2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL3211 Harold Pinter's Drama

20 creditsClass Size: 20

School of English

Module manager: Dr Mark Taylor-Batty
Email: M.J.Batty@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

This module is not approved as an Elective

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to apply a theatrical appreciation of the manner in which Harold Pinter's plays are constructed and might function in the theatrical arena. They will be able to identify re-occuring themes in Mr Pinter's work and appraise the shifts in the manner in which such concerns are represented and available for transfer in dramatic media. They will be able critically to appraise the texts as theatrical scripts and offer analyses of their significance as dramatic texts and within Mr Pinter's oeuvre.

Learning outcomes
Students will have developed:
the ability to use written and oral communication effectively;
the capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse;
the ability to manage quantities of complex information in a structured and systematic way;
the capacity for independent thought and judgement;
critical reasoning;
research skills, including the retrieval of information, the organisation of material and the evaluation of its importance;
IT skills;
efficient time management and organisation skills;
the ability to learn independently.

Skills outcomes
Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.

Syllabus

The module offers the opportunity critically to survey Harold Pinter's artistic output over the past five decades. Rather than consider individual plays and contemplate their construction and theatrical effectiveness, the ambition of this module is to consider the key themes and motifs that colour Pinter's oeuvre and promote an appreciation of his aesthetic ambitions and political expression as these have evolved and been embedded in or transmitted by his plays. Male interaction and homosocial behaviour, the representation of woman, intra-sexual conflict, the interjection of memory into the present, the desire and struggle for self-definition and the enforced narrative of others' identities are issues and themes present in much of Pinter's work: the module aims not only to trace the development and waning of such concerns, but to consider practically how an understanding of the thematic materials from which the plays are constructed affects the manner in which one might approach an appreciation of them as performed or performable events. Though the principle focus of this module will be the dramatic achievement of Harold Pinter, consideration of his thematic concerns and the gestation of particular aesthetic ambitions will be informed by a consideration of his one novel, The Dwarfs, various prose and poetry pieces, and reflection upon his work as screenplay writer, alongside the drama.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Practical	5	1.00	5.00
Seminar	8	1.00	8.00
Tutorial	2	1.00	2.00
Private study hours			185.00
Total Contact hours			15.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Reading; Essay Preparation; Practical Preparation

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Seminar Contribution; Rehearsal preparation; Contribution to practical work; Optional unassessed tasks (essays, practical presentation).

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Practical	Presentation	40.00
Essay	2500 words	60.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

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

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 24/04/2008

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