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2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

CLAS3940 Making Athens Laugh: Aristophanes & Comedy

20 creditsClass Size: 30

Module manager: Prof. M Heath
Email: M.F.Heath@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2016/17

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module is suitable for Level 2 or 3 students with some basic knowledge of Classical literature. It encourages detailed study of four Greek comedies, Aristophanes Acharnians, Wasps, Thesmophoriazusae (`The Poet and the Women') and Frogs. The aim is to promote understanding of the nature of Athenian Old Comedy as a dramatic genre and to acquaint students with the most important contemporary approaches to Greek comedy. The plays are studied in English translation (Aristophanes, Wasps and Other Plays, tr. D. Barrett, revised by S. Dutta (Penguin Classics 2007); Aristophanes, Lysistrata and Other Plays, tr. A. Sommerstein, revised ed. (Penguin Classics 2003). The module is worth 20 credits and runs in semester 1 only, with two lectures per week and a total of five seminars.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- give explanatory comment on passages from representative plays of Athenian Old Comedy
- discuss, orally and in writing, major themes in these plays
- relate the plays to their historical, social and cultural contexts
- critically evaluate secondary information sources relating to Athenian Old Comedy

Learning outcomes
Students completing this module are expected to have acquired:
- a knowledge of four representative plays of Athenian Old Comedy
- a knowledge of the theatrical and formal aspects of these plays
- an understanding of the relationship between the four plays and historical, social and cultural contexts
- an understanding of issues and problems involved in the interpretation of Athenian Old Comedy

Skills outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students are expected to be able to:
- demonstrate a range of subject-specific skills, including an ability to analyse critically various forms of primary evidence and relate them to each other and their historical and cultural context.
- demonstrate a range of transferable skills, including written expression, the organisation of personal study, participation in oral discussion, and use of printed and online information sources.

Syllabus

The module will study of four Greek comedies in detail: Aristophanes Acharnians, Wasps, Thesmophoriazusae ('The Poet and the Women') and Frogs, in English translation. The first part of the module will provide an introduction to Athenian Old Comedy as a dramatic genre, to its social and historical context, and to the four plays. The second part will take a thematic approach, with particular attention to politics, literary parody, and religion.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	20	1.00	20.00
Seminar	5	1.00	5.00
Private study hours			175.00
Total Contact hours			25.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Reading primary texts: 4 x 7.5 = 30 hours
Lecture preparation: 20 x 1. 25 = 25 hours
Seminar preparation: 5 x 3 = 15 hours
Coursework (i) = 15 hours
Coursework (ii) = 35 hours
Exam preparation = 55 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Seminar participation and one piece of written coursework over the semester.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	Topical assignment, not more than 2000 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Exam with advance information on questions	2 hr	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 20/04/2016

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