Outline

Overview

What if all the world really is a stage? In this unit, you will learn key theories and conceptual tools for analysing the broad spectrum of performance events that lie beyond what is conventionally associated with the term 'theatre'. You will conduct original research, focusing on how performance (re)constitutes identity and (re)forms a culture.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Theatre and Performance Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000 level from PRFM including PRFM1601
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	PRFM2001
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Paul Dwyer, paul.dwyer@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Paul Dwyer, paul.dwyer@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Lillian Shaddick, lillian.shaddick@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Lillian Shaddick, lillian.shaddick@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research essay Essay	50%	Formal exam period Due date: 11 Jun 2025 at 23:59	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Early Feedback Task: Quiz on Weeks 1-3 Content Multiple choice and short-answer questions. (Multiple attempts allowed.) #earlyfeedbacktask	5%	Week 03 Due date: 14 Mar 2025 at 23:59	200 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Response to Key Readings #1: Goffman, Entwhistle, Butler Short description/analysis of an event, using concepts covered in Weeks 3-4	10%	Week 05 Due date: 28 Mar 2025 at 23:59	400 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Response to Key Readings #2: Wacquant, Bourdieu, Maton Short description/analysis of an event, using concepts covered in Weeks 5-6	10%	Week 07 Due date: 11 Apr 2025 at 23:59	400 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research proposal Outline for final essay, following a template	25%	Week 10 Due date: 09 May 2025 at 23:59	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = AI allowed ? = early feedback task ?

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

Early Feedback Task

This online quiz will be a gentle warm-up to the rest of the semester's work. There will be a comobination of multiple choice questions and simple short-answer responses, giving you a chance to show that you've engaged with readings and lecture content in the opening weeks of semester. You will be able to see answers to this quiz after you hit "submit" and can have another attempt if you want a better mark. If you fail to attempt or pass this quiz, you will be directed to university support services.

Response to Key Readings #1 and #2

For each of these two tasks, you'll be asked to briefly describe some features of a real world event, preferably from your own experience, and relate these to key concepts you'll be exploring in readings, the lecture modules on Canvas, and tutorial discussions.

Research Proposal

This proposal (1000 words) will outline your plan for an original piece of research, focusing on a "special event" that you will have attended, having selected this event earlier in the semester, in consultation with your tutor. Your proposal will follow a template provided on Canvas and it forms the basis of your final essay for the semester. Your tutor will mark the proposal and provide you with detailed feedback on how to develop your research in a one-on-one meeting to be scheduled in either Week 12 or Week 13. You cannot submit your final essay without having first submitted your Research Proposal and having discussed it in the meeting with your tutor.

Research Essay

Based on your Research Proposal, and the one-on-one feedback, you submit your final 2,5000 word essay in the middle of Exam Week #1.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

In this unit of study ALL Assessments must be attempted to pass the course. Detailed rubrics are available for each Assessment on Canvas.

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Exceptional work
Distinction	75 - 84	Work of a high standard
Credit	65 - 74	Work of a good standard
Pass	50 - 64	Work of an adequate standard
Fail	0 - 49	Does not meet satisfactory standards

For more information see guide to grades.

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

Except for supervised exams or in-semester tests, you may use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessments unless expressly prohibited by your unit coordinator.

For exams and in-semester tests, the use of AI and automated writing tools is not allowed unless expressly permitted in the assessment instructions.

The icons in the assessment table above indicate whether AI is allowed – whether full AI, or only some AI (the latter is referred to as “AI restricted”). If no icon is shown, AI use is not permitted at all for the task. Refer to Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks for this unit.

Your final submission must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of automated writing tools or generative AI, and any material generated that you include in your final submission must be properly referenced. You may be required to submit generative AI inputs and outputs that you used during your assessment process, or drafts of your original work. Inappropriate use of generative AI is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

The Current Students website provides information on artificial intelligence in assessments. For help on how to correctly acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the  AI in Education Canvas site.

