Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 8 x 2 Hour Seminars |
| Seminar | 2 x 3 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Exam | 7 Hours Essay (2,500 words or 15 minute presentation) Critical discussion of a particular theoretical framework and / or research methodology. To be submitted as either: Written Essay (2,500 words) or Performed Essay (15 minutes) | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Proposal for the final Research Project (2,500 words) | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Written Essay with alternative title (2,500 words) | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Proposal for final Research Project (2,500 words) | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. demonstrate an understanding of the different methodologies for researching into performance and theatre and evaluate critically their respective strengths and weaknesses;
2. relate different research methods to key questions, topics and traditions of research within the fields of theatre and performance studies and related fields of research
3. formulate appropriately framed research question(s) and identify suitable theories and methodologies to draw on to enable effective, focused and productive research;
4. to demonstrate an understanding of the primary requirements for conceiving and carrying out a major research project
Aims
The aim of the module is to provide an advanced grounding to students in the questions and methods related to research into contemporary performance and theatre. Students will be introduced to a range of research methodologies, and will be encouraged to apply and test these methodologies on a range of primary materials in teaching sessions. Throughout the module, students will engage with critical writings on these methods and, through this, will identify key theoretical concepts that inform these methods and practical applications that derive from them. As a result, the module will encourage students to reflect critically on the strengths and applicability of different research methods and, through this, to identify the research questions and related methods that they will employ in their MA Research Project. The forms of assessment on the module are designed to support this process, culminating in a research proposal for the MA Research Project.
Brief description
Furthermore, the module invites students to consider more generally (particularly in the co-delivered sessions with students on TFM0*20) what it means to conduct research, about wider questions of research and its practical demands, and about the relation of research to issues of disciplinarity and interdiscplinarity.
It also enables students to test some of the approaches they are being introduced to through short practical investigations. Students will be encouraged to make use of the extensive research facilities available at Aberystwyth (including the National Library, e-learning resources available through the Hugh Owen Library, and the Cavanagh Collection).
In completion of the module, students will submit a coherent and realistic proposal for their final research project (TPM0660)
Content
(co-delivered with TFM0*20, 3 hour session)
Week 2: Designing a Research Project in Performance
Week 3: Encountering the Live ? Performance Analysis
Week 4: Practising performance analysis
Week 5: Historical Research 1: Gathering and Archives
(co-delivered with TFM0*20)
Week 6: Historical Research 2: Document Analysis
(co-delivered with TFM0*20)
Week 7: Empirical Research 1: Ethnography
(co-delivered with TFM0*20)
Week 8: Empirical Research 2: Interviews and Focus Groups
(co-delivered with TFM0*20)
Week 9: Practice-as-Research Micro-Project
Week 10: Dissertation Proposal and Literature Review Session
(co-delivered with TFM0*20, 3 hour session)
Plus 3 one-hour group tutorial sessions, focusing on the development of the research proposal.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | This element is not assessed. |
| Communication | The ability to communicate ideas effectively is developed and assessed. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Self-regulation, motivation and time-management skills are developed through the module and are demanded for the successful completion of its assignments. |
| Information Technology | The ability to utilize information technology both in the research for and delivery of assignments is assessed directly. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Transferable skills (managing personal workloads and meeting deadlines, designing and realizing assessment projects) are developed and assessed directly |
| Problem solving | Analytical problem solving, outcome recognition and the identification of appropriate strategies and procedures are encouraged and assessed. |
| Research skills | Independent research and the development of effective personal research practices are encouraged and assessed. |
| Subject Specific Skills | See QAA Dance, Drama and Performance Subject Benchmark Statement (Version 2007). The following subject specific skills are developed and partly assessed: - describing, theorising, interpreting and evaluating performance texts and performance events from a range of critical perspectives - developing skills of observation and visual, aural and spatial awareness - considering theories of spectatorship and developing an awareness of the audience or client group for performance and an ability to respond and adapt to it through flexible means - engaging in research, whether independent, group or performance-based - identifying and interpreting the cultural frameworks which surround performance events and on which these events impinge, and taking these into account in creating and/or interpreting performances |
| Team work | Seminar discussions demand the application of skills necessary to conduct collaborative activity, such as negotiating ideas and opinions. Students work in collaboration with others on the formulation and implementation of practical research. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7