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Modern and Contemporary Theatre (ENGL20030)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
This subject explores the questions animating the major movements in 20th- and 21st-century theatre and drama. What does it mean to try to represent the world “as it really is”? Should the theatre entertain, educate, incite, reassure? How should it do these things? The diverse ways in which solutions to these problems have been pursued inform its conception and reception in any given historical context. We will examine key texts and practices in Western theatre from the last 150 years, with particular attention paid to the ways in which theatre artists have chosen (or been compelled) to respond to shifting social, political, and economic dynamics. While the syllabus is primarily organised chronologically, we will place equal emphasis on tracing themes and “problems” as they resurface in disparate geographical locations and historical periods.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of the subject students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and aesthetic practices of modern and contemporary theatre
- Apply high level critical and conceptual thinking to comparing dramatic texts and their theatrical performances
- Articulate the relationship between modern and contemporary theatre and its social, historical and cultural contexts
- Write about theatre and performance using a variety of sources including textual and academic literature, digital archives, visual images, and sound recordings
- Develop capacity for informed self-reflection as active participants in cultural life
- Work effectively and creatively in a team to develop to oral presentations.
Generic skills
Students who successfully complete this subject will be able to:
- Demonstrate sound and independent critical and ethical thinking in their choice of materials and processes
- Present written and oral communication to a professional standard regarding their treatment and material choices.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Corequisites
Non-allowed subjects
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
A mid-semester assignment (either a formal essay or a creative pitch)
| Mid semester | 40% |
An essay
| During the examination period | 60% |
Hurdle requirement: Attendance hurdle requirement: This subject has a minimum requirement of 80% attendance at tutorials, seminars, or workshops. There is an expectation that students attend lectures. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Hurdle requirement: Late Penalty and Assessment hurdle requirement: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at five per cent (5%) of the possible marks available for the assessment task per day or part thereof. All pieces of assessment must be submitted to pass the subject. Each submitted assessment must be complete, constitute a genuine attempt to address the requirements of the task and will not be accepted after 20 University business days from the original assessment due date without written approval. | Throughout the semester | N/A |
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Coordinator Lindsay Goss Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total 24 hours: a 2 hour seminar per week. Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 22 July 2024 to 20 October 2024 Last self-enrol date 2 August 2024 Census date 2 September 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 20 September 2024 Assessment period ends 15 November 2024 Semester 2 contact information
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Additional delivery details
This subject contains online lecture and video screenings most weeks of 0.5-2 hour. AV materials can be accessed in the student’s own time, some online through modules and others through the library system.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Access to all primary texts and performance documentation will be freely available through the library system. Texts could include plays by: Anton Chekov, Elizabeth Robins, Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett, Maria Irene Fornes, Suzan-Lori Parks, Caryl Churchill, Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Annie Baker. We will also consider the work of several contemporary theatre companies, for example, Back to Back Theatre, Nature Theatre of Oklahoma, and Rimini Protokoll.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Arts and Cultural Management Course Graduate Certificate in Arts Course Bachelor of Arts Course Graduate Diploma in Arts Major English and Theatre Studies - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 27 April 2024