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.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

If you are struggling to submit work or attend class please get in touch with the unit of study coordinator and your tutor before any assessments are due. If you submit work late without an extension or Special Consideration, then the university policy on late penalties will apply. Here is the policy: for every calendar day up to and including ten calendar days after the due date, a penalty of 5% of the maximum awardable marks will be applied to late work. (This penalty will be calculated by first marking the work, and then subtracting 5% of the maximum awardable mark for each calendar day after the due date.) For work submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date a mark of zero will be awarded. Of course, if you experience illness or misadventure, you can and should apply (before the due date) for a Simple Extension: this gives you up to 5 days of extra time to complete an assignment. If your situation requires more than this level of support, you should apply for Special Consideration. You'll find advice on how to submit requests for a Simple Extension or Special Consideration on this page: https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/browse.html?category=your-studies&topic=exams-and-assessment

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.

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	WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT "PERFORMANCE"? ONLINE LECTURE MODULE: Please note that all lecture content in PRFM2601 is delivered online and involves a mix of written notes by your lecturer, videos and links to other websites, PowerPoint slides and pre-recorded "mini-lectures". These lecture modules will be published on Canvas by 8am every Monday. You must work through this material before your Wednesday tutorial each week.	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 01	Thinking about performances as "special events", marked off from, but also related to, "everyday life". Looking at a spectrum from "small p" to "Big P" performances.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 02	SEMIOTIC APPROACHES TO MAKING SENSE OF THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE. (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 02	Using Gay McAuley's "schema for performance analysis" to generate interpretations of short sequences from theatrical performances. Thinking about the strengths and limitations of this semiotic approach to analysis, including in relation to "performances beyond theatre"	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 03	WHAT IF ALL THE WORLD WERE A STAGE? ERVING GOFFMAN AND THE "DRAMATURGICAL METAPHOR" (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 03	Getting familiar with key terms in Goffman's work: e.g. the "framing", "front" and "backstage" of social performances; using and critiquing his arguments about the presentation of self in everyday life.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 04	JUDITH BUTLER ON PERFORMANCE AND "PERFORMATIVITY"; IDENTITIES, BODIES, AND STYLE. (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 04	Debriefing a homework task on clothing, gender and performance; working through some of the grey areas in Judith Butler's theory of performativity	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 05	"BODILY CAPITAL" AND BODILY LABOUR: GETTING INTO THE RING WITH PIERRE BOURDIEU. (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 05	Close reading of how Loïc Wacquant and other writers make use of Bourdieu's concepts. Tips on selecting a "special event" and strategies for getting started on your research proposal.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 06	FIELD, CAPITAL AND HABITUS: MORE OF BOURDIEU'S "TOOLKIT". (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 06	Reviewing Bourdieu's "toolkit" and applying it to new examples. Tips and tricks for observing, documenting and writing fieldnotes on the "special event" you plan to research.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 07	PERFORMANCE AND RITUAL: REVISITING VICTOR TURNER'S IDEAS. (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 07	Review of key concepts in Turner's theory of "social drama" and ritual/ritual-like performance.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 08	"LIMINAL" OR "LIMINOID" PERFORMANCE AND THE AMBIGUITY OF PLAY. (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 08	Testing Turner's concepts against examples of ritual, ritual-like, or non-ritual events suggested by students. Strategies for finding relevant secondary research on the special events that students are planning to research.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 09	FIRMING UP YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL. (Online lecture module in Canvas, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 09	Writing exercises, beginning to develop extended descriptions and analyses from the raw notes that students will have taken on the "special event" they are researching.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 10	WRITERS ON WRITING, PART ONE: LESSONS TO APPLY IN YOUR ESSAY. (Online lecture module, available Monday 8am)	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 10	Writing exercises and advice on finalising the research proposal	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 11	WRITERS ON WRITING, PART TWO: LESSONS TO APPLY IN YOUR ESSAY	Individual study (1 hr)
Week 11	Close reading, and critique, of final essays by previous PRFM2601 students	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 12	Either in Week 12 or Week 13, each student attends a one-on-one consultation session with their tutor to get feedback on the research proposal and advice for the final essay. (The schedule for these consultations will be negotiated and made available through Canvas.)	One-to-one tuition (1 hr)
Week 13	Either in Week 12 or Week 13, each student attends a one-on-one consultation session with their tutor to get feedback on the research proposal and advice for the final essay. (The schedule for these consultations will be negotiated and made available through Canvas.)	One-to-one tuition (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: 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. Please contact your tutor if you are unable to attend the workshop for reasons of illness or misadventure.

