2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
CLAS3790 Greek Tragedy
20 creditsClass Size: 24
Module manager: Dr Fábio Matilde Sarranito
Email: F.Sarranito@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
This module is mutually exclusive with
| CLAS2790 | Greek Tragedy |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This module focuses four Greek tragedies: Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes, and Euripides’ Medea and Heracles. The plays will be read in English translation. In the course of the module we will consider: - themes and issues shared by the four plays - making sense of texts composed in a culture different from our own- issues of staging, performance, structure and dramatic technique- how the dramatists innovated in their use of traditional storiesObjectives
This module aims to introduce students to the genre of Greek tragedy through a detailed study of four representative plays, encompassing close reading and focus on techniques and major themes, as well as the relationship between the set plays and their literary, social, and cultural contexts.Learning outcomes
1. Students will be familiar with the structural and performance conventions of Greek tragedy.
2. Students will recognise typical themes of Greek tragedy.
3. Students will be able to relate these themes to their ethical and social context.
4. Students will be able to explain points of detail in passages from the tragedies studied.
5. Students will be able to demonstrate a holistic understanding of individual plays, and of the relationship between two plays.
6. Students will be able to display an awareness of relevant modern scholarship, and to exercise independent judgement of competing interpretations.
Syllabus
This module will study four tragedies by Sophocles (Ajax, Philoctetes) and Euripides (Medea, Heracles) in English translation. The introductory lectures will highlight important themes and issues in the four plays; outline their transmission and reception; and discuss some of the problems of interpretation posed by texts composed in a culture different from our own. In the subsequent lectures and seminars the plays themselves will be studied with a view to: performance and staging; dramatic technique and structure; innovations in the stories dramatised; religious and ethical issues.
The recommended translations are: Sophocles: Electra and Other Plays, tr. D. Raeburn (Penguin 2008); Euripides: Heracles and Other Plays, tr. R. Waterfield (Oxford World’s Classics 2003); Euripides: Medea and Other Plays, tr. J. Morwood (Oxford World’s Classics 1998).
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Lecture | 18 | 1.00 | 18.00 |
| Seminar | 5 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Private study hours | 177.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 23.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 | ||
Private study
Reading primary texts: 4 x 15 hoursLecture preparation: 18 x 1 hours
Seminar preparation: 5 x 3 hours
Essay: 42 hours
Exam preparation: 42 hours
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Student progress will be monitored through attendance and participation in lectures, seminar contributions and through a detailed module questionnaire. The feedback on the week 8 assessed essay will also provide an opportunity for formative feedback ahead of the exam.Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | 2200 words | 40.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 40.00 | |
The coursework essay in CLAS3790 requires students to demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between two plays in their coursework essay. The coursework essay in CLAS2790 focuses on a single play, and is correspondingly shorter.
Exams
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
| Online Time-Limited assessment | 48 hr 00 mins | 60.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 60.00 | |
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 websiteLast updated: 09/05/2024
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