Course Catalogue

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The course explores creative and critical encounters with postcolonialisms in the field of theatre and performance studies. The course will examine what a (post)colonial encounter might be; the historical moments of those encounters; as well as contemporary artistic responses. The course will explore the complex and shifting genealogy of ideas and performance practices and offer students the opportunity to explore these through seminar-based discussions and group work.

10 x 3 hour seminars

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into MA Theatre Studies, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation

None

None

Blog (2500 words) - 40%

Podcast (10 minutes) - 30%

Group Pitch (20 minutes) - 30%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ Provide students with knowledge of key concepts of postcolonial thought in the 20th and 21st century and how they relate to contemporary practices of decolonisation

■ Explore the role of the artist in relation to political, cultural and social milieus in the history of anticolonial struggle and postcolonial thought, introducing students to the wider social, economic and political history specific to the context of the studied practitioners

■ Develop students' knowledge of historical and contemporary examples of postcolonial theatre and performance practitioners through critical analysis and engagement with a variety of source types

■ Provide students with the opportunity to develop dramaturgical performance concepts through a critical engagement with the studied texts and an assessment of their own intersectional positionality in a decolonising world

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically evaluate primary and secondary sources relating to the interrelationship between theatre and postcoloniality and its relationship to the contemporary

■ Identify and assess key events, people and trends that impact the development of postcolonial thought and artistic production

■ Develop a dramaturgical concept for a postcolonial performance event or encounter

■ Present this knowledge and understanding in oral and written form according to established scholarly conventions and appropriate to an honours level

■ Engage with innovative ways to explore and present their ideas

■ Construct a holistic approach to the study of their discipline and an awareness of their own intersectional positionality

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.