Australian Theatre and Performance (ENGL40020)
HonoursPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
Semester 1
Overview
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This subject is a study of the Australian performing arts from 1960 to the present with a special focus on the shift from national drama to diversity, and from the sole-authored play to devised and collaborative theatre. The study is framed by the changing landscape of Australian culture and the key insights of modernism, postcolonialism, feminism and gender theory. Students will read selected plays in relation to context, genre, and performance history; view DVDs of live performance; engage in online and library-based archival research; and undertake detailed textual and performance analysis; and investigate the role of performance as a medium of cultural life.
The subject is arranged in sections including single-author or theatre maker studies; the New Wave of the 1970s; Indigenous dramatists; and performance and live art. There will be scope to develop specialist studies of dramatists, theatre companies, and the performing arts industry.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:
- Discuss Australian theatre and performance in relation to the intersections of Indigenous history, colonial culture, and a culturally diverse modern nation
- Explain how works of theatre and performance studied in this subject involve encounters among embodied performers and audiences in time and place
- Apply interdisciplinary methodologies to understand the dramaturgical, technological, cultural, social and environmental perspectives that intersect in the making of dramatic literature and performance
- Describe how Australian theatre contributes to culture and society
- Identify how theatre relates to storytelling, history and community.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject, students will gain the following generic skills:
- The ability to prepare and present their ideas in both verbal and written mode to an advanced level and in conformity to conventions of academic presentation
- The ability to participate in discussion and group activities and be sensitive to the participation of others
- The ability to apply creative and critical thinking in the analysis of artistic works
- The ability to manage time effectively in the completion of assessment tasks
- Able to access a broad range of resource material, including traditional text, art works and electronic media.
Last updated: 4 March 2025