Programme Specifications

History

September 2023

• • To empower students to become articulate practitioners and creative thinkers; self-reflexive and analytical; able to communicate and account for their aesthetic interests and choices; curious about research and the exploration of theory; eager to participate in intellectual debate.

  • To provide students with key forms of theoretical and practical knowledge necessary for an understanding of drama, theatre and performance as related sites of study, thought and creative practice.

  • To encourage the academic examination of a broad range of forms and genres of drama, theatre and performance, looking through and beyond historic paradigms to explore and understand the development of contemporary practices.

  • To develop methodologies for critically analysing a wide range of dramatic, theatrical and performative texts and practices, both historic and contemporary, contextualising a knowledge of these within relevant historical, aesthetic and socio-political conditions.

  • To examine ways in which drama, theatre and performance are constructed, disseminated and received.

  • To develop and employ distinctive pedagogical approaches - both practical (practice as research) and theoretical (analytic, historical, critical, contextual) - which utilise the particular cultural and geographical resources of Aberystwyth - its landscape, language and history - and which value its characteristic physical, social and cultural ecology; to utilise the particular material assets of Aberystwyth as a creative stimulus.

  • To draw upon traditions of experimental theatre-making, particularly devised performance and site-specific work, which have been developed in Wales.

  • To provide students with the opportunities and conditions for experiential and reflective learning, encouraging practical initiatives in conceiving theatre and performance and the acquisition of embodied knowledge.

  • To enhance the development of personal intellectual skills (of research and analysis) necessary for independent and collaborative research in both academic and creative contexts.

  • To enhance the development of interpersonal and teamwork skills for independent and collaborative research in both academic and creative contexts, to deadlines and under pressure, with flexibility, imagination, self-motivation and organization.

  • To enhance the development of communication skills, enabling students to express themselves coherently, imaginatively and persuasively in writing, performance and interactive media

  • To provide students with a sufficient range of intellectual, creative, practical and transferable skills and experiences, to make informed career choices.

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other  attributes in the following areas:

• A1 Drama, theatre and performance as related key concepts and sites of study, thought and creative practice.

  A2 A range of dramatic, theatrical and performative texts, practices and genres from various historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts and genealogies.

  A3 A range of key theatre and performance practitioners and practices, including theorists, writers, directors, designers, actors and critics and text-based, body and movement-based, image-based and site-based practices from a variety of performative, aesthetic and cultural traditions.

  A4 The processes, methodologies and strategies by which drama, theatre and performance are created and realised.

  A5 The ramifications of social, cultural, political and historical context upon the nature, form, function, circulation and reception of drama, theatre and performance

  A6 Debates about the social, political and aesthetic function of drama, theatre and performance

  A7 The impact of past traditions and paradigms on contemporary theatre and performance practice.

  A8 Key contemporary trends in drama, theatre and performance practice.

  A9 Critical perspectives on drama, theatre and performance and the interplay between practice and theory.

  A10 The ramifications of cultural and geographic context upon dramaturgy and techniques of exposition.

  A11 Personal responsibility for working within defined parameters, structures and resources to achieve creative outcomes; the importance of health and safety in the working environment

• A1 Knowledge and understanding of human societies in the past through the study of a range of historical periods and themes in more than one country, and in different cultural contexts

• A2 The ability to frame historical questions, and to search for and locate appropriate secondary and primary evidence in diverse forms, including the electronic.

• A3 The ability to read and use, critically and empathetically, a range of secondary texts and primary sources

• A4 The appreciation of the complexity and diversity of situations, events and ways of thinking in the past.

• A5 The understanding of the difficulties inherent in historical interpretation, and the means whereby historians deal with ambiguity, incomplete evidence and differences of viewpoints

• A6 The appreciation of the basic critical skills of the historian in establishing and using rules of evidence and testing the validity of statements by developing a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to produce and interpret historical knowledge

• A7 Intellectual independence in the setting and solving of problems, the acquisition of bibliographical skills, the ability to gather, sift, select, organise and synthesise historical evidence, and the ability to formulate appropriate questions and to provide answers to them using valid and relevant evidence and argument.

• A8 Reflexive and critical awareness of the forces of historical change and the ways in which they are explained in historiographical debates

• A9 The marshalling of lucid and coherent arguments in written and oral forms.

• A10 The ability to listen and to respond to the arguments of others.

• A11 The understanding of the social value of History, and the fostering of a life-long enjoyment of History as a subject.

Learning/teaching methods and strategies:

Acquisition of 1 is through lectures, seminars (which include formal presentations, directed and student-led discussions), assessed coursework and individual essay tutorials. Additional support is provided by the resources of the University Library and the National Library of Wales. Acquisition of 2-11 is through a combination of Option and Survey modules with a range of skills and historiographical modules in Year 2 and Special Subject, Dissertation and general Historical Problems modules in Year 3. Throughout, learners are required to consolidate and broaden their knowledge by means of independent reading.

