Module Information
Module Identifier
DR20820
Module Title
POSTCOLONIAL THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE
Academic Year
2009/2010
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Pre-Requisite
DR10220
Other Staff
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | Lecture/seminar 1 x 2 hour per week |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1. 1 x 20-minute Group Presentation | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | 2. 1 x 2,500-word Essay | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | 3. 1 x written Examination (2 hours) | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1. Written Report | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 2. Essay with alternative question | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 3. Re-sit examination | 30% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. To display an analytical understanding of cross-cultural theatre and postcolonial theory.
2. To organize and present informed and original arguments reflecting research and independent thought in the subject area of the course.
3. To demonstrate critical awareness of current socio-political debates of the societal, ethic and aesthetic impact of postcolonial theatre in an age of internationalism and globalization.
4. To co-operate as part of a group in presenting an argument in the analysis of course material.
Aims
To examine a selection of non-Western (African, Caribbean, Asia/Pacific) dramatic texts and their performance traditions, and to consider the socio-political implications of theatre and performance in terms of postcolonial independence movements, community development and theatre in education.
Content
Provisional schedule of lectures:
1. Introduction: Cross-Cultural Theatre & Postcolonialism
2. Postcolonial Theatre and Yoruba Ritual in Nigeria
3. Duro Ladipo : Oba Koso
4. Wole Soyinka: Death and the King's Horseman; The Road
5. Township Theatre: Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, Barney Simon, Woza Albert!
6. Jane Taylor, with William Kentridge and the Handspring Puppet Company, Ibu and the Truth Comission
7. Carnival, Folklore and Oral Performance in the Caribbean
8. Derek Walcott: Dream on Monkey Mountain; The Joker of Seville
9. Dennis Scott: An Echo in the Bone
10. Trevor Rhone: Smile Orange; Bellas Gate Boy
1. Introduction: Cross-Cultural Theatre & Postcolonialism
2. Postcolonial Theatre and Yoruba Ritual in Nigeria
3. Duro Ladipo : Oba Koso
4. Wole Soyinka: Death and the King's Horseman; The Road
5. Township Theatre: Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, Barney Simon, Woza Albert!
6. Jane Taylor, with William Kentridge and the Handspring Puppet Company, Ibu and the Truth Comission
7. Carnival, Folklore and Oral Performance in the Caribbean
8. Derek Walcott: Dream on Monkey Mountain; The Joker of Seville
9. Dennis Scott: An Echo in the Bone
10. Trevor Rhone: Smile Orange; Bellas Gate Boy
Brief description
This is a course of directed reading, video/dvd-based performance analysis and weekly discussions. Students will be challenged to research the interrelationship between theatre practice and cultural development as they investigate forms of theatricality and performance ranging from festival, carnival and ritual in their specific socio-historical settings. Among the recurring themes of the module will be the following: theatre and resistance, colonial mimicry as subversive cultural practice, interculturalism and hybridity, theatre and globalization, imperialism and culture, semiotic and phenomenological analysis of performance and cross-cultural theatre reception.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | . Students' oral and written communication skills will be developed (e.g. appropriate language and style, accuracy, precision and ability to be concise). . Opportunities will be given through interactive lecture-demonstration and discussion sessions for students. to display confidence in using their speaking and listening skills when communicating their ideas . Students will be required to present an oral report which will be encouraged to make use of audio-visual support as well as verbal communication skills. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | . Students will be able to develop their skills of information location, bibliographic resources and interdisciplinary research methodology. . Students will be given opportunity to expand on their effective note-taking skills. . Students will develop the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate and integrate knowledge and understanding gained from lectures, dramatic texts as well as performance analyses as to encourage new ideas. . Students will be given opportunity to design small-scale independent research projects and topics. |
