Universität Wien

150024 PS Experimental Theatre in Postsocialist China (M2) (2022W)

The Avant-garde between Politics and the Market

6.00 ECTS (1.00 SWS), SPL 15 - Ostasienwissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Attendance of the first session on Tuesday 04.10.2022 is mandatory.

The SWS (Semesterwochenstuden) value of this seminar is 1 hour (SWS: 1.00) hence it runs in 2-hour slots over 7 sessions. Dates for all sessions will be announced closer to the start of the course.

  • Tuesday 04.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 11.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 18.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 25.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 08.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 15.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 22.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 29.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 06.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 13.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 10.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 17.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 24.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18
  • Tuesday 31.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Sinologie 2 UniCampus Hof 2 2F-O1-18

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The course explores the complex interweaving of culture, politics, and the market in postsocialist China through the prism of experimental performance. It focuses on avant-garde theatre from the early post-Mao era to the twenty-first century, examining its historical development, intercultural connections, and intersections with contemporary experiments in literature, art, film, and digital media.

One aim of the course is to present key authors, genres, styles, and approaches to writing, directing, acting, and stage design, highlighting their links to global cultural and artistic developments and examining the ways in which China’s performance cultures have changed along with changes in the social, political, and economic life of the nation in the transition from the socialist to the postsocialist era. Another aim is to examine the aesthetic characteristics and ideological disposition of the contemporary avant-garde both in response to historical trauma (e.g., the Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen Square) and in the context of the commoditization and internationalization of the Chinese cultural field since the reform era. The Beijing performing arts scene and the creative trajectories of leading playwrights and directors such as Gao Xingjian (the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Literature), Mou Sen, Meng Jinghui, and Wang Chong will be taken as case studies.

Teaching methods include contextual mini-lectures, text- and performance analysis, reading and discussion of academic literature, group and/or individual presentations, and individual written work. With the support of selected play scripts, audio-visual resources, and related scholarship, by the end of the course participants will have increased their knowledge of contemporary Chinese arts and culture, built a foundation in avant-garde theory and praxis, and enhanced their understanding of the role of contemporary experimental theatre in the history of Chinese and global theatre.

Assessment and permitted materials

1) Attendance (max. 1 unjustified absence), preparation of seminar materials, active participation (comments on Moodle Forum and seminar discussions, including online, with cameras on, in the event of remote delivery) 20%

2) Presentations (reading reports; text and performance analysis) 20%

3) Short presentation (plan of seminar paper with preliminary bibliography) 15%

4) Final written paper (10 pages) 45% Deadline: 10 February 2023, submission via Moodle

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The seminar is conducted in English. Core viewings such as performance video-recordings, documentaries, and interviews will be made available with subtitles in English, Chinese, or both, and secondary readings in English and Chinese will be provided via Moodle. Sinology students who take this seminar should be able to read and analyse Chinese-language texts such as excerpts of play scripts, production transcripts, performance reviews, and scholarly criticism. These students are also encouraged to reference Chinese-language sources in the final written paper.

Each seminar session consists of a brief contextual introduction followed by presentations and group discussions on the materials assigned for independent viewing and reading ahead of each session. Participant should take a collaborative and interactive approach. Regular attendance, preparation of seminar materials, and active participation are essential.

A maximum of one unjustified absence (one session) is allowed.

Participants are required to give regular presentations on the assigned reading and viewing materials. In the final session, they will also give a short presentation on their plans for the final written paper (with PPT, incl. preliminary bibliography).

Depending on class size, seminar presentations will be delivered individually or in a group. The short presentation is an individual presentation. In both cases, students who do not wish to present orally have the option of showing a pre-recorded slideshow or video presentation. Detailed guidelines will be given at the start of the course.

The final paper can either build on the content of the presentations or address a new topic chosen by the student and agreed with the course leader. It can be written in English or German.

All assignments must be fulfilled to attain a positive overall grade. The final written paper must be passed to pass the course, regardless of the partial grades achieved in the other assignments.

Late submission penalties: One full grade will be deducted for each week (or part of a week) of delay, i.e., up to 1 week: -1, up to 2 weeks: -2, and so forth.

Examination topics

Reading list

Cao Kefei, Sabine Heymann, and Christoph Lepschy. eds. Zeitgenössisches Theater in China. Berlin: Alexander Verlag, 2017.

Ferrari, Rossella. Pop Goes the Avant-Garde: Experimental Theater in Contemporary China. London: Seagull Books/University of Chicago Press, 2012.

Li Ruru. ed. Staging China: New Theatres in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Liu Siyuan, Kevin J. Wetmore Jr., and Erin B. Mee. Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900-2000. London: Bloomsbury, 2014, pp. 75–142.

孟京辉 【编】。《先锋戏剧档案》。北京： 作家出版社，2000.

Tian Mansha, and Torsten Jost. eds. 2018. Regiekunst heute: Stimmen und Positionen aus China. Berlin: Alexander Verlag. ISBN 9783895814792

*** A detailed syllabus and reading list will be provided on Moodle at the start of the course.

Association in the course directory

LK 410

Last modified: Tu 14.01.2025 00:15