Monday, September 10, 2012

Southland assignment

Julie Belafonte, in an early 1950s
production of
Southland.
As we discussed in class, art-making can be a particularly powerful form of social justice activism for many reasons. For example, art can express histories that might otherwise be neglected, distorted, or altogether erased by the "official" historical narrative, which privileges the perspectives and interests of those in power. What's more, the arts are uniquely well equipped not only to preserve the past, but to bring it to bear upon the present, or even to help us imagine new and different futures. 
With this in mind, how do you interpret the historical significance of the production of Katherine Dunham's Southland, performed by the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble? What neglected, distorted, or erased histories does it bring back into view? How does this production speak to our present moment? What alternative visions of the future does it challenge us to imagine?

By the start of class on Tuesday the 18th, please post a 250-300-word response to any or all of the questions above on our class discussion board. And please feel free -- indeed, encouraged! -- to engage with your classmates' posts.
(By the way, you might want to check out the article about Southland that appeared in the Denver Post the other day.)