Objectives and competences
To familiarize students with a range of dramatic texts from Medieval and Elizabethan drama to the present in their historical and cultural (as well as global) contexts; to consolidate knowledge of drama and theatre terminology; to practice skills of review and critique while viewing film and video adaptations (and live performance, whenever available); to see drama as a medium that is personally and politically expressive; to explore the pedagogical potential of drama.
Content (Syllabus outline)
• Evolving dramatic genres in the historical or modern context
• Close study of selected plays and dramatists
• Elizabethan drama: tragedy, comedy and history plays
• Modern dramatic movements: Angry Young Man, Absurdist, Open Theatre etc.
• Comparison to other non-British plays in English
• Language, style and rhetoric
• English Drama in Slovene translation
• Theatrical terminology and devices
• Theories of acting and performance; drama in the classroom
• Traditional and contemporary staging, filmed adaptations
Learning and teaching methods
• lectures,
• seminars.
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
On completion of this course student will be able to:
• Do close textual analysis of a dramatic text
• Identify the main dramatic and theatrical conventions
• Critique and review drama performances
• Relate dramatic texts and performances to cultural, historical and political context
• Use drama in the English language classroom
Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes
• Development of listening skills in English
• Ability to adapt drama for use in pedagogical activities
• Ability to organize data and present in written and oral forms
• Critical thinking and participation in critical debate
Readings
Lisa Picard, Elizabethan London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003.
Early Modern English Drama: A Critical Companion. Ed. G. A. Sullivan, P. Cheney et. al. Oxford, 2005.
E. M. W. Tillyard, The Elizabethan World Picture. Vintage, 1959.
Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare. Oxford, 2004.
Theatre in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology. Ed. David Krasner.Blackwell, 2007.
Patrice Pavis. Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis. Trans. Christine Shantz. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1998.
Nellie McCaslin: Creative Drama in the Classroom and Beyond, 2006.
Prerequisits
Attendance of 80 %, active participation and the completion of course work are prerequisites for taking the written exam.
Additional information on implementation and assessment • Oral presentations and in-class discussions - 20 %
• Written work - 30 %
• Written examination - 50 %
A passing grade on the written exam is required for a passing final grade.
