Four Decades of Theatre Studies 1975-2015
Date and time
Location
Arts Hall
Old Arts Building University of Melbourne PARKVILLE, VIC 3010 AustraliaDescription
Four Decades of Theatre Studies at the University of Melbourne 1975 – 2015
A symposium / celebration for alumni
In 1975 James McCaughey lead a group of scholars and a theatre director in delivering an interdepartmental unit in the study of drama. The program was part of an experiment within the Arts Faculty to create an interdisciplinary stream that also included units in comparative religion and peace studies for example. Since then drama, theatre and performance have been taught continuously in different modes up to the present.
The early years of that program were radical, transformative and interventionist in making theatre a serious field of study within the academy. Its students and those of its subsequent incarnations under Hector Maclean, Norman Price, Glenn D'Cruz, Angela O’Brien, Denise Varney and Peter Eckersall to name a few, have gone on to become leading artists, cultural workers, and critical thinkers.
This one-day symposium will celebrate the history of Theatre Studies at the University and trace the changes in the discipline within the academy over the last four decades.
1975: From Comparative Drama to Theatre as a Practice
1985: The Theory Moment
1995: The Creative Arts
2005: The Research Enterprise
Image left: Underground carpark, site for Prometheus Bound, directed by Peter King, 1975.
Image right: Systems garden, site for A True Garden by Eddie Paterson and Lara Stevens, 2015.
Organised by
The is based in the School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne. It aims to develop innovative research projects in the Australian arts and humanities across a range of disciplines.