Drama and Theatre Arts BA (Hons) module details

Year one

Block 1: Body, Text, Voice

This module will introduce you to the ways in which the body and the voice can be used as key tools to interpret and realise performance texts. You will learn to work through the body and voice with greater confidence and expressiveness, alongside exploring ways in which to use both the body and the voice to pursue specific goals that are informed by the play and the intentions of the playwright. You will collaborate in dynamic and improvisatory ways on key scenes from carefully chosen plays exploring issues related to diverse cultures and backgrounds. The module also explores textual considerations and contextualising both the plays on which you are working and the methods you are using to realise them.

Assessment:

Creative Portfolio, 40%: You will create a portfolio of critical writings that analyse and contextualise key aspects of the work you have produced during the module

Solo Performance, 60%: You will be create a 6 minute performance creatively using the body and voice in performance

Block 2: Participations

This module explores contemporary Applied Theatre practice, considering the ways in which socially engaged performance can have a transformative and restorative impact on individuals and communities. The module will engage with community practice across different political and social issues, as well as considering the ways in which practitioners work with different groups of people in different settings. Drawing examples from national and international settings, and in relation to considerations of political, cultural, and social identity and diversity, you will consider how drama can be used as a vehicle for social change. With a strong focus on moral, political, and ethical decision making, and thinking about the ways in which we, as applied practitioners, interrogate key social issues and interact with lived experience, the module offers key skills for professional applied practice.

Assessment:

Oral viva, 30%: In this 6 minute viva you will be asked questions that encourage you to reflect upon your own working practices in relation to ethical and moral community working considerations.

Performance, 70%: You will research, design, and deliver a 15 minute group performance using experiences and materials gathered from engagement on a defined topic with a specific community group.

Block 3: Revolutions: Staging Texts OR continue with the route selected in the first year

On this module you will develop and demonstrate performance skills relevant to chosen theatrical texts. Analysing the structures, both linguistic and narrative, of play texts and performances, you will explore a range of critical and technical perspectives. Through workshops, you will engage in a practical exploration of the module topic through a range of tutor led exercises, consolidating your knowledge through creative practice and working collaboratively with others.

Assessment:

Solo Performance or Presentation, 60%: You will produce a 6 minute performance or presentation to demonstrate performance skills in relation to one of the two play texts studied with a detailed textual analysis.

Essay, 40%: You will write an essay to demonstrate analysing selected written work and performance theory from established authors and practitioners.

Creative Writing route - Writers Salon

Writers always learn from reading. Drawing on the tradition of the literary salon and writers’ salons in the 21^st century, this module provides a framework for you to extend your writing skills through an exchange of ideas and collaborative learning. You will reflect on how your reading can inform and improve your own practice as a writer. Areas for consideration may include voice, form and structure, pace and development, genre, language, and the relationship of writer to reader. Reading for craft will be introduced through core readings in poetry and prose and will draw on materials from a range of countries and cultures, including published work from writers of colour and writing in translation. As well as producing new creative work, you will be expected to work individually or collaboratively to host the salon, selecting material, leading discussions, and devising exploratory writing activities

Assessment:

Salon Host Micro-Teach, 30%: You will produce a word plan for hosting you salon and submit a short individual reflection on their micro-teach.

Portfolio: Creative Responses to Reading, 70%: You will submit a minimum of two new pieces of creative writing in response to core readings of your choice.

Education route - Childhood, Social Justice and Education

This module is an introduction to some of the important contemporary debates in Childhood Studies and society. The module will explore and evaluate the construction of childhood, the inequalities which surround childhood, and what it means to be a child in the UK in the 21st century. Drawing on a range of sociological and political conceptualizations of childhood and the many factors that shape our understanding of it, you will critically evaluate key issues impacting on childhood and how these issues are reflected in, or sustained by, or challenged by society. You will be encouraged to contest and interrogate your own thinking and assumptions about children, childhood and society.

Assessment:

Academic poster, 40%: You will produce 1 poster or a series of posters exploring a theme from the module chosen by yourself.

Report, 60%: You will write an academic report exploring a theme from the module chosen by yourself.

