LNCE10517 Staging citizenship - art and democracy (Spring 2018)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Optional course, relevant to school.

Prerequisites

Higher Education Entrance Qualifications.

Applicants with Certificate of Upper Secondary Education from other than the Nordic countries can be granted dispensation from the requirement of proficiency in the Norwegian language on condition of documented proficiency in the English language, cf. Regulations for Admission to Study Programmes at Østfold University College, section 3.
http://www.hiof.no/studies/admission/admission-rules/regulations-for-admission-to-study-programmes-at-ostfold-university-college_#section3

Lecture Semester

Spring

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

Knowledge and understanding
The student

• can recognize the relations between drama and citizenship;
• is familiar with a selection of enacted interpretations in history and contemporary society;
• can give an account of applied theatre methods of interpretation.

Skills including transferable skills
The student

• can use methods of applied theatre to interpret critical portrayals of society;
• can conduct and analyse democratic artistic processes in society;
• can contextualise ritual and dramatic expressions and critiques of political situations.

General competence
The student

• can develop a critical awareness of democracy as participatory practice;
• can recognise and use artistic and ritual expressions as tools for enacting citizenship

Content

Is society staged? In this module, students learn to interpret dramatic portrayals of society. Communities develop through self-portrayal and conversation. Using methods of applied theatre, students will analyse enacted interpretations and critiques of historical and contemporary case studies. Examples will include contextualized dramatic texts, rituals, and field studies in citizenship formation. Our approach draws on both social-scientific and aesthetic disciplines. The course will involve training in the method of applied theatre, together with readings in contextualized performances and work on case studies in the local Nordic context.

Forms of teaching and learning

Lectures, workshops, projects, assignments

Groups of varying sizes and individual work.

In and out of classroom, projects in society (in public sector, non-governmental organisations, private sector, schools and relevant institutions).

Workload

Approximately 20 hours pr week. May vary throughout the semester

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

The following required coursework must be approved by teacher before the student can take the exam:

• Approved attendence of minimum 80 %
• Attendence in practical workshop (3 days) on a given topic

Examination

The total assessment of the course will consist of:

• Individual essay throughout the semester (approximately 3000 words) (60 % of total) on a chosen problem formulation. Internal examiners.

• Practical group exam on a given theme (40 % of total). Further described in the semester plan. Internal and external examiners.

An overall individual final grade is awarded for the course using grading scale A to F. A indicating excellent and F indicating fail.

Both parts of the exam must be passed in order to pass the course.

Course evaluation

The course will be evaluated at the end of the course.

Literature

Last updated 19.12.2017.

Boal Theatre of the Oppressed (tr. McBride, Mcbride and Fryer) London: Pluto press (2000 edition or newer)

Illich Deschooling Society London: Marion Boyars (except chapter 6)

Prentki and Preston (eds) The Applied Theatre Reader London: Routledge (not chapters 11, 19, 20, 27, 36, 44, 51)

Gharavi (ed), Religion theatre and performance London: Routledge (only chapters 2, 4, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15)

Schechner Performance Studies an introduction London: Routledge (chapters 1-5)

Caoimhe McAvinchey, Theatre and Prison New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Compendium:
Agamben Profanations (tr. Fort) New York: Zone Books, 73-92

Arendt The Human Condition University of Chicago Press, chapter 1-3, 24-27

Austin, Philosophical Papers Oxford: Clarendon Press, chapter 10 “Performative Utterances”

Kafka "Before the Law" in The Trial, at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7849

Scott Decoding Subaltern Politics London: Routledge, 10-34

Scott Domination and the arts of resistance New Haven: Yale University Press, 136-8; 152-182