Module manager: Dr Jenny Lawson
Email: j.a.lawson@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
PECI 1704 Exploring Performance Cultures and Contexts
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This lecture series with seminar-based learning will ask you to consider the role of performance in the broader context of performance studies and selected theoretical perspectives. Using a wide range of case studies (e.g. political resistance, environmental activism, community-making, feminist performance, sustainability, indigenous place-making, etc.) you will explore the potential of performance to make a difference in society and the ways in which it can be used as a positive force and an agent of change.
This module will: - allow you to understand the wider landscape and scope of performance beyond the theatre; - allow you to understand the potential of performance to make a difference in society and to understand the ways in which performance can be used as an agent of change (through a range of case studies); - introduce you to a range of performance practices and enable you to make connections across and between cultures (through a range of case studies); - enable you to mobilise key performance theories and models and use them critically in written work (through formative and summative assessment); - allow you to investigate key concepts, undertake research and to develop independent thinking, interpretation and presentation skills.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. access, and interpret a selection of theatre and performance research to understand how performance is embedded into the fabric and structures of contemporary life
2. articulate a structured and coherent argument.
3. critically evaluate the cultural, historical and social contexts of a particular performance event, demonstrating how performance can be an agent for awareness, discussion and change across every day and theatre contexts.
4. apply one critical perspective (e.g. political resistance, environmental activism, community-making, feminist performance, sustainability, indigenous place-making) to an example of practice.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5 Critical Thinking – gathering a range of information from sources and making judgements about their reliability and importance, using them to support your arguments and draw informed conclusions.
6. Communicate ideas effectively through written language, synthesising theoretical concepts and frameworks
7. Conduct analysis of performance events and phenomena; and articulate their wider significance in society.
The module has two interconnected aims: to introduce students to the role of performance in the broader global context of cultural and performance studies; and to explore the potential of performance to make a difference in society and the ways in which it can be used as an agent of change. The module will draw on regional, national and international contexts with a global outlook and introduce a range of critical lenses and theoretical perspectives through which we can examine performance, within theatre and beyond. The module explores key terms such as performance, performativity, value, culture, participation, community, and activism. It will also introduce a range of critical lenses that can be used for the analysis of performance, such as theories of embodiment, gender theory, cultural performance, cultural value. Using case studies which may include, for example, political resistance, environmental activism, community-making, feminist performance, sustainability, indigenous place-making, etc. The module will explore the ways in which performance can be used as a means for activism and intervention and will address notions of cultural value, social impact, performance efficacy and ethics.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Lectures | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 11 | 1.5 | 16.5 |
| Private study hours | 173 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 27 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Each student will be expected to make contributions to discussion in seminars. Overview, feedback and guidance will be provided by tutors in these seminars, this allows for an ongoing process of formative feedback from their seminar tutor on students’ engagement with and understanding of the subject matter. A formative assessment point will happen in week 6 when students will work in groups to present an oral presentation on a subject that they have chosen from the previous 5 weeks of teaching. Full feedback will be given. Draft assignment for final written submission will be reviewed and formative feedback given before submission for assessment.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | 3000–4000-word essay | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 2/5/2024
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team