Module Information

Module Identifier
TP26220
Module Title
Contemporary Theatre in Wales
Academic Year
2019/2020
Co-ordinator
Dr Roger Owen
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Exam 2 Hours   50%
Semester Assessment Essay  (2500 words)  50%
Supplementary Exam 2 Hours   50%
Supplementary Assessment Essay  (2500 words)  50%

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of several aspects of contemporary theatre practice in Wales, particularly in relation to the texts and dramatists studied on the module.

2. Demonstrate an ability to respond critically to the study material by assimilating scholarly work in the field in a 2500-word essay.

3. Demonstrate a specialized awareness and understanding of the kind of critical work that forms the context for studies of contemporary theatre in Wales.

4. Demonstrate an ability to respond to questions and provide concise intellectual arguments relating to topics relevant to the field of contemporary theatre in Wales by completing a 2-hour written examination.

5. Demonstrate an ability to reflect intellectually and critically on the work presented in the first essay when responding in detail to the set texts in the written examination.

Brief description

In this module, students will be introduced to a number of contemporary plays and to different aspects of theatrical activity in Wales through the medium of English and Welsh. The module will ask students to reflect upon contemporary theatre texts of different types, and to locate them in relation to an appropriate social context: it will also encourage students to adopt a critical approach to and perspective on contemporary theatre in Wales, and to consider how it compares with work from other historical periods or from different social contexts. Where possible, the module will also allow students to attend theatre productions and practical workshops presented by contemporary companies and makers, and to experience and question the makers of the work about its background, context and the specific techniques required to make it.
One of the main features of this module will be the fact that it is designed to operate as a bilingual learning environment which can offer students with various degrees of familiarity with the Welsh language an opportunity to study and/or be assessed through the medium of Welsh according to their own sense of their ability. The lecture material will be made available in both languages, and those set texts in the Welsh language will also be made available in English to those students requiring some level of assistance with or those unfamiliar with the Welsh language. As far as possible, seminars will be presented in the language of the student’s choice.

Content

​Lectures:
1.The Subject of Bilingualism: Gary Owen, Amgen: Broken
2.Constitutional Politics .v. The People’s Voice: Patrick Jones, Everything Must Go/ Sion Eirian, Yfory
3.Contemporary Identity and War: David Ian Rabey, Land of My Fathers/ Meic Povey, Hogia Ni: Yma o Hyd
4.Mythology in Contemporary Society: Kaite O’Reilly, The Woman Made of Flowers
5.Belief and individualism: Aled Jones Williams, Iesu!
6.Alternative Citizenship: Dafydd James, Llwyth/ Roger Williams, Saturday Night Forever/ Nos Sadwrn o Hyd
7.History and Historiography: Eddie Ladd, Cof y Corff
8.Translation and Adaptation: Wiliam Owen Roberts, Cymru Fach
9.Verbatim: Bethan Marlow, Sgint
10.(In) The Wake of the New Wales: Ed Thomas, On Bear Ridge

Seminars
The seminars will follow up the texts and themes discussed in the lectures.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number These specific skills will not be developed as part of this module.
Communication These sills will be developed and deployed as students complete a written essays and examination, and as effective argument and writing strategies are discussed in seminars. The seminars will also give students the opportunity to developed effective oral presentation skills.
Improving own Learning and Performance Students will be required to respond creatively and intelligently to the feedback received in their essay assignment when planning and researching material for the written examination. In addition, the students’ working practice skills and use of time will be improved as they prepare for contributions to lectures and seminars, and to the formal assignments. The process of developing these skills will not be formally assessed as part of the module.
Information Technology These specific skills will not be developed as part of this module beyond the Department’s general requirement that students to submit their written work as a word-processed document via Turnitin on the University’s Blackboard platform.
Personal Development and Career planning These specific skills will not be developed as part of this module, but a number of the transferable skills implicit in the learning and assessment which takes place as part of the module will be of use to employers within the creative and education sectors.
Problem solving These skills will be developed (through writing and orally) as students analyze the possible relationships between the set texts and their potential meanings in performance.
Research skills These skills will be developed as the lectures, seminars and written assignments encourage further reading and independent study of key concepts and developments in theatre theory and practice. These skills will contribute to the success of submitted assignments.
Subject Specific Skills Subject specific skills will not be developed as part of this module.
Team work These specific skills will not be developed as part of this module, but the seminars will give students an opportunity to work in groups to discuss the set texts and the contextual maters that arise.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5