Dramatic Arts

This course introduces students to a variety of strategies for approaching a selected play text through performance. The course includes a study of the theatrical and non-theatrical documents relating to the play, the playwright, and the cultural context in which the play was produced. Where appropriate, students may study other representations of the play and the playwright in theatre, cinema, radio, and television, for example. Towards the end students develop a performance project based on the play.

The course examines the meanings produced by costume in theatre, and film and fashion in the media and everyday life. It explores the relationship between clothing and performance historically and today. It considers how costume and fashion construct class, gender identity and sexual identity, and race. It interrogates the fashion industry's relationship with colonial histories and with questions of ecology and sustainability. It offers students the opportunity to create a costume design portfolio and to bring their own interests in costume and fashion into conversation with theoretical questions of subjectivity.

The interwar years (1918-1939), while dealing with the aftermath of hitherto unknown mass destruction and the advent of totalitarian systems, were nevertheless characterized by an exceptional vibrancy across various fields of cultural activity - music, theatre, and the fine arts. This course discusses and evaluates these practices in various national contexts and in relation to a number of critical approaches. 

The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the basic history, philosophy, methodologies, and practice of drama in the field of Education. Through the study of history, philosophy and practice of each practitioner, the course explores the potential of drama as a tool of diverse learning. Along with theoretical study, students will be exposed to hands-on exercises and techniques of “Educational Drama.” By the end of the course, a widened knowledge and perspective of the possibility of educational drama will be acquired.  

During the first four weeks, students will be exposed to many readings and a variety of drama techniques and methods to prepare for the design, implementation, and evaluation of drama activities. After this period, students will be divided into groups where they will be assigned a drama practitioner; create a lesson plan and conduct a drama. The whole class will reflect upon this activity at the end of the course.  

The course lays foundations in performance studies, introducing key concepts, theories and approaches. These are supplemented by seminars to focus on critical and textual analysis and small group tutorials. Students are introduced to a range of performance forms and methods of analysis. 

This course introduces performance studies and provides the analytical and methodological tools necessary for research on the ways various performance practices constitute public spaces. It introduces the concept of performance understood as an embodying practice, including everyday performances (self-representations, individual activities, daily interactions), civic performances (speech acts, protests, social movements), and artistic performances (theatre, dance, music, artivism), and the concept of public space, including a smooth public space (a space of peace, harmony, consensus) and a striated public space (a space of confrontation, disharmony, dissensus). The course studies how different performances are constructed, how they constitute public spaces, and, consequently, how they produce social, political, and cultural effects. In providing insight into various performance practices, performance theory, political theory, and art studies, this course appeals to students interested in developing the theoretical tools necessary for the study of the significance of performance practices in shaping public actions, discourses, representations, and opinions. Through a combination of close reading of texts, lectures, discussions, video projections and assignments, the course analyzes selected performances both in group and individually. Reflective discussions about selected texts and performances are designed to maximize student input and participation. Equipped with analytical skills, students learn to assess how performances can challenge and reshape public space.

This course combines a critical historical overview of arts criticism with its practical application. It enables students to build a portfolio of different forms of critical writing, tailored to different potential readerships and a variety of publication formats across different media, e.g., in print or via the web. It also encourages students to engage critically with a broad range of live performance.

This course provides an opportunity to participate in theatrical improvisation activities to develop oral skills. It practices expressing oneself in communication situations and learning to adapt to the context. The course includes guided improvisation and writing short dialogues around acts of staged speech. It facilitates development of oral skills through theatrical play; adapting to different communication situations (levels of language, sociocultural codes); learning about writing theatrical dialogue; and discovering French theater and theatrical techniques.