Students undertaking the Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPA) degree will complete a range of integrated, interdisciplinary courses in two or more of the following arts: (i) music, (ii) drama, (iii) dance, (iv) film and television, (v) visual/studio arts and (vi) creative writing. The course provides a balance of practical, theoretical, critical and contextual studies. Students will be involved in cooperative productions working in two or several art forms, for example in music theatre or dance-drama productions and sound sculpture exhibitions. The BPA has a greater orientation towards practical creative and performing art courses than have other subjects leading to the Bachelor of Arts, and takes a broader approach across the arts than the more specialised music subjects leading to the Bachelor of Music degree.
Monash University's Clayton campus is blessed with some excellent performance venues. These include the Robert Blackwood Hall, which is one of the finest concert halls in Australia, the Alexander Theatre, the Music Auditorium, the Drama Theatre and the Religious Centre. Creative work plays an increasingly prominent role in courses offered in the departments of Music, Visual Arts and English as well as the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies. Courses in Australian, European, Asia-Pacific, American and other arts are a feature of the Monash programs. High quality performances by both professional and student artists are regularly presented to community audiences.
Courses are offered in classical, contemporary and popular art of Asia, Europe and Australia. In addition, short courses in the arts such as winter and summer schools and arts festivals are offered. Some performances are presented in association with courses offered by the various language departments in the Faculty of Arts, which teaches a wide variety of European and Asian languages.
Objectives
The Bachelor of Performing Arts aims to:
* provide a balance of critical, practical, theoretical and contextual studies of the arts;
* develop interdisciplinary knowledge of academic depth and practical application across the performing, visual and literary arts;
* present courses that result in performances by students specialising in each of the various art areas;
* provide for the development of personal and management skills suitable for a variety of arts-orientated jobs.
On completion of the course, students should:
* have acquired a practical, theoretical, critical, historical and contextual knowledge and understanding of and across the performing visual and/or literary arts;
* have completed interdisciplinary courses resulting in performances of exhibitions requiring cooperative contributions from students in various art forms;
* be able to demonstrate a balance of critical, practical, theoretical, historical and contextual knowledge in at least two of the following fields - drama, music, dance, visual arts, film and television and creative writing;
* be able to demonstrate academic skills leading to postgraduate study and research into the arts;
* be able to contribute to the community through well-developed skills in problem-solving and skills in communication;
* have acquired a general education in and across the arts suitable for employment in fields which prefer a broadly based degree as a basis for on-the-job training.
Honours degree
It is expected that a fourth or honours year will be available from 1996 offering an opportunity for more specialised and advanced work in the student's major area of study, leading to the degree of BPA (Hons). Intending honours students will be required to have completed a major sequence with at least credit grades in subjects to the value of twenty-four points at second or third-year level, including at least sixteen points at third-year level.
Graduate work
Students with approved results will be able to extend their studies at masters level in various practical and theoretical courses and by research thesis in the following art forms - music, drama and theatre, film and television, visual arts and dance, or combinations of these. Staff are involved in research and performance of medieval and renaissance music and drama, early European and Asian dance, Indonesian theatre and puppet theatre, European and Asian visual arts, and all the Australian arts.
Subjects offered
Art forms included in this degree are music, drama, dance, visual arts, film and television and creative writing.
Students must undertake (i) a major sequence of not less than fifty-two points and not more than sixty-four points in one of music, drama, dance, visual arts or film and television studies and (ii) a minor sequence in a different art form, or in a discipline taught by another department or faculty. Students who choose a fifty-two-point major may elect to complete a first-year sequence in a second (or third) art form. Students may not, however, undertake a major and a minor in the visual arts/film and television combination.
Students enrolling for the degree will normally complete all programs A-D as set out below. Please note that in 1995 majors are available only in music, drama, dance, visual arts and film and television studies.
Firs Secon Thir Tota
t-ye d-yea d-ye l
ar r ar poin
leve level leve ts
l l
A. Sequence in the 6 8 8/16 22/3
history, nature and 0
analysis of the
arts (rotating
sequence of
courses) eg PER1010
B. 6 8 8 22
Interdisciplinary
studies sequence
(such as a
production) eg
PER1040
C. Major sequence 12/2 16 24/3 52/6
in a single artform 4 2 4
(eg music, drama,
dance, visual arts)
D. Minor sequence 12 16 - 28
in a second art form
E. First-year 12 - - 12
sequence in a third
artform (for
students
undertaking a
52-point major)
Total 48 48 48 144
Note:
First-year semester subjects = 6 points each and later-year subjects = 8 points
each. Major, minor and first-year sequences for the BPA
The following sequences of subjects form the normal pattern for a major, a minor, or a first-year sequence in each area. Some variations in the combinations of subjects may be allowed with the permission of the coordinators of the degree.