| Information Technology | . Students will be given the opportunity to develop their authorial and note-taking skills during lecture-demonstrations and in preparation of the oral and written assignments. . Students will be given opportunities to develop their skills using the CPR archive's audio-visual resources, electronic databases and retrieval of sources both on the web and on the UWS LIS. . Students will develop their skills when referencing from the web and related sources, whilst the ability to evaluate (not describe) and ability to be selective in using these materials are also essential key skills. . E-mai and Blackboard will be major forms of communication and information-sharing in this module and students will be given the assignment to actively engage in these processes by contributing their work to the online forum. . The Department stipulates that students must present all of their written assignments in type-script and according to MLA-Style Guide. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | . Students will be given the opportunity to evaluate current knowledge and skills and set targets for self-improvement. . Students will be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for managing their own learning. . Students will be encouraged to build upon the knowledge gained from lectures through developing skills in self study (supported by the general and specific reading lists and other resources distributed throughout the module) |
| Problem solving | . Problem identification and analysis, particularly when exploring theatre and performance research from a comparative cross-cultural perspective. . Ability to choose from a variety of related source materials as well as organize and critically assess research material from an interdisciplinary perspective. . Skill to evaluate methodological choices and approaches when using interdisciplinary sources. |
| Research skills | . Students will be able to develop their skills of information location, bibliographicdatabases and interdisciplinary research methodology. . Students will be given opportunity to expand on their effective note-taking skills . Students will develop the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate and integrate knowledge and understanding gained from lectures, dramatic texts as well as performance analysis as to encourage new ideas. . Students will be given opportunity to design small-scale independent research projects and topics. |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work | . Team work will be developed in preparation for the oral report as well as through interactive lecture and seminar participation. . Group/work and seminar collaboration will empower the student to develop their team-working and leadership skills. |
Reading List
General TextMtwa, Percy. (1983 (various p) Woza Albert! /Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, Barney Simon; with production photos by Chris Harris and David Liddle. Methuen Primo search Soyinka, Wole (1998.) Death and the king's horseman /with commentary and notes by Jane Plastow. Methuen Primo search Essential Reading
Gilbert, Helen (Ed.) (2001) Postcolonial Plays: An Anthology Routledge Primo search Gilbert, Helen and Joanne Tompkins (Eds.) (1996) Post-colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics Routledge Primo search Hill, Errol (1992) The Jamaican Stage 1655-1900: Profile of a Colonial Theatre University of Massachusetts Press Primo search Walcott, Derek (1999) Dream on Monkey Mountain and Other Plays The Noonday Press Primo search Walcott, Derek (1978) The Joker of Seville and O Babylon! Two Plays Farrar, Straus & Giroux Primo search Recommended Text
Balme, Christopher (1999) Decolonizing the Stage: Theatrical Syncretism and Post-Colonial Drama Clarendon Press Primo search Recommended Background
Alleyne, Mervyn (1988) Roots of Jamaican Culture Pluto Press Primo search Alleyne, Mervyn (2002) The Construction and Representation of Race and Ethnicity in the Carribbean and the World University of the West Indies Press Primo search Amkpa, Awam (2004) Theatre and Postcolonial Desires Routledge Primo search Anderson, Benedict (1983) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism Verso Primo search Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin (1989) The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures Routledge Primo search Bhabha, Homi K. (1994) The Location of Culture Routledge Primo search Bharucha, Rustom (2000) The Politics of Cultural Practice: Thinking Through Theatre in an Age of Globalization Wesleyan UP Primo search Boswell, David and Jessica Evans (ed.) (1999) Representing the Nation: A Reader. Histories, Heritage and Museums Routledge Primo search Csordas, Thomas J. (ed.) (1994) Embodiment and Experience: The Existential Ground of Culrure and Self Cambridge University Press Primo search Fanon, Frantz (1986) Black Skin, White Masks Pluto Press Primo search Fanon, Frantz (1990) The Wretched of the Earth Penguin Primo search Gunn, Giles, May Joseph and Jennifer Fink (eds.) (1993) Performing Hybridity U of Hamner Primo search Hamner, Robert D. (ed.) (1993) Critical Perspectives on Derek Walcott Three Continent's Press Primo search Hill, Errol (1972) The Trinidad Carnival: Mandate for a National Theatre University of Texas Press Primo search King, Bruce (1995) Derek Walcott and West Indian Drama Clarendon Press Primo search King, Bruce (2001) Derek Walcott: A Carribean Life Oxford University Press Primo search King, Bruce (ed.) (1992) Commonwealth Drama Since 1960 St. Martin's Press Primo search Kosofsky, Eve (ed.) (1995) Performativity and Performance Routledge Primo search Kruger, Loren (1999) The Drama of South Africa: Plays, Pageants and Publics Since 1910 Routledge Primo search Martin, Carol (1998) Trinidad Carnival Glossary The Drama Review 42.3 220-235 Primo search Mason, Peter (1998) Bacchanal! The Carnival Culture of Trinidad Temple UP Primo search McLeod, John (2000) Beginning Postcolonialism Manchester University Press Primo search Soyinka, Wole (1976) Myth, Literature and the African World Cambridge University Press Primo search Soyinka, Wole (1999) The Burden of Memory, the Muse of Forgiveness Oxford University Press Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5