PERFORMING FREEDOM

Bowdoin College, Spring 2026

how do we proactively demand freedom, especially in times of state oppression?

This course will explore how people on the margins in the United States have used performance to imagine, interrogate, and demand freedom. This course will examine various ways that people have performed freedom throughout US history, including spectacular actions such as slave rebellions, Black abolitionist speeches, sit-ins, Women’s Liberation marches, the American Indian Movement’s occupation of Alcatraz, and the Stonewall Rebellion.

The course will also consider quieter and even hidden performances of freedom, such as work slowdowns on plantations, local performance traditions, family foodways, community self-defense against vigilante violence, freedom suits, and covert resistance embedded in the WPA’s Slave Narrative Project. Come learn how people have demanded and protected their freedom throughout US history.

who should take this class?

Anyone who has an interest in imagining new ways of being free in the world, and wants inspiration for that interest.

are there any prerequisites?

No

Do I have to be a theater major?

No—anyone who wants to think about freedom is welcome to join

Do I have to be a Senior?

No, students of all levels have been successful in this seminar-style course

Questions?

Email Dr. Lindsay Livingston (llivings@bowdoin.edu)