The teaching module offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) Introduction to Drama has been successfully selected by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China as the second batch of National Level First Class Undergraduate Module. It is the first module in FHSS that has received such an honour.

Introduction to Drama is a module for second-year students from the School of Education and English in FHSS. It aims to help students understand how drama functions as a medium of performance to present information to others in a shared space. The module includes an analysis of classic plays such as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Chinese drama The Donkey, as well as the study of special categories of drama such as realist plays such as A Doll’s House to develop students' ability to identify and analyse the various factors that constitute a dramatic performance.

In addition, the module also aims to develop student’s creativity, encourage them to develop directorial plans to adapt and put theatrical performances into practice. During the learning process, students adapt some animated scripts, movies, and Chinese legends into drama and perform them. Students’ performance practice takes place in professional rehearsal rooms, and are guided by experienced theatre practitioners.

The module is convened by Dr Derek Irwin, Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience, who has been teaching the module for six years. “I combine the advanced practices of the University of Nottingham and the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, and keep innovating. I am pleased to see the increasing popularity of the module and that more and more students are participating in drama activities outside of the classroom,” he said. In recent years, the module has expanded to include more plays from around the world for students to study.