continue to shape how African drama is read, taught, and understood.

Teaching Method

Interactive lectures, staged readings, debates, performance analysis, archival visits, guest lectures, and small-group discussion.

Evaluation Method

Two analytical essays, short responses, performance or scene analysis, participation, and ungraded in-class writing, regular self-assessment No final exam.

Class Materials (Required)

Ama Ata Aidoo -Anowa (Ghana). Heinemann/Longman. ISBN-13: 978-0582641971.
Efua Sutherland - The Marriage of Anansewa (Ghana). Longman. ISBN-13: 978-0582642466.
Zulu Sofola - Wedlock of the Gods (Nigeria). Heinemann/Evans Brothers. ISBN-13: 978-0435901983.
John Ruganda - The Burdens (Uganda). Oxford University Press, African Writers Series. ISBN-13: 978-0435901150.
Robert Serumaga - Majangwa (Uganda). Heinemann/Gollancz African Theatre. ISBN-13: 978-0435900689.
Wole Soyinka - Death and the King's Horseman (Nigeria). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN-13: 978-0393927607.
Athol Fugard - Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (South Africa). Oxford University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0195710508.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o & Ngũgĩ wa Mĩriĩ - I Will Marry When I Want (Kenya). Heinemann. ISBN-13: 978-0435909606.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for English and Creative Writing students.