Black Performance as Social Protest
University of Michigan
  • Start Date: 21 Jun, 2021
  • 5 weeks
  • Study Content: Videos


Understand artistic protest from the African Diaspora, and how Black performance impacts social justice movements today.

Course Fee: Free
Certificate Cost: See Fees and Eligibility

Course Description

This course is made available through the eLearnAfrica and FutureLearn partnership.

Explore the history of social protest through Black performance


Black performance and social activism have been a model for protest globally. It has enriched and activated cries for justice in multiple contexts.


This course will help you expand your understanding of Black performance as social protest and its active effects on performance and protest today.


Engage with artistic protests across key historical frames


The arts are a potent way of responding to issues of injustice. From slavery and lynching to incarceration and disenfranchisement, Black performance has resisted oppression across several historical frames.


On this course, you’ll read, watch, and listen to performances that illustrate various forms of artistic protest from the African Diaspora. You’ll cover chants of the enslaved and dances of heritage, before moving on to look at early 20th century migrations and United States protests.


Discover the role of performance in the Black Lives Matter movement


You’ll identify ways in which patterns of resistance from the past contribute to ongoing social justice movements, such as Black Lives Matter.


After investigating the history of Black performance as social protest, you’ll produce a reflective manifesto for achieving racial equity through performance.


Learn from experts in African American studies from the University of Michigan


This course is led by three professors at the school of Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University of Michigan, all of whom teach performance history as well as having lived experiences as Black performers.


They’ll each guide you through the importance and impact of Black performance in social protest, highlighting the intersections between the arts and social justice.


This course is designed for anyone looking to understand the social, political, and historical contexts of the African American experience.


It will be of special interest to global artists and performers looking to develop a social justice lens for their work, as well as for activists seeking to incorporate the arts into their social justice work.


Certificate cost may vary. You will be redirected to the host page for cost and payment options.

University of Michigan

This university is part of the partnership between eLearnAfrica and FutureLearn.

This institution is available on eLearnAfrica through partnership with FutureLearn.

You may be able to download course materials after enrolling in this course. If not, all of the necessary course materials provided by the course instructor will be available on the provider's course page.
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