2023-24 Academic Catalog

One of the most intimate and devastating plays in all dramatic literature has also continuously been at the center of societal debates around race, representation, and civil rights. Moving from Shakespeare’s Renaissance to important historical and civil rights figures like Ira Aldridge and Paul Robeson to reimaginings by contemporary artists, we will explore how Othello has served as a vehicle for social change. The class will be taught in conjunction with the campus visit of writer, actor, and anti-apartheid activist Bonisile John Kani, OIS, OBE, the first Black actor to play Othello in South Africa.