Introduction to African American Dramatic Literature
Introduction to African American dramatic literature covering theater history and major playwrights and actors.
Summary
Past student reviews · Sandra Adell
Students read assigned plays, participated in discussions, and wrote three short papers.
What you’ll be able to do
Trace the development of African American theater history from the 19th century to the present.
Identify different styles of theatrical performance and techniques.
Explain how African American playwrights use theater to critique social, political and cultural issue.
Describe the collaborations that must happen between playwrights, actors and designers.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapNone
- None
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- None
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
SANDRA ADELL is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2014, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Sandra Adell
The class was described as laid back and fun, focusing on reading assigned plays, discussing them, and writing three short papers.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.88 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=21 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.70 GPA, 85.0% A/AB (n=20 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Sandra Adell
Students read assigned plays, participated in discussions, and wrote three short papers.
Past student reviews · Sandra Adell
One student found the course frustrating because the instructor started lecturing immediately and assigned a play on the first day, often getting off topic.
Topics
- History of African American theater
- Major African American playwrights and actors
- Styles of theatrical performance and techniques
- Theater as critique of social, political, and cultural issues
Skills
- Tracing the development of African American theater history from the 19th century to the present.
- Identifying different styles of theatrical performance and techniques.
- Explaining how African American playwrights use theater to critique social, political, and cultural issues.
- Describing collaborations between playwrights, actors, and designers.
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"requirements_status": "valid",
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"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
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