2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
ENGL2050 Theatre, Society and Self
20 creditsClass Size: 20
School of English
Module manager: Dr Benjamin Dunn
Email: b.a.dunn@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
Module replaces
ENGL2019 Theatre, Society and SelfThis module is not approved as a discovery module
Objectives
On completion of this module, students should be able to:- Have an appreciation of the arc from the personal, to the community to the political in relation to socially committed performance;
- Understand and be able to apply a range of strategies for making socially engaged theatre;
- Demonstrate an understanding of how historical, political and cultural context has effected the making of this work;
- Demonstrate an understanding of how different ways of working collectively and individually influence the form and aesthetic of theatre.
Learning outcomes
Students will have developed:
- the ability to use written and oral communication effectively;
- the capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse;
- the ability to manage quantities of complex information in a structured and systematic way;
- the capacity for independent thought and judgement;
- critical reasoning;
- research skills, including the retrieval of information, the organisation of material and the evaluation of its importance;
- IT skills;
- efficient time management and organisation skills;
- the ability to learn independently.
Skills outcomes
Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Ability to develop and carry through a project of relatively independent work.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.
Ability to communicate in a variety of oral and performance media.
Creative and imaginative skills as shown through the realisation of practical research projects.
An understanding of group dynamics and an ability to implement this understanding in a variety of contexts.
The ability to negotiate and pursue goals with others.
Syllabus
This module will examine a range of theatre forms that have social and political concerns or objectives. We will look at the work of selected practitioners interested in communicating ideas and achieving resonance - perhaps instigating change - through performance.
Thus, we will be looking beyond an ‘art for art’s sake’ agenda at practitioners, theoreticians, directors and playwrights who have had an interest in communicating and influencing ideas and issues through their theatre.
Beginning with a consideration of distinctions between conventional Aristotelian drama and the more explicitly political theatre methods of Brecht and Boal, we will look at some of the roots of contemporary ‘political’ and ‘applied’ theatre – and debate these categorisations with reference to a wide range of international theatre and performance practices. An exploration of audience, spectatorship and participation forms the foundation for our studies.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Workshop | 10 | 3.00 | 30.00 |
| Private study hours | 170.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 30.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 | ||
Private study
5 hours reading per week (50 hours)5 hours workshop preparation per week (50 hours)
70 hours research and essay preparation (70 hours)
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
- Feedback on first assessed essay- Participation in workshops
Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | 1,700 words including quotations and footnotes | 30.00 |
| Project | A Performance "blueprint" in paper or digital form with a supporting contextualization of 1,500 words including quotations and footnotes. Parts of this assignment may be done collaboratively. | 70.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 15/07/2024
Browse Other Catalogues
- Undergraduate module catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
- Undergraduate programme catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue
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