Othello and Black Reimaginings
Of Shakespeare’s works, none has sparked the imagination, interest, and ire of Black people more than Othello. This seminar will begin with an intensive study of Othello, reading it within the context of early modern concerns about race, religion, gender, sexuality, and social rank. We will then examine how Black actors, authors, artists, and critics have reimagined Shakespeare’s play to advance their political, artistic, and intellectual projects. We will analyze landmark performances by Black actors (Ira Aldridge, Paul Robeson, and James Earl Jones), Toni Morrison’s Desdemona, Djanet Sears’s Harlem Duet, Keith Hamilton Cobb’s American Moor, Stew’s Passing Strange, Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Rita Dove’s Sonata Mulattica, Jason Allen-Paisant’s Self-Portrait as Othello, and work by the visual artists Fred Wilson, Curlee Raven Holton, and Chris Ofili. Class assignments will include short papers, a group-presentation, and a research-based final project.