Module Information

Module Identifier

TP36220

Module Title

Contemporary Theatre in Wales

Academic Year

2020/2021

Co-ordinator

Dr Roger Owen

Semester

Semester 2

Other Staff

Course Delivery

Assessment

Due to Covid-19 students should refer to the module Blackboard pages for assessment details

Assessment Type	Assessment length / details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Essay 1 (2500 words)	50%
Semester Assessment	Essay 2 (2500 words, self generated title)	50%
Supplementary Assessment	Essay 1 (2500 words)	50%
Supplementary Assessment	Essay 2 (2500 words, self generated title)	50%

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate critically-informed 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 to the study material by critically reviewing several examples of scholarly work in the field in a 2500-word essay.

3. Demonstrate a broad awareness and specialized understanding of the kind of critical work that forms the context for studies of contemporary theatre in Wales by applying and evaluating material and ideas from the modular reading list and beyond.

4. Demonstrate an ability to develop an independent intellectual position in relation to the module’s field of study and to evaluate the main aspects of that field by formulating a question (in consultation with the Module Co-ordinator) which will form the basis of a 2500-word essay.

5. Demonstrate an ability to reflect intellectually and critically on the work presented in the first essay when formulating the question for the second (self-generated) essay and when carrying out the appropriate research work towards it.

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 present two written essays 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 first essay assignment when planning and researching their second, with its self-generated question. 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 rule which requires students to submit their written work as a word-processed document via Turmnitin 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 and seminars encourage further reading and independent study leading to the generation of a personal essay title by the students for the second written assignment.
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 6