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

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