All lectures are prerecorded. All lectures will be available on Canvas the Monday of the relevant week with tutorials on the Wednesdays (tutorials will not be recorded). It is expected that all students will attend their workshop having listened to the pre-recorded lecture for that week. There is no face to face lecture at 8pm on Monday mornings, this is merely a time table reminder that you need to listen to the lecture.

Tutorials are not recorded

All Assessments must be attempted to pass the course.

Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours preparation time (listening to lecture reading, studying, homework, reading essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction (2 hour tutorials = 6 hours prep).

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

Not all of the following readings are compulsory—some are supplementary to the essential readings, but they are often referred to in lectures, so we will list them here.

Access to all readings will be provided through the PRFM2601 Canvas site. Refer to the weekly online lecture modules on this canvas site for exact details on what you need to read by when.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977. ‘Structures and the Habitus’. In Outline for a Theory of Practice, Cambridge University.

Butler, J. 1998. Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory, Theatre Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 519-531

Connell, Catherine and Ashley Mears, 2018. Bourdieu and the Body, in The Oxford Handbook of Pierre Bourdieu, Thomas Mevetz and Jeffery J. Sallaz (eds), New York: Oxford University Press

Deer, Cecile. 2008. Doxa, in M. Grenfield (ed), Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, Acumen.

Dolezal, Luna. 2017. “The Phenomenology of Self-Presentation: Describing the Structures of Intercorporeality with Erving Goffman.” Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences, Vol. 16, No. 2.

Foster, Susan Leigh, 2019. Valuing Dance: Commodities and Gifts in Motion, Oxford University Press

Hage, Ghassan. 2013. Eavesdropping on Bourdieu’s philosopher, Thesis Eleven, Vol. 114, No. 1, pp. 76-93

Hochschild, A. R, 2003. The commercialization of intimate life : notes from home and work. University of California Press.

Garner, Helen. 2005/2016. In the Wings, Everywhere I Look, Melbourne: Text Publishing, pp. 218-227.

Goffman, Erving, 1959. The presentation of self in Everyday life, New York: Doubleday

Gornick, Vivian, 2002. Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative, Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York

Entwistle, Joanne. 2015. Fashion and the Fleshy Body: Dress as Embodied Practice, Fashion Theory 4.3, pp. 323–347.

Lewis, John Lowell. 2013. Chapter 3 Rituals and Ritual- Like Genres, Special Events and Everyday Life, in The Anthropology of Cultural Performance, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 43-63

Maton, Karl. 2008. Habitus. In Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, M. Grenfell (editor), Acumen, pp. 49–65.

Maxwell, Ian, 2015. My Big Fat Greek Baptism. In Performance and Temporalisation: Time Happens. Grant, McNeilly and Veerapen (ed.), Basingstoke, U.K: Palgrave Macmillan, Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Moran, Joe, 2018. First Write a Sentence, Penguin.

Robbins, D. 2008. Theory of Practice, Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, M. Grenfell (editor), Acumen.

Rossmanith, Kate, 2018. Courtroom Appearances, Small Wrongs: How we really say sorry in love, life and law, Melbourne: Hardie Grant, pp. 1-4.

Rossmanith, Kate, 2023. On Not Asking ‘Should I Insert Myself in the Text?’, Sydney Review of Books, September.

Turner, Victor W. 1982. ‘Liminal to Liminoid, in Play, Flow, Ritual: An Essay in Comparative Symbology’. In From Ritual to Theatre: The Human Seriousness of Play, pp. 20–59. New York : Performing Arts Journal Publications.

Turner, Victor, 1990. Are there rituals of performance in myth, ritual and drama?, in By Means of Performance: Intercultural Studies in Theatre and Ritual, R. R. Schechner and W. Appel, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 8-18

Wacquant, Loïc J.D. 1995. ‘Pugs at Work: Bodily Capital and Bodily Labour among Professional Boxers’. Body & Society 1 (1). SAGE Publications: pp. 65–93.

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. critically analyse the contributions of some key thinkers to the discipline of theatre and performance studies
LO2. apply concepts and methods drawn from the work of key thinkers in order to analyse a variety of performance events
LO3. applies theories of performance as a conceptual lens for studying special events that occur beyond the context of "theatre"
LO4. plan and execute a piece of independent performance research.
LO5. develop an embodied understanding of performance and events

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.

Modifications have regularly been made to the delivery of this course in response to student feedback.

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

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

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

PRFM2601: Being There: Theories of Performance

Semester 1, 2025 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

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

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