Module description
This module investigates major strands of critical inquiry in theatre and performance studies. Focusing each week on a key term for the field (eg Behaviour, Performativity, Theatricality, Liveness), we will explore a range of critical writings, from foundational texts in the discipline to some of the most recent work being done in theatre and performance studies today. At the same time, we will consider the interactions of performance theory with other theoretical and disciplinary approaches including speech act theory, feminist and queer theory, anthropology, postcolonial theory, visual art theory, ethics, and others. By the end of the module, students will have a strong foundation in theatre and performance theory: they will be acquainted with a range of critical debates concerning the nature of performance as an aesthetic and cultural form, and as a facet of everyday life; and they will have the basis for engaging in theatre and performance research in a critically informed way.
Educational aims & objectives
By the end of this module, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of performance theory, including its relationship to a range of theoretical and disciplinary paradigms. Students will have acquired practical and transferable skills in close reading, textual analysis, and performance analysis, and will be able to put such skills into practice in oral and written forms, including classroom discussion, in - class presentations, one 1,000 word mid - semester essay, and one 3,000 - word final essay.