Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 x 2 Hour Lectures |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay (2500 words) | 50% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours Examination | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay (2500 words) - (to a new topic) | 50% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Examination | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate knowledge of the relation between their reading and viewing of modernist theatre texts of the period covered in the module (late 19th century to mid 20th century) to broader historical developments of performance modes (Realism, Expressionism, Epic Theatre, etc).
2. Participate knowledgeably in debates (written and oral) about the relationship between theatrical theory and practice.
3. Critically read dramatic texts as indicators of complex theatrical events.
Brief description
This module focuses on a selection of 19th and 20th century European theatre texts in order to examine a variety of performance modes, theatre practices and dramatic theories. The module introduces students to significant developments in theatrical theory and practice in Europe from the onset of realism to the 1960s. It also develops appropriate methods of analysing specific texts, chosen because they manifest significan differences in theatrical method and examines how drama serves as a means of mediating the social discourse of a given time.
Content
10 x 2 hour lecture/seminars
1. Introduction to Modernism in the Theatre: Focus on Ibsen's Ghosts
2. Maeterlinck's Pelleas and Melisande - Symbolism in the Theatre and the Liminal
3. Chekhov's Uncle Vanya - Realism on the Modernist Stage
4. Strindberg's A Dream Play - Further excursions into Symbolism and Surrealism
5. Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author - The Unreal Real Explored
6. Lorca's Yerma - Music, Poetry and Lyricism in the service of the Political Real
7. Brecht's Galileo - Historical Reality, Epic Theatre and Audience Involvement
8. Genet's The Balcony - Extending the Theatrical Space/Confusing Dramatic Boundaries
9. Weiss's Marat Sade - Artaud, Brecht and "Affect"
10. Summation: Competing Modernist Influences and an Overview of the Avant-Garde Theatre
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | This element is not assessed |
| Communication | The ability to communicate ideas effectively in written and oral form is assessed directly in all assessment. |
| 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. These skills are directly assessed through all assignments. |
| Information Technology | The ability to utilize information technology both in the research for and delivery of assignments is assessed directly in Assessments 1 and 2 |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Transferable skills (managing personal workloads and meeting deadlines, designing and realizing research project) are developed through the completion of assessment tasks 1 and 2 |
| Problem solving | Analytical problem solving, outcome recognition and the identification of appropriate strategies and procedures are encouraged and assessed. |
| Research skills | Appropriate personal research and the development of effective personal research practices are directly assessed through essay and examination. |
| Subject Specific Skills | See QAA Dance, Drama and Performance Subject Benchmark Statement (Version 2007). The following subject specific skills are developed and partly assessed: 1. Describing, theorising, interpreting and evaluating performance texts and performance events from a range of critical perspectives 2. Developing skills of observation and visual, aural and spatial awareness 3. Engaging in research, whether independent, group or performance-based 4. 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 5. Making records of performance, using skills in notation and/or documentation |
| Team work | Effective group work through negotiating ideas and opinions is addressed through the seminars. Seminar discussions demand the application of skills necessary to conduct collaborative activity. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5