MA Performance & Culture

This module focuses on a selected number of fundamental concepts, categories of thought and methodological issues and problems pertinent to cultural theory and its relation to performance.

The module is based on the premise that performance activity is a social and cultural practice. As such, performance is to be analysed, understood, explained and questioned in terms commensurate with its complexity. These terms are provided by interdisciplinary work, which, in this course, will draw, notably, on theatre and performance studies, the sociology of culture, sociology, anthropology, ethnography, political science, philosophy, aesthetics, and theories of signs and of artistic genres.

Although the module is primarily theoretical, it assumes that theory is dialogically interrelated with the practice of practitioners. It thus uses the latter to explore and develop points of theory; and uses theory to foreground aspects of theatre and performance practice. Apart from the inclusion of contemporary practitioners in the module structure, as indicated below, you'll be expected to engage with performances available to them in London and elsewhere during their studies, and discuss them in the seminar, as appropriate.

The interdisciplinary principles of the module highlight the interdisciplinary dimensions of what is, nevertheless, discipline-specific to drama, theatre and performance studies. The module is designed to allow you to carry the conceptual and methodological grounding provided by this core module across to the options offered by the MA in Performance and Culture. It is also designed to link intellectually with other MA programmes available at Goldsmiths College.

The module is structured on the idea that learning and critical inquiry are cross-referenced, cumulative, and require depth. Its structure fosters initiative in research, independent research and presentation of work, and collaborative effort in class discussion.

The intention of this module is to explore the problems and possibilities of theatre history, stressing the necessary interdisciplinarity of researching past performance. Negotiating the relationship of theatre text and cultural context, this module draws on the literary and political perspectives required for this kind of historical enquiry. Theoretical and empirical approaches are taken as complementary tools in the interpretation and analysis of the past.

The module progresses through the problems raised within the discipline toward the application of historiographical methodologies to specific areas of investigation, namely the theatre event in renaissance (early 17th century) London and revival (early 20th century) Ireland. It is envisaged that seminars and workshops exploring renaissance theatre will take place in conjunction with and on location at the Globe Theatre. In each case, the module will explore the possibility of constructing a composite understanding of past performance. Taking specific dramatic texts under consideration, the module offers three historical perspectives to each period in turn: the political, the theatrical (formal and spatial), and the social (actor and audience). The module will also require the selection of a past performance for personal study, extending the techniques developed during the module for research, presentation and discussion.

The emphasis is on the interrelationship between the issues discussed in class and students' analysis of live and video performances, as well as of performance in the fieldwork of special interest to them. This module cross-refers to the theoretical and conceptual knowledge acquired in modules in the Autumn Term and builds on these acquisitions. As in these preceding modules, practice and conceptual reflection go hand in glove, and the perspective is interdisciplinary. The main groupings of concern here are corporeal and very much of the present: rituals (including urban ritual), shamanism, healing and performance, dance, hybrid forms (especially movement-based hybrids), and manifestations in alternative spaces such as site-specific performances, street and square performance, festivals, multi-ethnic performances, community theatres, and theatres of exclusion, including theatre of the homeless. The module encourages students to explore the multiple performances available to them in London and which will extend their perception and understanding of performance practice and cultural dynamics. You will be encouraged to do some fieldwork in a chosen performance area, which will give you the opportunity to explore types of current performance that challenge well-accepted practices and notions and extend your understanding and analysis of sociocultural dynamics.

This module option is intended to permit students to develop their research, knowledge, and understanding within a particular area under the rubric of performance and culture. It may substantially develop work begun elsewhere on the module, or it may pursue suitable material not substantially addressed elsewhere on the module. In either case, it will extend skills developed in other MA Performance and Culture modules.

The subject of this module unit is to be discussed between the Convenor of the MA in Performance and Culture and any student interested in pursuing an independent research project in the field of performance and culture.

The purpose of the module unit is:

1. to permit students to pursue advanced research in an area that is not already substantially covered on the MA in any given year
2. to permit students to develop skills in independent research and project coordination. (This may be particularly suitable for students thinking of pursuing a subsequent research degree.)

You will be assigned a supervisor appropriate to the area of research. In consultation with the supervisor, you will devise a module of research.