PRFM1603: Semester 2, 2024

Units PRFM1603 Semester 2 2024 [Normal day]

Unit outline_

PRFM1603: Placemaking and Performance

Semester 2, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Using a range of case studies, including examples of local theatre and performance companies working in Sydney, students will explore the relationship between place and performance. They will learn techniques and theories of site-specific performance: that is, performance which creatively responds to built and natural environments, to contested histories, and to complex cultural politics. They will then apply those techniques to create their own site-specific performance works on University of Sydney campuses. Students will produce portfolios documenting the performance work they have created.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Theatre and Performance Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Ian Maxwell, ian.maxwell@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Ian Maxwell, ian.maxwell@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Performance Documentation and Exegesis Solo task involving documentation and explanatory portfolio	40%	Formal exam period Due date: 11 Nov 2024 at 23:59 Closing date: 20 Dec 2024	1500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Small continuous assessment	Journal Eight journal entries over the semester scaffolded through weekly tasks	30%	Multiple weeks	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	University places Utopian, Dystopian, and Heterotopian images #earlyfeedbacktask	0%	Week 03 Due date: 16 Aug 2024 at 23:59	30 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Response to readings A response to reading material in context of student's directed research	30%	Week 07 Due date: 13 Sep 2024 at 23:59 Closing date: 22 Nov 2024	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:

Early feedback task

This unit includes an early feedback task, designed to give you feedback prior to the census date for this unit. Details are provided in the Canvas site and your result will be recorded in your Marks page. It is important that you actively engage with this task so that the University can support you to be successful in this unit.

Assessment summary

Respond to a reading in context of directed research question
Work collaboratively to make a site-specific performance, and document and provide an exegesis of that performance
Make a series (eight) of weekly journal entries in response to prompt questions and tasks

Assessment criteria

Assessments will be graded using rubrics published on the Canvas site for this Unit of Study.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to unit. The key ideas we will be exploring this semester will involve place, memory, not-knowingness, and challenging the idea of 'empty space'.	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 01	Finding space. You will spend this first workshop exploring the place(s) around you, quite literally, as we go about the first steps of scouting locations for site-specific performances.	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 02	Country. What do we know about the place on which we are learning? What can we know? What are we unable to know? Why is this important?	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Finding place. We will undertake a series of mapping exercises in class, developing our understanding of place and our relationship to the world around us.	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 03	Utopias, Dystopias, Heterotopias. Setting out from a seminar paper by Michel Foucault, we will consider the ways in which places can be idealised, subverted, recreated.	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 03	We will collect utopian, dystopian and heterotopian places around campus.	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 04	Radical approaches to space and place (1): the general – devised performance	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 04	Creating performance scores: experimenting with Fluxus.	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 05	Radical approaches to space and place (2): the specific – ambulatory performance	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 05	The Derive: drifting, misrecognising	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 06	Working with space to generate performance	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 06	Performance skills workshop: bodies and space	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 07	Case Study 1: "Parragirls, Past, Present"	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Revisiting places: scouting and documenting locations .	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 08	Case Study 2: "And While London Burns"	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 08	Technology and place: working with materials	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 09	Case Study 3: "StickybrickS"	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 09	Collaborating with community	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 10	Site-specific performance: elements, ethics, and etiquette	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 10	Developing a site-specific approach	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 11	Performance preparation	Rehearsal (3 hr)
Week 12	Performance presentations	Rehearsal (3 hr)
Week 13	In class performances	Presentation (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board.

The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library’s reading list system Leganto, available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

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

LO1. demonstrate familiarity with key concepts in the scholarly literature on place-making and performance
LO2. in a group, apply selected practices to make decisions about, and to create, a site-specific performance work
LO3. be able to document, in a range of ways, that performance work, and the processes involved in creating it

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Refocusing of weekly journal tasks. Integration of new workshop content.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links