Scheda programma d'esame
HISTORY OF ENGLISH THEATRE
SARA FRANCESCA SONCINI
Academic year2017/18
CourseEURO-AMERICAN LITERATURES AND PHILOLOGIES
Code1130L
Credits9
PeriodSemester 2
LanguageItalian

ModulesAreaTypeHoursTeacher(s)
STORIA DEL TEATRO INGLESEL-LIN/10LEZIONI54
SARA FRANCESCA SONCINI unimap
Obiettivi di apprendimento
Learning outcomes
Conoscenze

NB:  IL CORSO SI TIENE NEL SECONDO SEMESTRE

PER VISUALIZZARE IL PROGRAMMA CARICARE LA PAGINA IN INGLESE

Knowledge

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • advance complex and developed readings of the core texts.
  • think theoretically about questions of representation, reception, style and politics.
  • read play-texts with an appreciation of the choices and possibilities they offer to performers, both in theatrical and cinematic contexts.
  • understand the ways in which a play’s use of theatrical conventions are central to the communication of meaning in performance
  • understand how plays and performances are shaped by, and speak to, their theatrical and historical contexts.
  • demonstrate a critical awareness of the various ways in which theatrical performances are ‘read’ by spectators.
Assessment criteria of knowledge

A range of formative and summative assessment methods are used, including essays, presentations, and a final oral exam.

Skills

As a result of engaging fully with this course, students will be able to:

  • identify and ask the relevant questions of complex texts
  • have a clear grasp of the constituents of drama and theatre
  • have a reasoned appreciation of different views and options and analyse these critically
  • identify and apply relevant data
  • engage critically and constructively with the interpretations of other scholars and students.
  • learn from constructive criticism and incorporate its insights
  • work as part of a team, developing a collaborative approach to problem-solving
  • work to deadlines and priorities
Assessment criteria of skills

The range of assessment methods used (presentation, essay, oral interview) are used not only for assessment purposes but also as a means of developing students’ abilities to collect, organize, evaluate and deploy relevant information and ideas from a variety of sources in reasoned arguments. Feedback on essays and presentations is designed to feed forward into future work, enabling students to develop their strengths and address any weaker areas.

Behaviors

Students will be asked to actively contribute to seminar sessions. They will be asked to support or challenge critical opinions by way of reasoned argument. They will be required to identify and apply data in an accurate, precise and transparent way, to learn from constructive criticism and incorporate its insights, and to develop a sound approach to problem-solving.

Students will also be expected to work to deadlines and priorities and to collaborate with other students in preparation for and during group sessions.

Assessment criteria of behaviors

Students’ ability to formulate critical views and communicate them in a clear, convincing manner will be tested through their contrubution to seminar sessions.

The preparation of a written essay will provide further opportunities for students to use their initiative in the collection and presentation of material, to mount a clear, cogent argument, and to draw appropriate conclusions.

Prerequisites

Students are expected to have already acquired a good knowledge of English literature and culture. 

Teaching methods

The course is taught both by lecture and seminar. Lectures provide an overview of the key concepts and frameworks for a topic, equipping students to carry out independent research for the seminars and to develop their own. Seminars provide an opportunity for students to explore the ideas, topics and issues outlined in the lectures.

Seminars may take various formats, including plenary group discussion, small-group work and student-led presentations.

The course is delivered in English.

Syllabus

Course title:

War and the contemporary stage

Outline description of the course:

The British stage has been quick to register the rise to prominence of war as the major political, ethical and cultural issue of the present day. During the course we will look at a number of theatrical responses to this highly topical subject, with specific – though not exclusive – reference to the post-9/11 scenario. By examining new plays alongside revivals or rewritings of classic works, we will engage with the broad range of aesthetic frames through which the British stage has sought to mediate the complex, elusive and seemingly intractable reality of war.

Bibliography

Core texts:

Samuel Beckett, Endgame, in Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works, London, Faber & Faber, 1996.

Gregory Burke, Black Watch (2006; 2nd revised edn: London, Faber & Faber, 2010)

Caryl Churchill, Far Away (London, Nick Hern, 2000); Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (London, Nick Hern, 2006); Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza (2009; freely available on line)

David Greig, The American Pilot (London, Faber & Faber, 2005); Damascus (London, Faber & Faber, 2007)

Sarah Kane, Blasted (1995), in Complete Plays (London, Methuen, 2001)

Richard Norton-Taylor, Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry (London, Oberon, 2005)

Dennis Kelly, After the End (London, Oberon, 2005)

William Shakespeare, Henry V (Oxford or Arden Shakespeare)

 

Henry V, dir. Laurence Olivier, UK, 1944

Henry V, dir. Kenneth Branagh, UK, 1989

No Man's Land, dir. Danis Tanovic, France/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Italy/Belgium/UK/Slovenia, 2001

Further audiovisual material used during classes will be indicated through the Moodle course page.

 

Critical references:

Julia Boll, The New War Plays: From Kane to Harris, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

R. King and P. Franssen (eds), Shakespeare and War, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Sara Soncini, Forms of Conflict: Contemporary Wars on the British Stage, Exeter, Exeter UP, 2015.

A further selection of critical material will be made available through the Moodle course page.

 

NB students will be asked to read the core texts in preparation for seminar sessions.

All texts listed in the course bibliography are available from the LM2 library.

 

Non-attending students info

Students who are unable to attend classes will sit an oral exam. They will also be asked to prepare a critical essay (c. 4000 words) on an agreed topic. The essay must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the date of the oral exam.

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed by a formative oral presentation (20%), a summative essay of c. 2500 words (40%), and an oral interview (40%). Attendance and contribution to group discussion will also count towards the final mark.

Note

Per gli studenti del CdS LETFIL, Storia del Teatro Inglese rientra nella rosa degli insegnamenti di letteratura straniera curricolare sia per il percorso monolingue che per quello bilingue; può essere biennalizzato dagli studenti del percorso monolingue. L’insegnamento è inoltre offerto nell’ambito dei crediti a scelta libera agli studenti delle altre Lauree Magistrali.

Notes

Il corso avrà inizio giovedì 22 febbraio (12-13.30, aula Curini 2A).

Durante il primo incontro verranno illustrati obiettivi e articolazione del corso insieme ad alcune iniziative culturali che si affiancano alla didattica curricolare. Verranno inoltre affrontate eventuali criticità relative all’orario.

Gli studenti interessati a frequentare ma impossibilitati a presenziare alla prima lezione sono pregati di iscriversi al corso tramite Moodle in modo da essere aggiornati sulle indicazioni che verranno fornite in quell'occasione e di segnalare preventivamente alla docente eventuali problemi legati a sovrapposizioni con altri corsi.

Per gli studenti del CdS LETFIL, Storia del Teatro Inglese rientra nella rosa degli insegnamenti di letteratura straniera curricolare sia per il percorso monolingue che per quello bilingue; può essere biennalizzato dagli studenti del percorso monolingue. L’insegnamento è inoltre offerto nell’ambito dei crediti a scelta libera agli studenti delle altre Lauree Magistrali. 

Agli studenti di Storia del Teatro Inglese vierrà offerta la possibilità di partecipare alle sessioni dedicate a "Seven Jewish Children" nell'ambito del corso "On Stage" organizzato dal Teatro Verdi di Pisa (http://www.teatrodipisa.pi.it/formazione/fare-teatro/986-on-stage-dalla-scoperta-di-una-passione-alla-professione). Maggiori informazioni verranno fornite all'avvio delle lezioni.

Updated: 22/02/2018 15:40