English Language route - Evolving Language

This module is focussed on the history and development of English from its beginnings to the present day and beyond. The module will examine theories about the origins of language, and use English as a case study to show how languages change over time. You will examine the history of English through the close study of texts chosen from the full range of the language's history; including early Celtic languages and Anglo-Saxon. The vexed question of language 'decay' will also be addressed and you will consider the various ways English is evolving in a globalised, IT-saturated world. You will examine differences between varieties of English spoken within the UK and globally and reflect on how such differences impact on communicative interaction.

Linguistic Report, 40%: You will write a report describing some linguistic data and its relevance to the history of the English language.

Group Presentation, 60%: You will deliver a fifteen-minute group presentation reporting on the findings of a small-scale research project on different varieties of the English language.

English Literature route - Introduction to Drama: Shakespeare

The module will introduce you to the playwright, William Shakespeare. It will explore textual production and the performance of plays in the early modern period. It will also examine Shakespeare’s meaning in contemporary culture by considering the continued adaptation of his work in other media forms such as novels or films. You will use examples of Shakespeare in adaptation to discuss key topics such as gender, social justice and (post)colonialism. In doing so, the module will explore Shakespeare’s significance to British culture, as well as his global legacy.

Assessment:

Coursework, 40%: Using digital editions of Shakespeare's plays, you will produce a reflection on a 5 minute class presentation.

Blog article, 60%: You will write a blog article on the adaptation of one of the plays studied on the module.

Film Studies route - Disney, Warner Bros and the Business of the Film Studio

You will develop your understanding of the historic and current operation of major film studios, by reviewing their releases, changing structures over time, and their practices today. You will explore the history of movie studios and the evolving business practices of studios, focusing on the activities of two studios, the Walt Disney Company and Warner-Discovery. You will discover the key activities carried out by studios, including production, distribution, license sales and marketing.

Assessment:

Preparatory exercise, 20%: You will produce a 5 minute presentation or written piece outlining one aspect of industry practice.

Essay project, 80%: You will write an essay exploring key themes of the module.

History route - Global Cities

This module examines the role of cities in global history, particularly the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. You will gain an understanding of the significance of urbanisation in modern history, and the development of cities as key sites of global trade and exchange of ideas. Topics covered may include sanitation processes and hygiene movements, city planning, migration, the slave trade, colonialism, sport and leisure, religion and the arts. You will be introduced to cultural and social history concepts and engage with different types of history, such as urban history, medical history, environmental history, visual and material history and migration history.

Assessment:

Presentation, 40%: You will work on one of the themes of the module, comparing how it developed in two different cities.

Portfolio, 60%: You will compile a variety of short pieces on cities explored during the module.

Journalism route - Understanding Journalism

This module introduces you to classic and new theories and practice of journalism, and the role the news media have in explaining and shaping society. You will reflect on the evolutions and the current state of the sector, and develop your understanding of global news debate and the role of journalism in shaping communities. Theories introduced include journalism and its role in society, theories of news production, content, and audience theories, and digital news theories. You will also dissect current events in order to understand how journalists have covered and responded to activism and social justice issues in the UK and worldwide both in mainstream media and social media.

Essay, 60%: You will select one question to answer from a selection.

Presentation, 40%: You will apply journalism theories to critically evaluating a news event.

Media route - Media, Culture and Society

This module considers a range of approaches to the study of media, culture, and society, particularly focusing on the socio-cultural contexts in which contemporary media operate on a domestic and global scale. You will examine the notion of 'culture' as a range of mediatised practices and explore the everyday significance of contemporary cultural and media forms.

Assessment:

Creative project, 40%: You will create a small creative project around one of the theoretical concepts covered in the module and present it to the class.

Essay, 60%: You will write an essay related to the themes of the module.

Block 4: Theatre Company: Ensemble

This module introduces you to ensemble theatre making with a focus on collaborative working. You will be introduced to a variety of case studies to help you identify different methodologies and techniques which will then be applied to the realisation of short scenes working from text or through the devising process. Workshop sessions will provide the opportunity to explore different ways of working practically. You will also explore how to market theatrical performance and how to manage the rehearsal process, whilst becoming familiar with how to research and understand the context of the work you make.

Assessment:

Portfolio, 30%: You will write a portfolio reflecting on your contribution to the rehearsal process and presenting your marketing ideas.