Music
(i) A major sequence - choose 52 or 64 points from the following:
First year (12 or 24 points)
* MUS1050 Introduction to Asian music, dance and theatre
* MUS1100 Exploring Western music I*
* MUS1110 Exploring Western music II
* MUS1120 Orchestral performance and theory I
* MUS1130 Orchestral performance and theory II
* MUS1140 Ensemble and choral music workshop
* MUS1150 Ensemble and choral music workshop
* MUS1980 Solo and duo performance and literature
* MUS1990 Solo and duo performance and literature
* PER1040 Interdisciplinary project
Second year (16 points)
* MUS2070 Ensemble and choral music workshop
* MUS2080 Ensemble and choral music workshop
* MUS2110 Analytical and compositional techniques I*
* MUS2120 Analytical and compositional techniques II
* MUS2510 Orchestral performance and repertoire III
* MUS2520 Orchestral performance and repertoire IV
* MUS2980 Solo and duo performance and literature I
* MUS2990 Solo and duo performance and literature II
* Indicates core unit
A rotating genre or area study:
* MUS2210 Vocal music
Third year (24 or 32 points)
* MUS3100 Music-dance interrelationships
* MUS3390 Music aesthetics, criticism, sociology and psychology
* MUS3470 Performance studies: early music ensemble
* MUS3480 Performance studies: Indonesian gamelan
* MUS3580 Contemporary music
* MUS3980 Solo and duo performance and literature II
* MUS3990 Solo and duo performance and literature III
A rotating genre or area study, for example:
* MUS 3210 Vocal music
* MUS 3880 Music of China, Japan and Korea
(ii) A minor sequence - 28 points
First year (12 points)
* MUS1040 Music and popular culture in the twentieth century
* MUS1100 Exploring Western music I
* MUS1110 Exploring Western music II
* MUS1120 Orchestral performance and theory I
* MUS1140 Ensemble and choral music workshop
Second year (16 points)
* MUS2070 Ensemble and choral music workshop
* MUS2080 Ensemble and choral music workshop
* MUS2110 Analytical and compositional techniques I
* MUS2120 Analytical and compositional techniques II
* MUS2170 Chamber music
* MUS2510 Orchestral performance and repertoire III
* MUS2520 Orchestral performance and repertoire IV
* MUS2880 Music of China, Japan and Korea
(iii) A first-year sequence (12 points)
Choose two of the following:
* MUS1040 Music and popular culture in the twentieth century
* MUS1050 Introduction to Asian music, dance and theatre
* MUS1100 Exploring Western music I
* MUS 1110 Exploring Western music II
* MUS 1120 Orchestral performance and theory I
* MUS 1130 Orchestral performance and theory II
* MUS 1140 Ensemble and choral music workshop
* MUS 1150 Ensemble and choral music workshop
Drama
(i) A major sequence - choose 52 or 64 points from the following:
First year (12 points)
* DTS1060 The language of performance*
* DTS1160 The place of performance*
* PER1040 Interdisciplinary project*
Second year (16 points)
* DTS2000 Ideas of theatre*
* DTS2050 Asian theatre: an introduction
* DTS2100 Theatrical music (proposed to be offered next in 1998)
* DTS2130 Tragedy
* DTS2270 Modern drama
* DTS2320 Body, space, text: an introduction to the semiotics of performance
* DTS2450 Contemporary drama
* DTS2500 The study of dance
* DTS2630 Shakespeare
Third year (24 or 32 points)
* DTS3000 Ideas of theatre*
* DTS3050 Asian theatre: an introduction
* DTS3100 Theatrical music (proposed to be offered next in 1998)
* DTS3130 Tragedy
* DTS3270 Modern drama
* DTS3310 Indonesian theatrical tradition (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* DTS3320 Body, space, text: an introduction to the semiotics of performance
* DTS3450 Contemporary drama
* DTS3500 The study of dance
* DTS3610 Seventeenth century French theatre (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* DTS3630 Shakespeare
* DTS3810 Drama in Russian and east European literature*
(ii) A minor sequence - 28 points
First year (12 points)
* DTS1060 The language of performance
* DTS1160 The place of performance
Second year (16 points)
* DTS2000 Ideas of theatre
plus one other second-year DTS unit
(iii) A first-year sequence - 12 points
First year
* DTS1060 The language of performance
* DTS1160 The place of performance
* Indicates core unit
Visual arts
(i) A major sequence - choose 52 or 64 points from the following:
First year (12 points)
