LNCE10517 Staging citizenship - art and democracy (Spring 2019)

Facts about the course

ECTS Credits:
15
Responsible faculty:
Faculty of Teacher Education and Languages
Course Leader:
Gunhild Brænne Bjørnstad
Teaching language:
English
Duration:
½ year

Table of contents

The course is affiliated to the following study programme

Optional course, relevant to school.

Required prerequisite knowledge

Higher Education Entrance Qualifications.

Applicants with Certificate of Upper Secondary Education from other than the Nordic countries can be granted dispensation from the requirement of proficiency in the Norwegian language on condition of documented proficiency in the English language, cf. Regulations for Admission to Study Programmes at Østfold University College, section 3.
https://www.hiof.no/studies/admission/admission-rules/regulations-for-admission-to-study-programmes-at-ostfold-university-college_#section3

Teaching semester

Spring

Content

Is society staged? In this module, students learn to interpret dramatic portrayals of society. Communities develop through self-portrayal and conversation. Using methods of applied theatre, students will analyse enacted interpretations and critiques of historical and contemporary case studies. Examples will include contextualized dramatic texts, rituals, and field studies in citizenship formation. Our approach draws on both social-scientific and aesthetic disciplines. The course will involve training in the method of applied theatre, together with readings in contextualized performances and work on case studies in the local Nordic context.

The student's learning outcomes on passing the course

Knowledge and understanding
The student

  • can recognize the relations between drama and citizenship;
  • is familiar with a selection of enacted interpretations in history and contemporary society;
  • can give an account of applied theatre methods of interpretation.

Skills including transferable skills
The student

  • can use methods of applied theatre to interpret critical portrayals of society;
  • can conduct and analyse democratic artistic processes in society;
  • can contextualise ritual and dramatic expressions and critiques of political situations.

General competence
The student

  • can develop a critical awareness of democracy as participatory practice;
  • can recognise and use artistic and ritual expressions as tools for enacting citizenship

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures, workshops, projects, assignments

Groups of varying sizes and individual work.

In and out of classroom, projects in society (in public sector, non-governmental organisations, private sector, schools and relevant institutions).

Workload

Approximately 20 hours pr week. May vary throughout the semester

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

The following required coursework must be approved by teacher before the student can take the exam:

  • Approved attendence of minimum 80 %
  • Attendence in practical workshop (3 days) on a given topic

Exam

The total assessment of the course will consist of:

  • Individual essay throughout the semester (approximately 3000 words) (60 % of total) on a chosen problem formulation. Internal examiners.
  • Practical group exam on a given theme (40 % of total). Further described in the semester plan. Internal and external examiners.

An overall individual final grade is awarded for the course using grading scale A to F. A indicating excellent and F indicating fail.

Both parts of the exam must be passed in order to pass the course.

Course evaluation

The course will be evaluated at the end of the course.

Reading list

Last updated 4th January 2019.

* = included in electronic compendium

*Austin, Philosophical Papers. Oxford: Clarendon Press, chapter 10 “Performative Utterances” pp. 220-240. ISBN: 9781298498199

Badiou, Ethics (tr. Hallward) London: Verso (2001 or newer) ISBN: 9781859844359

Badiou. The Incident at Antioch/L'Incident D'Antioche: A Tragedy in Three Acts / Tragédie En Trois Actes. Columbia University Press, 2013. E-ISBN: 9780231527736

Boal. Theatre of the Oppressed (tr. McBride, Mcbride and Fryer) London: Pluto press (2000 edition or newer) pp. 70-87. ISBN: 978-0-7453-2839-3

Bogart, Anne, and Tina Landau. The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. New York: Theatre Communication Group, 2005. ISBN: 9781559362412 Available onlie at https://stilluntitledproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/anne-bogart-and-tina-landau-the-viewpoints-book.pdf

*Eco “The Frames of comic ‘freedom’” in Sebeok, Thomas A., Umberto. Eco, Vi͡acheslav Vsevolodovich. Ivanov, Mônica. Rector, and Marcia E. Erickson. Carnival! Approaches to Semiotics; Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1984, pp. 1-10. ISBN: 3-11-084871-6

Fischer-Lichte, Erika., and Saskya Iris. Jain. The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics. London: Routledge, 2008. Chapters 2, 3, 5 and 7. ISBN: 9780415458559

*Harari, Yuval Noah, John Purcell, and Haim Watzman. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. London: Vintage Books, 2015. Pages 1-69. ISBN: 978-0-099-59008-8

Illich. Deschooling Society. London: Marion Boyars (except chapter 6). ISBN: 978-0714508795

Sauter, Willmar. Eventness: A Concept of the Theatrical Event. 2nd Rev. ed. Stockholm: STUTS, 2008. ISBN: 9789186434342

*Schechner, Richard. Performance Theory. Routledge Classics. London: Routledge, 2003. Chapter 4 (pp. 112-170). ISBN: 0415314550

Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Oct. 15, 2026 2:41:53 AM