Nouveau cours: HISTOIRE ORALE ET REPRÉSENTATION ARTISTIQUE

HIST 670A/870A/2 - Seminar A
Selected Topics in History (3 credits)
Seminar Subject: ORAL HISTORY AND PERFORMANCE I

INSTRUCTORS: S. High & T. Little (Theatre)
T 10:00 - 13:00

Stories matter. Students enrolled in these two-semester seminar-studio courses will explore the creative intersection between oral history, new media and performing arts. The twinned courses are divided into two phases corresponding with the Fall and Winter terms. Phase I will concentrate on the theory and practice of oral history. Students will examine practical and ethical dilemmas related to the field and design an Oral History project. Projects will involve completing ethics review and conducting two interviews: one to be transcribed, and the other to be transformed into a searchable database. Students will have access to the video and audio recording equipment and workstations in the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (LB-1042) as well as basic tech support. Student may consider working on an existing project within the Montreal Life Stories project (www.lifestoriesmontreal.ca).

Students are expected to enrol in both the Fall and Winter phases of these courses.

NOTE: This course is cross-listed with the undergraduate level courses HIST 481D and TDEV 498M.

HIST 670B/870B/4 Seminar AA
Selected Topics in History (3 credits)
Seminar Subject: ORAL HISTORY AND PERFORMANCE II

INSTRUCTOR: S. High & T. Little (Theatre)
M 18:30 - 22:30

Phase Two of this twinned course will build on the work done in Phase One (see above). Using the Oral History projects envisioned in the Fall term as a point of departure, students will engage in "hands-on" explorations of ethical and practical considerations relating to the use of performing arts and new media to create performance pieces that draw-on, incorporate, or otherwise engage with oral histories. Working in a studio ensemble "workshop" environment, students will have the opportunity to experiment with the relative power, immediacy, politics and social efficacy of various forms of live performance and new media: Storytelling; Verbatim, Solo, and Collectively-created Documentary Theatre; non-verbal forms such as Image and Physical theatre; and participatory genres including Forum Theatre, Legislative Theatre, Playback Theatre, and the Collaborative Community Play. Participants in the course may elect to participate in a variety of roles within the context of collaborative creation: as research/dramaturge investigating sociological and anthropological contexts for performance; as videographer/new media artist; and/or as scriptwriter, director, actor, or designer. The course will pay particular attention to the social and political nature of relationships between audiences, communities, and performance events that involve "difficult stories" — stories of violence, trauma, or human rights
violations.

Students are expected to en roll in both the Fall and Winter phases of these courses.

NOTE: This course is cross-listed with the undergraduate level courses HIST 481E and TDEV 498N.