DTH5005 - New critical approaches

Leader: Will Peterson

Offered

Clayton First semester 2008 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit raises significant issues that might be located in four overlapping domains: anthropology, materialism, phenomenology and geography. We will engage with the ideas and events that have impacted upon our notions of theatre in the last two decades, creating new disciplines and theories, in particular Performance Theory. We will consider the influence of feminist and post-colonial discourses, Australia's global context, gender performance and the diverse means of interpreting artistic form, theatre and its audiences.

Objectives

Students who complete this unit successfully should have developed:

1. An understanding of new critical frameworks and their significance to theatre in a changing world.

2. The capacity to negotiate and respond to confronting subjects and issues in performance.

3. A responsible engagement with theatre as artistic and social practice.

4. The capacity to articulate both personal and theoretical ideas about theatre in spoken and written form.

Assessment

Researched and referenced paper on a particular question: 40%
Research paper on a relevant subject: 25%
Development and demonstration of an individual or collective performance: 25%
Regular contribution to class discussions: 10%

Contact hours

2.5 hours per week

Prerequisites

Completion of 4th year core unit (DTH4000) and normally at least two other 4th or 5th year units in the program