The Society of the Spectacle (P00435)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : LLC-P-P00435

This course examines different kinds of theatres that declare political and social critique as their foremost reason of existence. The influence of predecessors like Russian Constructivism and Brecht will be studied. Also the sometimes tense, the sometimes creative relationships between these directly political forms of theatre and other avant-garde forms will be examined. During the sixties and seventies the European Situationists, the Happening of the USA and Europe proposed new ways of relating spectacle to political action. This legacy will be studied both within its own historical context, and as a source of influence on contemporary theatrical practitioners like Augusto Boal.

Entry Requirements

? Costs : Purchase of essential texts as required.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

English Literature, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 2 hour(s) per week for 1 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

To become aware of the parallels between political and theatrical movements.
To draw parallels between the European and the US avant-gardes.
To examine specific instances of theatrical projects in their broader contexts.
To be able to identify performance conventions.
To identify these issues within broader issues of cultural theory.