As the US moves past its 50th year of the Civil/Voters Rights Act and South Africa moves past its 20th year of democracy/post-apartheid, Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs reflects on what we can learn from one another. What have we done wrong and what have we done right? How can Culture and the Arts be a reflective tool for society? How do our governments, communities, and societies discern and apply our past to our present? Are environmental rights the same as human rights? What language do we use to talk about these issues? By meeting with civil rights activists, artists, and cultural intellectuals in South Africa, the goal of this program is to practice reflective research in relationship to our own history.
Students will travel to Johannesburg to learn about the Soweto Uprising, and they will tour Market Theatre – named the “theatre of struggle” during Apartheid. They will visit a game (safari) park, meet with artists and activists, travel to Cape Town to see the work of NGOs, visit District Six, and work with children in a township through an arts based program.
Students will choose from one of the following courses:
- THEA 488 South Africa and US: Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs (3 credits)
- THEA 680 South Africa and US: Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs (3 credits; grad only)
- IDFA 480 Topics in Arts, Media, Communication, and Social Action (3 credits)
- IDFA 580 Topics in Arts, Media, Communication, and Social Action (3 credits; grad only)
TU students may receive Honors College credit for their study abroad experience.
Faculty Director: Prof. La Follette – Department of Theatre Arts
For more information and to apply online, click here.