Performance, 70%: The 15-minute group performance gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your creative, interpretive, collaborative, and performance-based skills in relation to the specific demands of the text or chosen methodology.

Year two

Block 1: Engaging Audiences

You will explore a range of creative theatre-making strategies which invite audience participation or complicate the boundaries between spectator and performer. You will consider what it means to participate in performance as both makers and watchers and be introduced to relevant theorists, practitioners and methodologies to provide a foundation for your own practice. This module will deepen your understanding of the impacts and application of theatre-practices which intend to create space for audience engagement and involvement. You will also consider how performance can help us understand more about our identities, cultures and communities.

Assessment:

Performance, 60%: You will create a group or solo performance responding to the themes of the module.

Reflection, 40%: A 12 minute presentation or essay underpinned by research to contextualise methodologies you have applied and theoretical concepts you have engaged with.

Block 2: Making Theatre and Performance

This module will develop your skills in the processes and practices of theatre and performance making. You will explore a series of approaches to making theatre or performance through practical exercises, critical analysis of performance texts, theories, and contexts of performance making, and through independent research and development.

Assessment:

Performance, 70%: You will create a solo or ensemble-based performance demonstrating critical and creative understanding of processes and techniques of theatre making.

Reflection, 30%: You will take part in a 10 minute oral viva or write an essay reflecting on your role, approach and your evolving voice and vision as performance maker.

Block 3: Revolutions: Acting and Directing OR continue with the route selected in the first year

In this module, we will practically and critically explore key revolutionary moments in theatre history through close engagement with play texts. Through detailed study of the plays, we will examine what makes these texts important to our knowledge and understanding of theatre and performance and how we utilise this context and understanding in the delivery of live performance. The module will provide opportunity for us to develop our performance skills by learning new techniques for auditions, directing work, and live performance practice.

Assessment:

Solo Performance or Presentation, 60%: You will produce a 6-minute performance or presentation to demonstrate performance skills in relation to one of the two play texts studied with a detailed textual analysis.

Essay, 40%: You will write an essay to demonstrate analysing selected written work and performance theory from established authors and practitioners.

Creative Writing route - Story Craft

Narrative remains a tremendously powerful tool in all aspects of media, in marketing, advertising, gaming, as well as all aspects of fiction. This module will remind you why, and how, this is so. Main themes may include narrative arcs and structures, characterisation, pace, event, story-world, dialogue, clue-laying, revelation, and concealment, and means of involving the reader. The module will focus on storytelling and prose, looking at story structure, narrative structure, and drive, and how writers compel us to turn the pages. It will consider how the art of storytelling has adapted to its contemporary setting and the relationship between form and content. You will develop your understanding of the importance of showing rather than telling and of the capacity strong image has to carry emotional content.

Assessment:

Story Craft Proposal, 40%: You will submit a proposal illustrating your intended approachto story craft in your portfolio. Your proposal can be presented in a format of your own choosing, for example, PowerPoint, poster, Pecha Kucha, Padlet or webpage.

Story Craft Portfolio, 60%: You will produce a new creative work that applies the concepts of story craft studied in the module.

Education route - Preparing for Professional Practice

The educational landscape of the UK is changing rapidly and the range of graduate professional roles on offer is broader than ever before. This module is intended to support students who wish to go into both teaching and non-teaching-based careers. It will equip you to make informed, critical and confident Assessment:s of the opportunities, debates and challenges that are available to you. You will identify your personal strengths, areas for personal and professional development, and opportunities by which this development might be achieved. You will also gain the practical skills and reflect on the development of your professional identity and application of academic knowledge in practical environments. You will attend career guidance sessions throughout the academic year and have the opportunity to undertake a placement.

Assessment:, 100%: You will write a reflective report drawing on your own career interests, aspirations and background experience. This could include employment sector analysis documents, a high-quality CV, self-evaluation documents and evidence of completed, relevant professional development.

Education route - Cultural and Technological Transformations in Education

This module explores how technology has impacted education and learning. We will consider key cultural changes, for example, that we now live in the ‘digital age and how technological change has impacted on notions of children’s and young people’s media literacy, e-learning, e-safety and social networking. Many students do not have access to technology and you will consider the inequalities this perpetuates, as well as how technologies can create a more inclusive form of education for neurodiverse students and students with disabilities. You will also consider how technology can create empowering learning opportunities, through gaming, podcasting, wikis and virtual world platforms for all students.