* VSA1010 Contemporary visual culture
* VSA1020 Transformations of the visual
Second year (16 points)
* VSA2110 European art, 1900-1940 (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* VSA2130 American and European postwar art , 1945 to the present (proposed to be next offered in 1996)
* VSA2150 The other side of the avant-garde: twentieth century women's art history
* VSA2230 Australian art: 1880s to the present
* VSA2250 Current architecture
* VSA2270 Australian architecture, 1788 to the present (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* VSA2410 History and theory of photography, part 1: 1839-1940
* VSA2430 History and theory of photography, part 2, 1940 to the present (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* VSA2790 The idea of Venice
Third year (24 or 32 points)
* VSA3110 European art 1900-1940 (proposed to be next offered in 1996)
* VSA3130 American and European postwar art, 1945 to the present (proposed to be next offered in 1996)
* VSA3150 The other side of the avant-garde: twentieth century women's art history
* VSA3230 Australian art: 1880s to the present
* VSA3250 Current architecture
* VSA3270 Australian architecture: 1788 to the present (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* VSA3410 History and theory of photography, part 1: 1839-1940
* VSA3430 History and theory of photography, part 2: 1940 to the present (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* VSA3790 The idea of Venice
(ii) A minor sequence
An approved sequence of 28 points from the first and second-year subjects above.
(iii) A first-year sequence
First year
* VSA1010 Contemporary visual culture
* VSA1020 Transformations of the visual
Film and television
(i) A major sequence - choose 52 points or 64 points from the following:
First year (12 points)
* VSA1040 Introduction to the visual arts 4: Australian film and television
* VSA1050 Introduction to the visual arts 5: contemporary popular film
* PER1040 Interdisciplinary performance project
Second year (16 points)
* VSA2190 Forms of narrtive cinema
* VSA2220 Alternative film and video
* VSA2670 Asian cinema (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* VSA2710 Alternatives in documentary film - an Australian focus (proposed to be next offered in 1996)
* VSA2770 Television studies
Third year (24 or 32 points)
* VSA3007 Gender and genre: masculinity in film
* VSA3190 Forms of narrative cinema
* VSA3220 Alternative film and video
* VSA3630 German cinema (proposed to be next offered in 1996)
* VSA3670 Asian cinema (proposed to be offered next in 1996)
* VSA3710 Alternatives in documentary film - an Australian focus (proposed to be next offered in 1996)
* VSA3750 Indonesian and Southeast Asian film and television
* VSA3770 Television studies
(ii) A minor sequence - 28 points
Students may choose from the above first and second-year subjects.
(iii) A first-year sequence - 12 points
Students may choose from the above first-year subjects.
Dance
(i) A major sequence - 52 points
First year (12 points)
* MUS1050 Introduction to Asian music, dance and theatre
* MUS1060 Gamelan performing arts
Second year (16 points)
* DTS2500 The study of dance or
* MUS2500 The study of dance
* MUS2100 Music-dance interrelationships
Third year (24 points)
* MUS3400 Ethnographic dance studies
* MUS3640 Fieldwork methods
* MUS3470 Performance studies: early music ensemble
Creative writing
It is expected that sequences in this artform will be available from 1996.
Core sequences in the performing arts
Sequence in the history, nature and analysis of the arts
Students must complete a sequence including six points at first-year level, eight points at second-year level and eight or sixteen points at third-year level. The first subject in this sequence, PER1010 (Introduction to cultural studies I), will be available in 1995. Further subjects will become available from 1996.
Interdisciplinary performance sequence - 22 points
Students complete PER1040 (Interdisciplinary project,) plus an additional subject at second and third-year levels. The later-year subjects will become available from 1996.
* PER1040 Interdisciplinary project
A first-year sequence in a third artform
Students may take twelve points of study in a third art form if they take a fifty-two-point major sequence in their principal artform.