A Raisin in the Sun
I am teaching the “American” half of an introductory course on “Anglo-American” literature to students in 3rd Graduate. For both of my undergraduate classes thus far, I have not covered as much ground as I had expected when I designed the syllabus. I am moving at a slower pace, opting for a more in-depth analysis of a fewer number of texts. For this class, I am doing a lot of the same material that I used in the License class, such as Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman. I am closing this class with an introduction to theater using Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play, A Raisin in the Sun.
I began my first lesson on theater by asking the students if they had ever seen a play (which is a question I also ask students in the US). They replied yes, and described mainly Nigerian soap operas that appear on television here (with Lingala commentary, which involves one male commentator doing a voice-over for all the characters plus added commentary--think play-by-play). When I clarified and explained live theater, all but one were unfamiliar with it. This is unfortunate because there good, albeit very small, theater scene here in Kinshasa. Last month (did I blog on this?), I attended a performance of a play by my colleague Prof. Nlandu, Le Remaniement (The Reorganization), a satirical dialogue between two clochards (think Waiting for Godot) about political restructuring. The 150-person theater Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles was full for the Tuesday evening performance.
In the first class on A Raisin in the Sun, I assigned roles to the students and they read the first act of the play aloud (while I read stage directions). During the time that I was in the US, I assigned them to work collaboratively (in groups of three) on a section of the second act. They worked very hard to incorporate some of the stage directions, and after the performances, we had a discussion about the process. It has been a very successful activity; they really understand the genre of theater and have an appreciation for Hansberry’s work. This morning, I showed them the film version of the play with Sidney Poittier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Lou Gossett Jr., and Ivan Dixon, which they really appreciated after spending so much time with the play. I ran it in the original English with English subtitles so that they could follow the dialogue, especially since the sound was not particularly good. I reserved the projector for the screening last week, but the technician didn’t show up on time to open up the room. So I improvised with my 12-inch ibook laptop and a pair of computer speakers. Then I used the adapter to create a second small screen out of the department office’s very old desktop computer. All told, it worked out well since there are only six students in the class so we could huddle around the two displays.
I began my first lesson on theater by asking the students if they had ever seen a play (which is a question I also ask students in the US). They replied yes, and described mainly Nigerian soap operas that appear on television here (with Lingala commentary, which involves one male commentator doing a voice-over for all the characters plus added commentary--think play-by-play). When I clarified and explained live theater, all but one were unfamiliar with it. This is unfortunate because there good, albeit very small, theater scene here in Kinshasa. Last month (did I blog on this?), I attended a performance of a play by my colleague Prof. Nlandu, Le Remaniement (The Reorganization), a satirical dialogue between two clochards (think Waiting for Godot) about political restructuring. The 150-person theater Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles was full for the Tuesday evening performance.
In the first class on A Raisin in the Sun, I assigned roles to the students and they read the first act of the play aloud (while I read stage directions). During the time that I was in the US, I assigned them to work collaboratively (in groups of three) on a section of the second act. They worked very hard to incorporate some of the stage directions, and after the performances, we had a discussion about the process. It has been a very successful activity; they really understand the genre of theater and have an appreciation for Hansberry’s work. This morning, I showed them the film version of the play with Sidney Poittier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Lou Gossett Jr., and Ivan Dixon, which they really appreciated after spending so much time with the play. I ran it in the original English with English subtitles so that they could follow the dialogue, especially since the sound was not particularly good. I reserved the projector for the screening last week, but the technician didn’t show up on time to open up the room. So I improvised with my 12-inch ibook laptop and a pair of computer speakers. Then I used the adapter to create a second small screen out of the department office’s very old desktop computer. All told, it worked out well since there are only six students in the class so we could huddle around the two displays.
posted by irad at 1:30 PM
4 Comments:
Ira,
I hope you realize that you are not teaching in the usual Congolese way. You are an eye opener. To think that students of literature have not experienced a live play is absurd, or am I the absurd one? Have their professors seen a live play? Then why are they witholding that experience from their students?
Please change them
My "American" teaching method is a bit unfamiliar, in large part because the "Congolese way" is really an old-fashioned European way (probably most influenced by the Flemish-Belgian Leuven model). Most of my colleagues did their degrees in Europe; with those relatively few who studied in the US, there is a notable difference in pedagogy.
In terms of theater, in speaking to folks involved in the arts here, the scene is quiet compared to the 1980s when there were theaters throughout la cité. Following the unrest in the early 1990s, there was a sort of consolidation of many of the few remaining institutions into la ville, which means that fewer people have access to theater than a few decades ago.
Most of the English department students and teachers are linguists, rather than literaires. It is hard to blame them. Their evenings are spent teaching at other schools since UniKin does not pay regularly or adequately. Even showing a DVD to a small group of students can be complicated.
Hopefully, though, I can create a small library and some precedents that students and professors will be able to utilize and continue to develop.
Hooray! You rlast commentary is very much à propos. Your work is a seed of true multifaceted learning experience, or should I say an acorn of a future sprawling tree of knowledge.
How can we send more materials to that department?
Sending materials here is complicated due to the logistics and costs of shipping and customs. I am trying to work something out before I leave. I appreciate your inquiry and will let folks know what I can figure out.
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