| Unit name | Politics of Performance |
|---|---|
| Unit code | DRAM20048 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Paul Clarke |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Theatre |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit explores the relationship between theatre and politics, focusing on theatre and performance events that have their roots in the explicit exploration of political issues or that are spurred by political action. Case studies span historical periods and could include suffrage parades and plays, agitprop, Welfare State International, sit-ins, the Occupy movement, along with recent approaches to political theatre. The unit will consider these examples in detailed social and historical context and in dialogue with questions concerning political, national, local and cultural identities. Students will undertake primary and secondary research into two separate case studies and present material for formative and summative feedback.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
(1) locate political theatre and performance events in their immediate context;
(2) analyse the efficacy of political theatre and performance events as means of resistance, critique, communication and expression;
(3) understand the relationship between theatre and issues of political, national, cultural and gender identity;
(4) demonstrate their ability to undertake primary and secondary research and use this research in a coherent and sustained argument.
10 x 1 hour lectures and 10 x 1 hour seminars.
Individual research file in preparation for seminar presentation, including bibliography, survey of relevant examples/literature and seminar questions. Assessed for formative purposes.
Student-led seminar presentation (in small groups, fifteen minutes), for a group mark (40%) ILO 1-3
3000 word essay (60%) ILO 1-4
Joe Kelleher (2009) Theatre and Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan
Baz Kershaw (2002) The Politics of Performance: Radical Theatre as Cultural Intervention
Jane de Gay and Lizbeth Goodman (2002) The Routledge Reader in Politics and Performance. London: Routledge
Susan C. Haedicke ed. (2009) Political Performances: Theory and Practice. Amsterdam: Rodopi
Sue Ellen Case and Janelle Reinelt eds. (1991) The Performance of Power: Theatrical Discourse and Politics. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press
