Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

Students work through three to five key playtexts from within a given genre, tradition, period or national theatre. The unit entails a variety of approaches, encompassing historical, textual, comparative and social methodologies of analysing texts. Distinguishing features of the particular genre or tradition are studied in the context of the period and place from which the texts emerged. Consideration is given to how the texts were originally performed and how they have since been interpreted.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course students will:

1. possess an in-depth knowledge of the conventions of a given genre, period or tradition of theatre or performance and the conditions under which it arose;
2. have received an introduction to the ideas of key contemporary thinkers whose work bears on the interpretation and understanding of theatre and performance;
3. have an understanding of the relationships between theatres and their social and cultural contexts;
4. be able to employ a variety of approaches to textual analysis;
5. be able to take a critical historiographical approach to the contemporary reception of texts from different times and places;
6. be able to recognize and activate issues in the textual and performative interpretation of playtexts;
7. have applied understanding of the relationships between art and society - ethical, political, and expressive.

Assessment

+ Group class presentation (15 minutes equiv. 900 words): 10%
Individual write-up of presentation (1000 words): 30%
Essay (2500 words): 40%
Participation (equiv. 450 words): 20%

Contact hours

One 2-hour seminar per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Classical studies
Communications
Comparative literature and cultural studies
Theatre
English
Performance

Prerequisites

1st year sequence in Theatre