Undergraduate Course: The Theatre of the Absurd (Ordinary) (ELCF09008)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures | 
College | College of Humanities and Social Science | 
 
| Course type | Standard | 
Availability | Not available to visiting students | 
 
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) | 
Credits | 20 | 
 
| Home subject area | European Languages and Cultures - French | 
Other subject area | None | 
   
| Course website | 
http://www.selc.ed.ac.uk/french/undergd.html | 
Taught in Gaelic? | No | 
 
| Course description | This option will study the treatment of the theme of the absurd in twentieth-century French drama.  Topics to be explored will include the following: 
 
 - death, decay and the Vanitas motif 
 - the tension between comedy and tragedy 
 - the nightmare scenario 
 - language, meaning(lessness) and (non-)communication 
 - time, disintegration and the instability of identity 
 - the dramatisation of the absurdist perspective 
 - the debt to myth, religion and popular culture (clowning, music hall, film, nonsense literature) | 
 
 
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites | 
 | 
Co-requisites |  | 
 
| Prohibited Combinations |  | 
Other requirements |  Ordinary Students only | 
 
| Additional Costs |  None | 
 
 
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |   
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes 
By the end of these courses students will be expected to show the 
ability: 
-to demonstrate sound knowledge and understanding of the chosen 
specialism(s) 
-to recognise and acknowledge the complexity of the subject  
-to show an understanding of and apply competently relevant concepts and theories 
-to construct coherent arguments which demonstrate an awareness of the problems posed by the texts/issues studied  
-to demonstrate a high level of expression in both written and oral presentations -to offer alternative perspectives and show an awareness of contrasting viewpoints. | 
 
 
Assessment Information 
One 1500 word essay (40%) and one 90 minute exam (60%) 
  
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Special Arrangements 
| None |   
 
Additional Information 
| Academic description | 
Not entered | 
 
| Syllabus | 
Not entered | 
 
| Transferable skills | 
Not entered | 
 
| Reading list | 
Not entered | 
 
| Study Abroad | 
Not entered | 
 
| Study Pattern | 
Not entered | 
 
| Keywords | Not entered | 
 
 
Contacts 
| Course organiser | Prof Jean Duffy 
Tel: (0131 6)50 8410 
Email:  | 
Course secretary | Mrs Alison Edie 
Tel: (0131 6)50 8421 
Email:  | 
   
 
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