Assessment:

Portfolio, 100%: You will work in pairs or small groups to create a portfolio exploring a topic from the module presented either as a wiki, website, or interactive Sway.

English Language route - Sociolinguistics

This module develops your awareness of the link between language and society and the issues that may arise from this link. You will explore topics such as the relationship between language and society, how English varies between regions and countries, the debate on Standard English, multilingualism and language choice, attitudes to language use in society, language and gender, language and class/age, language planning and maintenance, linguistic imperialism or a global language, language and societal problems and researching sociolinguistics.

Assessment:

Test, 20%: a one hour online test

Coursework 1, 20%: You will write a critical review of a text exploring the course content.

Coursework 2, 30%: You will write an analytical study of a theme, topic, or data set exploring the course content.

Project, 30%: You will work as a group on a research project exploring a sociolinguistic topic of your choosing and deliver a 15 minute presentation on your findings.

English Literature route - Text Technologies

Literary and historical texts have always come down to us in material forms - from stone and wax tablets inscribed with a chisel or stylus to being held as electron charges within capacitors on computer microchips. This module is concerned with how these material forms function and how they have shaped the writings we read. You will explore three topics: '‘Manuscript, writing up to the year 1500’, ‘Printing, 1440-2000’, and ‘Digital texts, the 20th century and beyond'. You will discover the revolutionary aspects of each of these developments in text technologies and how they transformed writing, its dissemination and consumption. We will consider such questions as how print disrupted and displaced manuscript culture, how the changing economics of textual dissemination affect what gets written and disseminated, and how reading is shaped by the medium in which the writing is embodied.

Assessment:

Knowledge-Based Tests, 10%: You will complete a series of short tests.

Case Study, 30%: You will write a case study reflecting on theoretical knowledge and practical experiences of creating a manuscript or a printed document.

Digital Project, 60%: You will use your practical experience of the creation of a digital resource to discuss history of text technologies.

Film Studies route - Screen Archives - Preservation, Conservation and Usage

In this module you will learn about the management and usage of screen archives. You will discover how to identify, approach and mitigate the threats that time and space pose to the preservation of film and media heritage for future generations, while also identifying and exploring the various purposes for which this archival material is utilised by a range of external stakeholders. The module’s hands-on practical evaluation of historical material will encourage you to consider: what can we find and study in film archives? How do we present these items to the public? Who is an archivist and who a collector? And what, ultimately, are the purposes and uses of an archive’s holdings and how can they best be served? You will benefit form learning in the DMU film archives, where you will observe, evaluate film ephemera and their broad historical and socio-cultural contexts.

Assessment:

Professional portfolio, 50%: You will write a portfolio reflecting on curatorial practices concerning archives and collections.

Exhibition materials and curatorial presentation, 50%: You will submit exhibition materials and a 10 minute curatorial presentation around an artefact from a screen archive.

History route - Humans and the Natural World

This module will examine how humans have used, adapted, represented, changed and explored the natural world through the sciences and medicine, sport and leisure, industry, religion and visual culture, among others. You will be introduced to a diversity of historical approaches, including the history of science, medicine and technology, environmental history, sport history and visual history.

Assessment:

Thematic essay, 40%: You will answer an essay question related to the themes of the module.

Podcast or video, 50%: You will choose to produce either a podcast or video of 5-10 minutes. You will work in pairs to examine one of the module themes and bring in primary source analysis.

Content notes, 10%: You will write to introduce your podcast or video.

Journalism route - Beyond news: Peace journalism and Opinion writing

You will explore innovative and constructive approaches to journalism, such as peace journalism, constructive journalism, and solution journalism, which aim to create opportunities for change through journalism. You will gain an understanding of practical elements of writing an entertaining, interesting and compelling first person opinion column, why these columns are more popular today in magazines and newspapers and write your own columns on your own blog. We will also look at review writing and the journalistic similarities here with opinion writing. You will be encouraged to find an area of popular culture they are interested in and review your experience of it, honing your work, practising techniques and styles, until your writing is up to industry standard.

Assessment:

Constructive journalism report, 50%: You will write a report including an explanation of chosen constructive approach, with analysis and proposal of constructive output.

