John H.

Llewellyn
Prof. Ocasion
ENG 269
15 Nov 2019
Final Project Proposal
For my final project, I would like to craft a new syllabus for the class that expands on the
protest and resistance in Unit 1. Through the materials I select for the class to read, I want to
expand the literature covered into more poetry and play scripts as well as books to create a
broader study of the African American culture. Expanding the genres and mediums covered, the
class will use the selected works to explore both African American representation after 1865 and
the various different responses African American writers and artists have had to the political
climates they were creating during.
The class I am designing will be divided into three units; the class will start with books,
transition to poetry, and end with a discussion of dramatic works.
I am very excited to be adding in drama to the curriculum. I am a theatre major, and I often feel
that drama is the most overlooked form of literature. Playwrights often tend to take their works
to the forefront of social issues, whether they are foreword about it or lace clues throughout their
works.
I have taken several dramaturgy courses here at UMass, and a large part of modern
dramaturgy is making plays accessible for the everyday audience member. Through crafting this
syllabus, I want to show the class how drama can be just as informative and accessible as books
and poetry. There is a very large cannon of material to choose from. I am currently very well
versed in the repertoire of African American playwrights, and I am excited to choose works from
the past one hundred and fifty years that push the social envelope and act as their own form of
protest. The two plays that immediately come to mind are Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin
in the Sun (1959), and Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline, which won the Edgerton Foundation
New Play Award in 2016. I think it is very important to use the classroom as a place to expand
one’s horizons of knowledge. I recognize that I am very well versed in America’s theatrical
cannon, and I want to help bring my knowledge to the curriculum; however, I am not very well
versed in poetry. Through researching for this project, I want to become more familiar with
African American poetry.
With the materials I select, I want to create a conversation about the systematic
oppression of people of color by the structure of American society. The works chosen to be read
by the class will comment on this toxic structure American still exists in and offer insight into
what can be done to fight against it. There are many different calls to action in the pieces I am
looking into. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen provides a direct message about the racists constructs of
America and the direct oppression of black people from law enforcement. A play like Pipeline
on the other hand takes a less direct approach, putting the characters in situations that question
their morals and highlight the hazy ambiguity that can arise when being affected by the
complicated system.
I will definitely need to research a lot more poetry that can be pulled into this conversation. I
am also hoping to find secondary sources that can either directly relate to the themes explored in
these pieces, and for older works like A Raisin in the Sun articles that explain the impact they
made upon release. With the modern works, I think it would be interesting to looks at modern era
articles and reviews related to the works as they impact culture today.