School of English, Communications and Performance Studies

Disciplines

English; Communications; Drama and theatre studies; Film and television studies; Literature, theatre, critical and cultural studies; Visual culture

English

The English section offers a variety of units in the literatures of Britain, Australia, America, Asia, and in a range of related areas including academic, professional and creative writing.

In first year, students are introduced to the study of English through a choice of units. Each unit has a different focus, either on some aspect of literature in English or on the study of effective writing. Each aims to introduce students to a variety of modes of reading and to a number of ways of speaking and writing about what they read. Students choose two units, one of which must be a literature unit if they wish to major in English.

Second and third-year units in literature introduce students to the literature and culture of different historical periods. Related units are offered in the following fields: Australian studies, the theory and practice of children’s literature, war literature and travel writing, critical theory, feminist theory and women’s writing, postcolonial theory and literature, the languages of literature, literary and visual semiotics and performance studies, creative writing and professional writing. Students may select from these areas to develop their major in English.

Students will find the expectations of English outlined in unit handbooks as they proceed through the degree.

For information on the units required for a major or minor in English, refer to the ‘Areas of study’ section on the Arts faculty website at www.arts.monash.edu.au/current/coursework/study-areas/.

English provides consultation and advice on choice of units at first, second, third and fourth-year levels to ensure that students choose suitable and coherent sequences.

Communications

Communications focuses on the organisation, processes and effects of traditional and new communications technologies such as print, television, film and electronic media. Students gain an understanding of the practical operation of the media as well as the social and cultural dimensions of communications, and the complex relationships between audiences, producers and policy makers. Students also examine the nature of communication and the capabilities and applications of communication in a range of societies.

Communications students learn to critically analyse the media and learn about the structure of communications industries and the relations between media, culture and power. Communications theory is an integral part of the major, coupled with an investigation of the practices, technologies and processes that make up modern media.

The program prepares students to work across the public and private sectors, and a wide range of communications industries. The program offers an international approach to the study of communications and provides practical experience in the use of new communications technologies.

For information on the units required for a major or minor in communications, refer to the ‘Areas of study’ section on the Arts faculty website at www.arts.monash.edu.au/current/coursework/study-areas/.

Drama and theatre studies

Students who wish to make a specialist study of drama and theatre studies as part of their Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Performing Arts may do so within the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies. The units available represent a wide range of approaches to studies in the field. Most place a strong emphasis on performance. While the major in drama and theatre studies is not designed specifically as a course in systematic skills training, the element of performance in our program (in text-based and devised productions) is regarded as fundamental to the analysis of theatre texts and processes.

The first-year prerequisite for students intending a major or minor sequence in drama and theatre studies is DTS1060 (The language of performance) and DTS1160 (The places of performance). A second first-year sequence is available as an additional option (DTS1320 and DTS1420). Second and third-year units offer a range of options in the history, theory and practice of theatre. Students may choose to specialise in fields such as theatre history, directing, music theatre, movement and dance, technical aspects of theatre, script writing and design.

For information on the units required for a major or minor in drama and theatre studies, refer to the ‘Areas of study’ section on the Arts faculty website at www.arts.monash.edu.au/current/coursework/study-areas/.

The DTS units listed in this handbook are offered at the Clayton campus unless otherwise indicated. None of the DTS units listed in the handbook may be counted towards more than one minor or major sequence. Units with the prefix PER, which offer students specialist study in play production and devised performance, are available only to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Performing Arts degree.

Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies

Contact details

Telephone inquiries: +61 3 9905 9135 or email: penny.love@arts.monash.edu.au

Film and television studies

Film and Television Studies offers a variety of units in the film and television cultures of Australia, Asia, United States and Europe.

The first-year units VSA1050 Contemporary film studies and VSA1010 Contemporary television studies are designed to provide a foundation for all subsequent studies in film and television.

Film and television units involve historical, textual and critical approaches to film and television, and related video and new screen technologies. Film and television studies cover Australian, Asian and European national cinemas, contemporary popular Hollywood and its institutions, alternative film and video, documentary film, Australian television, popular television genres, and video practice.

Throughout the course of studies, emphasis will be given to a variety of historical, critical and theoretical methods of analysis appropriate to the study of film and television, including formal, semiotic and psychoanalytic approaches, institutional, reception and cultural studies approaches, consideration of issues to do with the intersection of ideology and culture, the representation of gender, race and class, and questions concerning the relations between film and television and new technologies.

Students are encouraged to consider combining their film and television studies with other relevant and compatible units and/or disciplines in the Faculty of Arts. Examples are drama and theatre studies, comparative literature and cultural studies, English, history, women's studies, and a range of relevant Asian and European languages.

Literature, theatre, critical and cultural studies

The Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies has close connections with a number of other teaching programs in the Faculty of Arts, all of which are concerned with the study of texts and textuality. These are comparative literature, critical theory, cultural studies and English literature – units offered in these areas are listed under each of these disciplines.

It is possible to take a double major in any two of comparative literature and cultural studies, drama and theatre studies, and English. A major in any of these may also be combined with a minor sequence in any other or with a minor sequence in critical theory.

For information on the units required for a major or minor in comparative literature and cultural studies, drama and theatre studies, or English, refer to the ‘Areas of study’ section on the Arts faculty website at www.arts.monash.edu.au/current/coursework/study-areas/.

Visual culture

Visual Culture offers units focusing on various modes of visual expression and communication in present and past society.

The first-year units VSA1000 (Introduction to visual culture: back to the future) and VSA1010 (Contemporary visual culture) are designed to provide a foundation for all subsequent studies in visual culture.

The discipline of visual culture employs a broad, inclusive approach to study most aspects of visual production and creativity, including painting, sculpture, photography, advertising, graphic design, fashion, film, video, new media and cyber-culture. Students are introduced to a variety of historical, critical and theoretical approaches applicable to the discipline. Some approaches are informed by traditional methods of art history and film studies while others embrace recent methods stemming from deconstruction, psychoanalysis, race and gender studies, postcolonialism, etc.

Visual culture units engage with themes and issues across a range of nations and historical periods, with a special emphasis on visual production in Australia, Europe and America. Particular attention is paid to recent manifestations of visual culture.

Students are encouraged to consider combining their visual culture studies with other relevant and compatible disciplines in the Faculty of Arts. Examples are drama and theatre studies, performing arts, comparative literature and cultural studies, English, history, women’s studies, and a range of relevant European languages. Particular attention is drawn to: CLS1010 (Text and context), CLS1040 (Introduction to cultural studies).

For information on the units required for a major or minor in visual culture, refer to the ‘Areas of study’ section on the Arts faculty website atwww.arts.monash.edu.au/current/coursework/study-areas/.

Relevant courses

For details of the following courses, see ‘Outline of undergraduate studies’ section.

Bachelor of Arts (and associated double degrees)
Bachelor of Arts (English Language)
Bachelor of Arts (Global)
Bachelor of Communication (and associated double degrees)
Bachelor of Letters
Bachelor of Performing Arts
Bachelor of Performing Arts and Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Performing Arts
Diploma in Arts (Communication)
Diploma in Arts (English)
Diploma in Arts (Drama and Theatre Studies)
Diploma in Arts (Visual Culture)

Contact details

Inquiries (Clayton): Room W707, West Wing, Menzies building; Telephone +61 3 9905 2148 or +61 3 9905 2140; Email judith.keogh@arts.monash.edu.au or louella.dcosta@arts.monash.edu.au or visit www.arts.monash.edu.au/schools/ecps/inquiries

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