The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s latest class for the 2018 spring semester will cover the history of African-American film and theatre from 1820 to the present.

The three-credit hour course, THEA 4340-01 African American Theatre and Film, will take place from 3:05-4:20 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays during spring 2018.

Using performance texts as a springboard, the class will look at key artists, companies, and movements to analyze and discuss concerns and representational strategies in African-American dramatic works across various eras and in different media.

“We will engage with the critical discourse surrounding dramatic performances by African-American artists, and consider how stage and screen are used in writing, representing, and preserving history,” said Dr. Lawrence Smith, assistant professor in the Theatre Arts and Dance department.

The class explores many plays and films, including works by Amiri Baraka, Carlyle Brown, Charles Burnett, Alice Childress, Julie Dash, Lydia Diamond, Lorraine Hansberry, Zora Neale Hurston, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Spike Lee, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Oscar Micheaux, Suzan-Lori Parks, Tyler Perry, Ntozake Shange, Bert Williams and George Walker, and August Wilson.

The class also counts toward the UA Little Rock minor in race and ethnicity.

For more information, contact Dr. Lawrence Smith at ldsmith11@ualr.edu.