Assessment:

Assessment is by coursework (1, 3, 4-9), for which learners are offered regular feed-back, and by a combination of closed unseen examinations (1, 4-10), take-away examination (8) and where appropriate, projects (6) and dissertation (1-9). Trials are currently being conducted for oral assessment by means of formal presentations (9).

• 10.2.1 Intellectual skills
  
  By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

  B1 The ability to identify, describe, interpret and discuss critically a range of theatre and performance events and practices from various historical and artistic contexts and genealogies at an appropriate level both on paper and through oral means.

  B2 The ability to understand the interplay between theory and practice in the academic study of drama, theatre and performance, its practices and practitioners.

  B3 The ability to analyse, interpret and evaluate the structure and staging of theatre and performance as aesthetic events within a variety of stylistic conventions and genres and from a range of critical and theoretical perspectives.

  B4 The ability to read and interpret performance texts from a range of critical perspectives.

  B5 The ability to demonstrate an intelligent awareness of the repercussions of social and cultural context upon the form and function of drama, theatre and performance.

  B6 The ability to work effectively in group settings to develop, rehearse and produce performances of various genres.

  B7 The ability to embody and sustain intellectual argument through written, live or mediated presentation, demonstrating the requisite communication skills.

  B8 The ability to formulate and implement individual research, drawing upon and selecting from a wide range of information sources to undertake independent enquiry.

  B9 The ability to effectively notate and document workshops and procedures of development, rehearsal and performance.

  Learning and Teaching:

  Teaching methods will include: lectures, demonstrations, seminars, tutorials, and practical workshops. Learning methods will include: structured academic reading; close discussion of topics guided by reading; research exercises, analytic exercises; production exercises; group projects.
  Teaching and learning is via practical workshops, small-group seminars, lectures, production projects and group based project work. Teaching is frequently mixed-mode, interrogating theory through practical investigation and practice through the lens of various theoretical perspectives.
  

  Assessment:

  Assessment methods will include: written and practical examinations, critical and creative portfolios, practical productions, seminar presentations, group activities, and a dissertation. Increasing emphasis will be placed in teaching, learning and assessment methods on students’ independence and self-management of their own learning as they progress through the degree.

  10.2.1 Professional practical skills (where appropriate)

  The programme does not purport to offer professional theatre training. However, graduates will, in the normal course of study, encounter modules which teach fundamental performance production and theatre design skills. These will include the following: acting, lighting, design, set, scenography and technical theatre.

  At the same time students will be encouraged to think creatively and to produce practical work that reflects current experimental trends in which theatre is seen as a component of an inter-disciplinary network of different artistic practices. To this end students will be asked to think about performance writing, choreography, and the use of digitalised images and other new media forms.

• B1 engage with the complexity and diversity of the subject

• B2 reason critically

• B3 apply historical methods and concepts

• B4 demonstrate independence of mind

• B5 communicate knowledge and ideas to others, in written and spoken forms

• C1 search out, sift, assimilate and deploy bodies of historical evidence from a variety of sources

• C2 demonstrate self-discipline in time-management and an ability to work both independently and collaboratively

• C3 read secondary sources critically

• C4 analyse primary sources in complex ways, including an ability to establish their provenance, analyse their content and language, and cross-reference them with other primary and secondary sources

• By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to:

  D1 Apply creative, imaginative and problem-solving skills in a variety of theoretical and practical situations

  D2 Research, evaluate, synthesize and organise information independently and critically.

  D3 Structure and communicate ideas effectively in a variety of situations and using a variety of oral, written, visual, and performative means.

  D4 Develop effective time management, managing workloads effectively and operating within available budgets, resources and deadlines.

  D5 Work responsibly, constructively and creatively in group contexts.

  D6 Work creatively under the guidance of others.

  D7 Work independently, taking the initiative where appropriate.

  D8 Respond positively to constructive feedback and criticism and to be sensitive in offering feedback and criticism to others.

  D9 Be self-motivated and self-disciplined, displaying a capacity for self-assessment and self-criticism and management of stress in a variety of work contexts.

  D10 Use a range of information technology skills and resources.

  Teaching and Learning:

  Teaching methods will include: lectures, demonstrations, seminars, tutorials, and practical workshops. Learning methods will include: structured academic reading; close discussion of topics guided by reading; research exercises, analytic exercises; production exercises; group projects.

  Assessment:

  Assessment methods will include: written and performed, written and practical examinations, critical and creative portfolios, practical productions, seminar presentations, group activities, and a dissertation. Increasing emphasis will be placed in teaching, learning and assessment methods on students’ independence and self-management of their own learning as they progress through the degree.

• D1 demonstrate initiative, self-direction and self-motivation

• D2 demonstrate flexibility and independence of mind

• D3 demonstrate effective presentation and communication skills, orally and in writing

• D4 manage time and work to deadlines

• D5 search for and locate information in a wide variety of sources

• D6 contextualise, evaluate and cross-reference diverse forms of (often incomplete) information

• D7 work constructively in groups, and to assess the value and relevance of the ideas and arguments of others.