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AH4013: PERFORMANCE ART AND ITS AFTERMATH (2023-2024)

Last modified: 01 Aug 2023 11:46


Course Overview

Performance art broke the mould of what it means to make and experience art. Often referred to as the Live Arts, this encompasses live readings, costume design and installation, from the spontaneous to the durational. Foregrounding body and audience, the course explores performance art in all its guises as a political arena. Attention is given to theoretical texts that have articulated performance practices and their critical aftermath, e.g. photography, archival footage and fiction.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Catriona McAra

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)
  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Performance art occurred throughout the twentieth century in myriad guises. From the cabarets of Dada and the Ballet Russes to the DIY Happenings of Fluxus, performance art broke the mould of what it means to make and experience art.

Performance art is often political and controversial, whether as a feminist strategy or as a response to civil rights. Often aiming to push boundaries, the Live Arts utilise the artist’s own bodily matters (hair, tears and blood in the work of Carolee Schneemann and Ana Mendieta) as part of the medium.

As an affective mode, performance art can be durational and experimental, spontaneous and ephemeral, with photographs, archival footage and written reviews often the only historical evidence of its occurrence. This entails a precarious, archaeology to performance art, studied via eye-witness accounts.

With reference to feminist theory (Julia Kristeva and Hélène Cixous) and interspecies encounters (Donna Haraway), learning is underscored by texts that have shaped and articulated performance art. Fiction writing as a mode of reviving lost performances will be investigated. Opportunities to experience performance and archives are a non-compulsory element and will be partly subsidised.

Associated Costs

DescriptionValue
Possible field trip with part subsidy. Cost to students to be confirmed. GBP 0.00

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Visual Test

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 20
Assessment Weeks 12 Feedback Weeks 13

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Feedback

Students will develop their own questions in consultation with the course coordinator.

Written feedback and additional verbal with student as required

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDemonstrate a nuanced understanding of the media & purpose of the live arts, including but not limited to the development of costume design, the use of bodily matter & modes of political provocation
ConceptualApplyApply knowledge of performance practices to critically evaluate archival evidence and literary retellings
ReflectionCreateDemonstrate confidence in researching and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic

Tutorial/Seminar Participation

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 10
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Assessed on tasks throughout the semester.

Written feedback after presentation; in-person feedback on request

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDemonstrate a nuanced understanding of the media & purpose of the live arts, including but not limited to the development of costume design, the use of bodily matter & modes of political provocation
ConceptualApplyApply knowledge of performance practices to critically evaluate archival evidence and literary retellings
ConceptualEvaluateDevelop a critical understanding of feminist theories and their application to a range of primary performances

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks 6 Feedback Weeks 8

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Written feedback; in-person feedback on request

Word Count 3500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDemonstrate a nuanced understanding of the media & purpose of the live arts, including but not limited to the development of costume design, the use of bodily matter & modes of political provocation
ConceptualEvaluateDevelop a critical understanding of feminist theories and their application to a range of primary performances
ReflectionCreateDemonstrate confidence in researching and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks 10 Feedback Weeks 13

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Students will develop their own questions in consultation with the course coordinator.

Written feedback and additional verbal feedback with students as required.

Word Count 3500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualApplyApply knowledge of performance practices to critically evaluate archival evidence and literary retellings
ConceptualEvaluateDevelop a critical understanding of feminist theories and their application to a range of primary performances
ReflectionCreateDemonstrate confidence in researching and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseDemonstrate a nuanced understanding of the media & purpose of the live arts, including but not limited to the development of costume design, the use of bodily matter & modes of political provocation
ConceptualApplyApply knowledge of performance practices to critically evaluate archival evidence and literary retellings
ConceptualEvaluateDevelop a critical understanding of feminist theories and their application to a range of primary performances
ReflectionCreateDemonstrate confidence in researching and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic

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