Review and column writing, 50%: You will write a review or column.

Media route - Public Relations and Strategic Communications

This module introduces you the concepts and debates that underpin both the practice and the academic discipline of public relations. You will learn about the different strands of public relations, the industry structures and the tools used by practitioners to engage with their audiences. You will develop an understanding of mediated communications and the relationship between practitioners and journalists. The ability to practically utilise new media and technology as part of strategic communications will also form a key strand of the modules learning and teaching strategy.

Assessment:

Individual PR campaign plan, 60%: You will produce an online PR campaign plan from scratch targeting the UK audience. Your plan will be driven by global research and you will produce practical materials for the campaign which could be logo designs, posters, leaflets, press releases, blogs, websites, digital content, and any innovations with a rationale.

Group presentation and reflective report, 40%: You will deliver a 10 minute presentation as a group and write a reflective report.

Block 4: Theatre Company: Collaboration

You will gain valuable experience working as a theatre company, with the opportunity to stage a performance either from an existing script or work for a new audience. You will undertake the realisation of the production, from the initial research phase through to the final product. The module considers the individual’s role in ensemble and also as an individual performer and the relationship between the two.

Assessment:

Creative Project, 70%: You will create either a 42 minute ensemble group performance or a 20 minute ensemble group performance and a group script with individual commentary.

Professional Performance Practice 1

Please note: You must complete an audition to take part in this module. If your audition is unsuccessful, you will be required to select a different module from the offerings.

Professional Performance Practice offers you the opportunity to perform in an off-campus venue. Following a successful audition process, you will work with a professional director to prepare, rehearse and perform in a public production as a member of the PPP performance company. The module will enable you to develop your technical and creative skills in performance as well as your professional working skills in preparation, conduct and reflection.

The module requires a commitment to work in the evenings (production week) and includes intensive in block delivery. The module will be delivered on campus and at an external venue.

Assessment:

Performance, 80%: a full scale and full-length public performance

Reflective, 20%: You will write a reflective document evaluating your contribution to the rehearsal process and to the final performance.

Year three

Block 1 and 2: Choose two options from the below

Live Art

You will explore practices that challenge and push the boundaries of performance and be introduced to a wide range of experimental, interdisciplinary and experiential approaches. Discover artistic models such as painting bodies, body art, living sculptures and autobiographical performance, durational performance, conceptual art, and participatory practices. You will engage in a range of relevant methodologies and related critical concepts, as well as gain an understanding of the ethical and artistic debates that surround the work being explored. There is a strong focus on working as partners and collaborators to develop your practice.

Assessment:

Performance, 70%: You will create a solo or group performance that draws on the research areas explored on the module.

Viva, 30%: You will provide an oral rationale and evaluation of your processes and practice.

Staging Texts

The module asks you to engage in detail with decisions that might be (and have been) taken when staging plays. You will work practically on scenes and actively consider the relationship between staging choices and critical perspectives on individual texts. In examining decisions that have been taken in past productions, you will identify and analyse the traces that theatrical performances leave (such as digital materials, interviews, photographs, programmes, prompt books, recordings, reviews, etc.). Consideration of the partial nature of this evidence will prompt engagement with historiographical approaches and raise broader questions about performance analysis.

Assessment:

Presentation, 40%: You will collaborate on the staging of a scene or a selection of episodes from a chosen playtext and provide a rationale of choice made.

Creative portfolio, 60%: You will create an individual portfolio of work which explores the themes of the module.

Theatre Company: Production

This module enables you to gain valuable experience working as an ensemble and gives you the opportunity to stage a public production. You will undertake the realisation of a text or a devised performance using stimulus, from the initial research phase through to the final product. In doing so you will engage with a model of production process that aims to build on your understanding of theatre making, develop your performance skills and offer a further insight into textual analysis. You will engage with performance demands and the supportive tasks involved for a theatre company staging a work including technical production, design and marketing.

Assessment:

Reflective viva, 30%: A verbal critical reflection drawing on themes from the module.

Performance, 70%: You will take part in a 60 minute group performance.

