Drama with Philosophy

By combining Drama (75% of your course) with Philosophy (25%) you'll have the opportunity to study Drama and Theatre as the major element of your degree alongside philosophy.

Choosing to study Drama at Royal Holloway will put you at the centre of one of the largest and most influential Drama and Theatre departments in the world. You'll create performances, analyse texts, and bring a range of critical ideas to bear on both. On this course the text and the body, thinking and doing, work together. There's no barrier between theory and practice: theory helps you understand and make the most of practice, while practice sheds light on theory. By moving between the two, you'll find your place as an informed theatre-maker, and by studying a variety of practices, by yourself and with others, you'll get knowledge of the industry as a whole, and learn how your interests could fit into the bigger picture.

We are top-rated for teaching and research, with a campus community recognised for its creativity. Our staff cover a huge range of theatre and performance studies, but we're particularly strong in contemporary British theatre, international and intercultural performance, theatre history, dance and physical theatre, and contemporary performance practices.

At Royal Holloway we have a unique approach to Philosophy that looks beyond the narrow confines of the Anglo-American analytic or the European tradition of philosophy focus on both traditions, their relationship and connections between them. The result has been the creation of a truly interdisciplinary and collaborative programme that brings together academic staff from departments across the university.

With the opportunity to examine (amongst other things) the mind and consciousness, aesthetics and morals, the self and others, the range of subjects available to Philosophy students at Royal Holloway guarantees that there will be something on offer that really engages you during your time with us.

• Philosophy makes up one quarter of your degree.

• A choice of Drama modules, including some that encompass film and dance.

• A variety of Philosophy modules, from ‘Aesthetics and morals’ to ‘The self and others.’

• Assessment by coursework, performance and written exams.

• Explore how both mind and body work together.

Course Modules

Year 1

You will take the following modules in Drama:

• Theatre and Performance Making 1

• Theatre and Text 1

• Problems of Knowledge

Year 2

• Introduction to European Philosophy 1: Kant to Hegel

• Mind and World

Year 3

• All modules are optional

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

Optional modules in Drama may include:

• Theatre and Culture 1

• Theatre and Ideas 1

• Introduction to Logic

• Mind and Consciousness

• Introduction to Aesthetics and Morals

Year 2

• Theatre and Performance Making: Devising

• Theatre and Performance Making: Theatre Directing

• Theatre and Performance Making: Acting for Camera

• Theatre and Performance Making: Dance and Theatre

• Theatre and Performance Making: Scenography

• Theatre and Text: Staging the Real

• Theatre and Text: Decoding debbie tucker green

• Shakespeare, Ecology and Performance

• Theatre and Culture: Theatre for Young Audiences

• Theatre and Culture: Cultures of Memory

• Dancing Bodies, Global Culture

• Theatre and Ideas: Ideas of Gender and Sexuality

• Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Tragedy

• Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Adaptation

• Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of the Musical

• Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Acting

• Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Money

• Theatre and Ideas: The Idea of Casting

Year 3

• Love, Gender and Sexuality

• Race Relations in Theatre, Film and Television

• Shakespeare

• Naturalist Theatre in Context

• Creative Learning and Theatre

• Physical Theatre

• Shakespeare on Camera

• The Actor's Voice

• Actor Training in a Globalised World

• Final Year Project - Special Study

• Final Year Project - Dissertation

• Taught Dissertation

• Philosophy Dissertation

• Modern European Philosophy 1: Husserl to Heidegger

• Modern European Philosophy 2: Critical Theory and Hermeneutics

• The Varieties of Scepticism

• The Philosophy of Religion

• Philosophy and Literature

• The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/drama-theatre-and-dance/drama-with-philosophy/

Each year you will take three course units in Drama and one in Philosophy.

The course has a modular structure, whereby students take 12 course units at the rate of four per year. Some course units are compulsory, while others are elective, thereby offering flexibility and some choice.

You'll be taught through a combination of lectures, seminar/workshops, and for Drama, presentation of your research and practical experimentation, with or without written texts. IT applications are used to explore many aspects of the subject, and we support your capability in this area through an Information Technology Skills course. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle. Academic staff hold regular drop-in consultation sessions with students and, when you start with us, you will be assigned a Personal Tutor to support you academically and personally.

Assessment methods match the course content. For most course units, you will be assessed on pieces of work, usually an essay, or assignment such as a seminar presentation or a performance. You will sometimes be assessed as part of a group. The Philosophy part of the degree operates examinations, though Drama does not.

You will also take a study skills course during your first year, designed to equip you with and enhance the writing skills you will need to be successful in your degree. This course does not count towards your final degree award but you are required to pass it to progress to your second year.

The results of your first year qualify you to progress to the second year but do not contribute to your final degree award. The second and final year results do contribute to the final degree result, with the final year work counting double that of the second year.

All undergraduate degree courses at Royal Holloway are based on the course unit system. This system provides an effective and flexible approach to study, while ensuring that our degrees have a coherent and developmental structure.