Universität Wien

170231 PS Introductory Seminar "Theatre and Media Spaces" (2021S)

Theatre and Nation: Evolution and Challenges of Staging ‘European Identities'

Continuous assessment of course work
REMOTE

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 40 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Thursday 11.03. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 18.03. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 25.03. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 15.04. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 22.04. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 29.04. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 06.05. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 20.05. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 27.05. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 10.06. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 17.06. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital
Thursday 24.06. 18:30 - 20:00 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Ziele:
The main goal of the proposed seminar would be to provide its participants with broader and concrete knowledge concerning the theatrical phenomena of 'performing' national identities. It would also aim at fostering the knowledge of contemporary EU cultural policies. However, in its full scope, the seminar would in this way seek to stimulate active and critical interest in a more general theme of theatre's socio-political potential. Implementing other academic perspectives into the proposed research of the theme (history, sociology, cultural history, etc), the seminar would contribute to a wider cultural knowledge and competencies of its participants. In addition, it would in a great manner follow the basic guidelines stated in the official curricula of the studies by adopting and developing the analytical and comparative approach to the theme.

Inhalte:
As Nadine Holdsworth explains, the theatre could be understood as "something intrinsically connected to the nation" as it "enhances 'national' life by providing a space for shared civil discourse, entertainment, creativity, pleasure, and intellectual stimulation." Put differently, besides providing audiences with focused leisure or artistic expression, the theatre also functions as a platform in which a certain communal body could discuss the principles of its communality established in its socio-political context. In the current European socio-political setting featured by simultaneous processes of producing/maintaining national identities as well as constructing a transnational or supra-national 'European identity', the question of how theatre represents these notions of common belonging becomes relevant for the understanding of its wider socio-political potential. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and departing from the most relevant theoretical positions tackling the concepts of nation, national identity, and communal belonging, the main focus of this seminar will revolve around the question of how do these concepts actually occur in today’s theatrical practice. By discussing relevant theoretical works and analyzing available relevant productions, the seminar will aim at tackling the question of how is this 'European identity' performed, disseminated or contested through and by the theatre. More precisely, it would investigate the founding myths and symbols of this identity, focusing on its representational strategies and challenges. In addition, the seminar will also explore and discuss the main strategies of European cultural policies aimed towards defining the supra-national notion of 'Europeanness'.

Methoden:
The teaching methods used at the seminar would mostly consist of group analytical work of proposed texts and available video-material of the most relevant productions. The material would be distributed to the participants prior to the seminar, and would then be discussed on spot or in the context of Blended Learning), preferably in groups

Assessment and permitted materials

Active participation (in blended learning)
Oral presentation in groups: a concise overview of a specific chosen topic (20 min.)
Proseminar paper at the end of the semester (up to 40 000 characters with footnotes)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Regular attendance (max. 3 unexcused absences)
Regular reading of the provided texts and sources (preparation for the course)
Group presentations (in English or German)
Proseminar paper (in English or German; title and expose should be handed in by 22.06.2021, the final version should be handed in by 30.09.2021)

The final grade is composed of the following partial performances:
- Proseminar paper (50%)
- Participation in the discussion/collaboration (25 %)
- Group presentation (25 %)
Each sub-performance must be graded at least satisfactory for the proseminar to be considered passed. The assessment of the partial performances is based on points.

Examination topics

The full content of the course. Additional materials will be placed on Moodle platform.

Reading list

During each session, students will read about 20-30 pages of scientific literature both in English and German. Additional reading material will also be available per session, which could be advised for the final your proseminar paper. The reading material will be made available on the Moodle platform at the beginning of the course.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:18