Education and Performing Arts

This module will equip you with an understanding of performing arts education policy, pedagogy, curriculum design, and Assessment: in a time of educational, economic, technological and social change. We will explore the place of the performing arts in the evolving English education system and in the early years, through primary and secondary and special education. In particular, the module explores the potential of contemporary performance pedagogy within the sector and encourages you to utilise your own contemporary practice skillset as methodology for your project work. Throughout the module, you will be introduced to key arts education theories including aesthetic theory, experiential learning, models of creativity and multiple intelligence theory.

Assessment:

Practical 1 and 2, 50% each: You will develop a creative ‘pitch’ to a school or educational provider.

Revolutions: Performance, Identity and Activism OR continue with the route selected in the first year

In this module, we will engage with key revolutionary developments in theatre practice, considering how the staging and creation of work changes from a range of cultural and historical perspectives. Working with texts that demonstrate key shifts in performance practice, this module will provide practical experience of staging defining moments in theatre history. Considering how the chosen texts might connect with lived experiences, we will draw together our practical and theoretical knowledge to explore creative performance processes.

Assessment:

Essay, 50%: You will write an essay interpreting theatre and performance texts using primary and secondary courses to construct a coherent argument in response to one of number of essay questions.

Group performance, 50%: You will create a 30-minute group performance of one or more scenes from one of the plays studied.

Creative Writing route - Uncreative Writing, Creative Misbehaviour

This module encourages you to rethink the very premise of ‘Creative Writing’ as self-expression. Creative Writing is founded upon notions of ‘original’ composition, and the quest to find a ‘unique’ voice. The ability to generate new writing that expresses creative thought and reflects upon experiences is one of the enduring definitions of what it means to be human. But there is an alternative history of ‘Uncreative Writing’ that challenges these ideas and welcomes kinds of writing practice open to chance procedures, ‘conceptual writing’, ‘found’ and ‘appropriated’ texts, and experiments with artificial constraints. You will learn about the innovations of Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Oulipo, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E and Conceptual Writing. You will also explore a range of ideas, attitudes and practices that have been central to visual art, musical composition, mathematics, and Zen. Central to the module is a celebration of the importance of play and experimentation and you will rethink notions of originality, authenticity, authorship, inspiration, and self-expression.

Assessment:

Case study, 40%: You will create 4-5 separate experiments arising from techniques and methods explored in the module.

Uncreative Project, 60%: You will produce creative work that draws on the approaches, techniques, and procedures of the module.

Education route – Adult Learners and Lifelong Learning

This module explores the differences between adult education and adults in education, including Further and Higher Education and HE in Further Education. It will examine the theoretical and practical distinctions between adults and school-based learners and will provide you with an opportunity to explore possible routes for your degree beyond the primary sector. The growth and expansion of adult education will be discussed within the contemporary political context and the changed and changing FE and HE landscapes and the concept of Lifelong Learning and Employability will be explored in depth.

Assessment:

Essay, 30%: You will write an essay evaluating the relationship between political perspectives on the form and focus of adult education and the conceptual character of the adult learner.

Report, 70%: You will write a report exploring a single area of adult learning in particular detail.

Education route – Gender and Education

The module examines current debates concerning gender and education. It begins with the historically disadvantaged position of girls and women in education and examines the literature on this subject as it has developed over the past 20 years. The notion of equal opportunities is interrogated and the social construction of gender is problematised and examined. You will also consider recent debates on gender and achievement and the 'problem of boys'.

Assessment:

Presentation, 40%: You will deliver a 10 minute presentation exploring the themes of the module.

Project, 60%: You will write an extended research paper.

English Language route - Language and Identity

This module examines the complex role that language plays in the construction of identities in contemporary society. You will learn about a range of theoretical approaches to the study of language and identity, including performativity and intersectionality. These approaches will be examined in relation to various spoken and written data from domains such as the media, the workplace and online spaces. You will critically evaluate the role that language plays in the construction of identities and in real-world issues such as sexism and racism.

Assessment:

Report plan, 20%:You will writea plan of a report for feedback from your tutor.

Report, 30%: You will write a report on a specific approach to the study of language and identity.

Podcast, 50%:You will produce a 10 minute podcast on a topic related to gender and sexuality designed by the student, including analysis of original linguistic data.

