LNCE10517 Staging citizenship - art and democracy (Spring 2022)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Optional course, relevant to school.

Absolute requirements

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.

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 consist of two partial exams:

• 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 semester.

Literature

The reading list was last updated on 22th of December 2021.

Reading list for Staging Citizenship, LNCE10517

* = included in electronic compendium/available online

*Austin, J. Philosophical Papers Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2016 ISBN: 9781298498199 chapter 10 “Performative Utterances” (pp. 220-240, 21 pages)

Beckett, S. Waiting for Godot: a tragicomedy in two acts London: Faber & Faber, 2006 (1955) (87 pages)

*Bhabha, H. The Location of Culture, London: Routledge, 1995 (pages 121-174, 54 pages)

Boal, A. Theatre of the Oppressed (tr. McBride, Mcbride and Fryer) London: Pluto press, 2000 (or newer) ISBN: 978-0-7453-2839-3. (174 pages)

Bogart, A, and Tina Landau. The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. New York: Theatre Communication Group, 2005. ISBN: 9781559362412 (218 pages)

*Eco, U. “The Frames of comic ‘freedom’” in Sebeok, Thomas A., Umberto. Eco, Vi͡acheslav Vsevolodovich. Ivanov, Mônica. Rector, and Marcia E. Erickson. Carnival! Approaches to Semiotics; Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1984, pp. 1-10. ISBN: 3-11-084871-6 (10 pages)

*Edwards, S. Holdstock, and Dumisani “Indaba: Towards and African Psychology of Education founded on Indigenous Knowledge Systems” in Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 19 (2): 155-164, 2021 (10 pages)

Fischer-Lichte, E., and Saskya Iris. J. The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics. London: Routledge, 2008. ISBN: 9780415458559 Chapters 2, 3, 5 and 7. (100 pages)

*Harari, Y. N., John Purcell, and Haim Watzman. Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind. London: Vintage Books, 2015. Pages 1-69. ISBN: 978-0-099-59008-8

Mould, O. Against Creativity. London: Verso books, 2018. ISBN: 9781786636492 (pages 1-54. 83-202, 173 pages)

Rappaport, R. Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge University Press, 1999 chapters 1-4 (139 pages)

Sauter, W. Eventness : A Concept of the Theatrical Event. 2nd Rev. ed. Stockholm: STUTS, 2008. ISBN: 9789186434342 (149 pages)

*Schechner, R. Performance Theory. Routledge Classics. London: Routledge, 2003. Chapter 4 (pp. 112-170). ISBN: 0415314550 (61 pages)

*Songe-Møller, A., Bjerkestrand, K. & Bjørnstad, G. B. The responsible citizen: An investigation of the Theatre of the Oppressed. Applied Theatre Research Vol. 6(2) 2018. https://doi.org/10.1386/atr.6.2.139_1 (Translated article) (16 pages)

Sophocles, Antigone, either in Bagg’s 2012 translation (Antigone: a New Translation, HarperCollins), or in Ahrensdorf and Pangle’s from 2014 (in The Theban Plays, Cornell University Press; 56 pages)

*Sørensen, M. J. Humour in Political Activism: Creative Nonviolent Resistance, London: Palgrave Macmillan 2016 (pages 35-69, 35 pages)

Žižek, S. Antigone. Bloomsbury 2016 (72 pages)

*Østern, A-L “Dramaturgical Strategies” in Østern (ed.) Teaching and Learning through Dramaturgy: Education as an Artful Engagement, London: Routledge, 2021, chapter 3, pages 23-45 (13 pages). 

Electronic compendium for Staging Citizenship, LNCE10517

*Eco “The Frames of comic ‘freedom’” in Sebeok et al. (eds.). Carnival! Approaches to Semiotics. Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1984, pp. 1-10. ISBN: 3-11-084871-6

*Edwards, Holdstock, and Dumisani (2021) “Indaba: Towards and African Psychology of Education founded on Indigenous Knowledge Systems” in Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 19 (2): 155-164 (10 pages)

*Harari, Yuval Noah, John Purcell, and Haim Watzman. Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind. London: Vintage Books, 2015. Pages 1-69. ISBN: 978-0-099-59008-8

*Schechner, Richard. Performance Theory. Routledge Classics. London: Routledge, 2003. Chapter 4 (pp. 112-170). ISBN: 0415314550

*Songe-Møller, A., Bjerkestrand, K. & Bjørnstad, G. B. (2018). The responsible citizen: An investigation of the Theatre of the Oppressed. Applied Theatre Research Vol. 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1386/atr.6.2.139_1 (Translated article)

*Sørensen, Majken Jul (2016) Humour in Political Activism: Creative Nonviolent Resistance, London: Palgrave Macmillan (pages 35-69, 35 pages)

*Østern, A-L “Dramaturgical Strategies” in Østern (ed.) Teaching and Learning through Dramaturgy: Education as an Artful Engagement, London: Routledge, 2021, chapter 3, pages 23-45 (13 pages).