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Unit of study_

MCGY5602: Opera and Society

2024 unit information

Opera has a unique capacity to capture the imagination by grappling with enduring cultural and social concerns. This graduate seminar examines opera's engagement with themes including politics, history, myth, sexuality, national identity, popular culture, film, otherness, social class and power, religion, and the supernatural. Selected operas engaging with these themes will form the basis of each weekly session. Students can then choose to focus on a selected area, or choose to offer a broader perspective for assessment.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Analysis, History and Cultural Studies

Code MCGY5602
Academic unit Analysis, History and Cultural Studies
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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None
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. take a critical approach to a wide range of operatic repertoire, considered as music, literary text and performative experience
  • LO2. demonstrate enhanced research, information literacy and writing skills.
  • LO3. apply a variety of analytical and critical methods to repertoire across a wide range of styles and periods, and apply these approaches to new or unfamiliar repertoires
  • LO4. think, write and speak critically about opera
  • LO5. articulate a critically informed understanding of major themes and concepts in opera as a cultural, social and performative phenomenon
  • LO6. communicate effectively with peers and with expert and lay audiences from a range of disciplinary and cultural backgrounds.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Sydney

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.