B8702 - Anthropology of Performing Arts (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

Through this course, the student will: By the end of the course, students will: - acquire historical knowledge about the relationships between anthropology, theatre studies, and performance studies; - be able to recognize the anthropological value of performative phenomena, particularly in non-Western and popular culture contexts; - acquire basic methodological tools for anthropological research; - possess a general framework for anthropologically contextualizing performative phenomena

Course contents

The birth of theatre in Asia is, almost without exception, mythologically grounded. By framing these foundational narratives through an anthropological lens, the course will seek to reconstruct the connection between the respective cultures and the performative languages that express them. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Japanese case, from the performative elements of kagura – a variety of perfromances associated with matsuri, the ritual festivals of shintō shrines, often involving ritual actions such as the invocation of the deity—to the example of nō theatre. The perspective will be situated along the fault line between ritual and theatre, between myth and history, between actor and shaman.

Readings/Bibliography

-Victor Turner, Dal rito al teatro, il Mulino, Bologna, 1986 (o successive edizioni)

-Gioia Ottaviani, I fondamenti del teatro in Asia, Aracne, Roma, 2004.

-Massimo Raveri, Itinerari nel sacro. L’esperienza religiosa giapponese, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2006.

 

Not attending students will also have to prepare on a text chosen from:

-Allovio Stefano, Favole Adriano, a cura di, Le fucine rituali. Temi di antropo-poiesi, il Segnalibro, Torino, 1996.

-Azzaroni Giovanni, Sguardi sul corpo tra Oriente e Occidente. Studi di antropologia filosofica, Bologna, CLUEB, 2019.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Malaysia – Indonesia – Filippine – Giappone, vol. I, CLUEB, Bologna, 1998, solo pp. 273-388.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Myanmar – Thailandia – Laos – Kampuchea – Viêt Nam, vol. II, CLUEB, Bologna, 2000, solo pp. 273-388.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Tibet – Cina – Mongolia – Corea, vol. III, CLUEB, Bologna, 2003, solo pp. 101-256.

- Azzaroni Giovanni, Teatro in Asia. Nepal, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, vol. IV, CLUEB, Bologna, 2006, solo pp. 149-338.

- Giovanni Azzaroni e Matteo Casari, Asia il teatro che danza, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2011.

- Bettini Maurizio, Massimo Raveri, Francesco Remotti, Ridere degli dèi, ridere con gli dèi, il Mulino, Bologna, 2020.

- Bonetti Roberta, Natali Cristiana, a cura di, La pratica della ricerca antropologica. Strumenti e metodologie, Carocci, Roma, 2024.

- Bori Pier Cesare, Marchignoli Saverio, a cura di, Per un percorso etico tra culture. Testi antichi di tradizione scritta, nuova edizione, Carocci, Roma, 2004

- Casari Matteo, Teatro nō. La via dei maestri e la trasmissione dei saperi, CLUEB, Bologna, 2008.

- Matteo Casari e Giuditta de Concini, a cura di, Danzare il Nāṭya. Permanenze e trasformazioni del teatro-danza indiano, in Arti della Performance: orizzonti e culture, n. 5, 2015, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Dipartimento delle Arti e ALMADL, Bologna (free download).

- Alessandra Consonni, a cura di, ‘Cham yig, CLUEB, Bologna, 2008.

- Cuneo Daniele, Ganser Elisa, Pensare l’attore. Le fonti sanscrite, Unicopli, Milano, 2024.

- Guidi Alessandro, Lo Yueji. Il pensiero musicale nelle Cina antica, CLUEB, Bologna, 2005.

- Ruperti Bonaventura, Storia del teatro giapponese. Dall’Ottocento al Duemila, Marsilio, Venezia, 2016.

- Schechner Richard, Introduzione ai Performance Studies, CUE Press, Imola-Bologna, 2018.

- Turner Victor, Antropologia della Performance, il Mulino, Bologna, 1993.

- Zeami Motokiyo, Il segreto del teatro nō, Adelphi, Milano, 1987 (o successive edizioni).

Teaching methods

The teaching will be a balanced mix of theoretical and practical examples, in anthropological context, in order to allow all students to be able to reach the final target.

Assessment methods

During the lessons the lecturer will involve the students in an active discussion of the lesson topics. The exchanges will be addressed to bringing out any difficulties concerning the subject matter, but not to actually forming part of the final mark.
The final exam will consist of an oral test. The exam will be the chance for the student to prove his/her knowledge of the course books. Students attending the class may refer their answers back to the topics actually analyzed in class.
Students studying the course set books, especially the core text, should pay attention to the fundamental aspects of the topics and, of course, to the ways in which they are connected to one another rather than to learn by rote.

The exame will take account of the propriety and the adequacy of oral linguistic expression:

30 cum laude: excellent performance showing soundness of knowledge, rich discursive articulation, appropriate expression, interest of critical contribution;
30: Excellent performance, complete, and appropriate knowledge, well-articulated and appropriately expressed, with interesting critical contributions;
29-27: Good performance, more than satisfactory knowledge, correct expression.
26-24: Standard performance, essential knowledge, but not comprehensive and / or not always correctly expressed;
23-21: Sufficient performance, general but superficial knowledge; often inappropriate expression and/or confused articulation of speech;
20-18: Poor performance, sufficient expression and articulation of speech with significant gaps;
<18: Insufficient performance, knowledge absent or very incomplete, lack of orientation in the discipline, poor and seriously flawed expression.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives

Teaching tools

Performances videos relating to the topics presented during the course. Meetings with experts and artists

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Casari