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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : Scottish Ethnology

Postgraduate Course: Traditional Arts Workshops (performance) (SCET11036)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryTraditional Arts Workshops present specialist guests from a range of professions and subject areas to deliver interactive workshops for all traditional arts performers and facilitators on a range of relevant aspects of practice including traditional storytelling, dance, music and song, event production (e.g. festival), performance, creativity, composition.

Traditional Music Workshops aim to:
¿ Provide up-to-date knowledge, skill and insight for specialist artistry, professional practice and facilitation in the traditional arts
¿ Provide opportunities to learn, share and perform traditional arts repertoire (songs, tunes, stories, and dances)
¿ Develop participants¿ understanding and confidence in traditional arts beyond their own specialism
¿ To bring together the traditional arts of music, storytelling and dance in an environment of exchange led by traditional arts specialists
NB There are two pathways for this course: this pathway (performance), available via audition, and a standard pathway focussing on embodiment-level performance and specialist knowledge towards facilitation and development of traditional arts performance.
Course description Traditional Arts Workshops provide up-to-date expert knowledge and skill through participation, exchange, discussion and reflection. As part of the MSc in Traditional Arts Performance, this course is a valuable opportunity for exchange between the traditional art forms, to inform future practice and new avenues of exploration and creativity between art forms.

Participants will engage with ten expert-led traditional arts workshops. Through participation, discussion, independent practice and reflection, participants will build up a performance workshop folio of materials, recordings and reflections that explore current, creative and historically-informed traditional arts practice in detail. The course culminates in a short performance of creative work developed from repertoire and themes relevant to the workshops.

Specialist workshop leaders will vary according to the needs of programme participants. Tutors could include: Margaret Bennett (tradition bearer, singer and storyteller), Janice Mackay (award-winning children¿s author and storyteller), Mats Melin (dancer, choreographer and researcher ¿ IWAMD, Limerick), Aidan O¿Rourke (traditional musician and composer ¿ LAU), Mike Vass (SSSA Artist in Residence), Lesley Shaw (festival producer - Celtic Connections), Mairi Campbell (performer, composer, improviser), Specialist workshop leaders will vary according to the needs of programme participants. Tutors could include: Margaret Bennett (tradition bearer, singer and storyteller), Janice Mackay (award-winning children¿s author and storyteller), Mats Melin (dancer, choreographer and researcher ¿ IWAMD, Limerick), Aidan O¿Rourke (traditional musician and composer ¿ LAU), Mike Vass (SSSA Artist in Residence), Lesley Shaw (festival producer - Celtic Connections), Mairi Campbell (performer, composer, improviser), Donald Smith (storyteller, director, festival producer), David Greig (playwright, director, theatre-maker), Frank McConnell (dancer, choreographer), Donna Soto-Morettini (director, voice coach, theatre maker, performance theorist), Jacqueline Harris (storyteller, theatre maker), Karine Polwart (singer, theatre maker)
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Develop advanced theoretical, conceptual and experiential knowledge and understanding, and communicate this through written work and performance of traditional music, dance and storytelling
  2. Critically evaluate recent scholarship and practice within their chosen field
  3. Research, interpret, create and examine traditional arts performance
  4. Reflect on, develop and articulate their own traditional arts practice with a mature and individual artistic identity
  5. Demonstrate a range of skills associated with deepening their traditional arts knowledge, prioritising ethnomusicological and artistic research methods, collaborative practice, creative skills, dissemination, and communication
Reading List
Specialist materials will be provided/recommended by expert workshop leaders and additional sources will be recommended on commencement of the course.

A course-specific repertoire pack will be provided on commencement of the course to complement the specialist materials and aid preparation for participation and performance.

H. Bial, The Performance Studies Reader, (London and New York: Routledge, 2004)

R. Schechner, Performance Studies: An Introduction (London and New York: Routledge, 2013 [Third Edition, with companion website resources]

Textual, audio and video downloadable resources on the TRACS website: https://tracscotland.org/our-resources/

Archive materials in the School of Scottish Studies Archives and Special Collections.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills ¿ Critical and analytical thinking
¿ Independent research
¿ Handling complexity and ambiguity
¿ Creativity and inventive thinking
¿ Ethics and social responsibility
¿ Self-awareness and reflection
¿ Independent learning and development
¿ Decision making
¿ Interpersonal skills
¿ Verbal communication and presentation
¿ Cross-cultural communication
¿ Commercial / Professional / Situational awareness
¿ Assertiveness and confidence
¿ Flexibility/adaptability

Including the ability to:
¿ embody all of the traditional arts and develop individual expression through these
¿ identify and ask questions of their own work and each other in collaboration
¿ analyse, synthesise, critically and methodically appraise ideas and information, recent scholarship and practice to break down complex problems into manageable components.
¿ capability to evaluate information thoroughly; identifying assumptions, detecting false logic or reasoning and defining terms accurately in order to make an informed judgement.
¿ understand contextually relevant ethics and values, self-awareness, mental flexibility and openness, resilience and a commitment to life-long learning
¿ be critically self-aware, self-reflective and self-manage in order to fully maximise potential
¿ think creatively and manage the creative process in oneself
¿ collaborate and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen one's own views and aspects of practice
¿ be adaptable and manage complexity and self-direction
¿ be curious, creative, and take risks
¿ develop higher-order thinking and sound reasoning
¿ recognise and address ethical dilemmas, social responsibility and sustainability issues, apply ethical and their own/ethnological values to situations and choices
¿ learn how to deal with setbacks and failures and learn and develop from these
¿ seek and value open feedback to help self-awareness
¿ think independently, exercise personal judgement and take initiative
¿ succeed in a rapidly changing environment
¿ analysing facts and situations and apply creative and inventive thinking to develop appropriate solutions and responses
¿ be effective communicators who are able to read and write, present, listen, influence and network
¿ be an interactive communicator
¿ communicate and persuade orally and in writing
¿ articulate and effectively explain information
¿ have multicultural and global awareness and understand the diversity in people and different situations
¿ have a capacity to thrive in a globalised society and economy, and an awareness of other cultures
¿ have the ability to produce clear, structured written work
¿ have the ability to produce expressive and contextualised performance
¿ build and maintain relationships
¿ develop and use emotional intelligence and empathy
¿ work with people from a range of cultures and backgrounds
¿ plan, prioritise, and effectively use resources to achieve goals
¿ understand the importance of innovation and taking calculated risks
¿ understand the importance of drawing on historical and living sources
¿ to demonstrate an innovative approach to creativity, collaboration and risk taking
¿ work with people from a range of cultures and backgrounds
¿ follow another¿s lead when the context demands it
¿ demonstrate inventive thinking¿adaptability, managing complexity and self-direction
¿ effectively adapting emotions, thoughts and behaviours to environments that may be unfamiliar, uncertain and/or diverse
Special Arrangements Jointly taught with postgraduate standard pathway students.
Keywordsaditional,folk,Scottish,creative,performance,storytelling,music,dance
Contacts
Course organiserDr Neill Martin
Tel: (0131 6)51 1981
Email: neill.martin@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Charlotte McLean
Tel: (0131 6)50 4114
Email: cmclean9@exseed.ed.ac.uk
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