English Literature route - World Englishes: On the Page and Beyond

This module explores a diverse range of ‘World Englishes’ or English-language literature from across the globe. You will develop your knowledge on the production of English literature in a variety of national, ideological, historical, or social contexts and examine examples both on and off the written page. The module focuses on the legacy of colonisation in anglophone and/or postcolonial nations, and the literature thereof. There is an emphasis on the interactions between text and context, and you will be encouraged to explore a range of concepts such as memory, nationality, class, ethnicity, and gender.

Assessment:

Blog entry, 40%: You will submit 4 weekly blog posts responding to one of the set texts discussed, comprising of either written word or 4 minutes of video content.

Research essay, 60%: You will write an essay examining several texts through a specific argument.

Film Studies route - British Cinema - Creativity, Independents and Interdependence

This module explores British cinema, its cultural specificity and its remarkable creative and cultural diversity within an industry-grounded framework, with a particular focus on the post-studio period since the late 1960s and developments between the 1980s and the present. You will gain an understanding of some of the creative figures, individual producers and production companies, films, cycles, genres and trends which have shaped post-1960s and contemporary British film. You will also discover the structural and cultural challenges faced by the UK film industry and the strategies UK filmmakers and institutions have deployed to bring ‘culturally British’ films to audiences at home and worldwide.

History route - The World on Display

This module explores the complex histories of collecting and displaying. You will examine the relationship between museums and history by looking at the origins of museum objects and the histories that shaped collecting practices. You will examine these which may include public history and heritage sites, the impact of colonialism and decolonisation processes in the formation of museums, as well as the effects of the emergence of academic disciplines such as archaeology and anthropology in the shaping of collecting and displaying practices.

Assessment:

Literature review, 40%: You will review and analyse secondary sources related to one of the module themes.

Online Exhibition, 45%. In pairs, you will work on an online exhibition related to one of the themes of the module. You will include primary sources and a final bibliography..

Critical reflection, 15%: You will write reflecting on the work you have done for this module focusing on the knowledge and skills you have learned.

Journalism route - Music, Film & Entertainment Journalism

This module will develop your understanding of music, film and entertainment journalism, its history and its cultural importance. It is a practical module designed to prepare you for a career as a journalists, PR or promoter. You will produce a varied multi-media journalism portfolio showcasing your ability to preview events and write reviews of gigs/albums/films/theatre/TV/comedy and other arts forms to industry standard on various media platforms, including digital, print and social media. The curriculum will include guest speakers, including musicians, directors, and working music, film, and arts journalists, to enhance the learning experience. Supported where possible with trips to relevant music venues, theatres, to speak to staff about media management and how their venues are reported by the media.

Assessment:

Journalism portfolio, 100%.

Media route – Gender and TV Fictions

What have women/those who identify as women contributed to the production of television drama and sitcom? How have women been represented within these genres in terms of their gender, class, sexuality, race and age? These are key questions which this module addresses by exploring British feminine-gendered fiction from the 1960s to the contemporary period. Taking an historical approach, this module contextualises key shifts to women’s positioning on both sides of the television screen in relation to broader cultural, economic, social and industrial change. You will feminine forms of British television fictions’ negotiations and responses to feminism, postfeminism, neoliberalism, postcolonialism and broadcasting policy.

Assessment:

Research portfolio, 50%: You will write a portfolio of research materials including a viewing diary, research notes and summaries of key critical sources regarding the writing and representation of screen femininities.

Group presentation, 50%: You will pitch an idea for a television drama or sitcom about femininities and gender politics.

Block 4: Final Project

You will consolidate the skills and knowledge gained throughout your studies in an individually negotiated project that further supports enquiry, skills development, or future employment in a chosen area. You can select either a written, practical, or placement project, with one-to-one support from an allocated tutor.

Assessment:

Viva, 30%: You will present your project idea to your allocated supervisor.

Final project, 70%: You will write an essay, produce a 30 minute performance or workshop, or produce a portfolio related to your placement.

Professional Performance Practice 2

Please note: You must complete an audition to take part in this module. If your audition is unsuccessful, you will be required to select a different module from the offerings.

The module requires a commitment to work in the evenings (production week) and includes intensive in block delivery. The module will be delivered on campus and at an external venue.

Assessment:

Performance, 80%: a full scale and full-length public performance

Reflective, 20%: You will write a reflective document evaluating your contribution to the rehearsal process and to the final performance.