CLU34488/44488 Senecan Tragedy
The tragedies of Seneca are amongst the most violent and bloody works of ancient literature. Revolving around episodes of dismemberment, cannibalism and infanticide, they bear comparison to modern film and TV dramas such as Game of Thrones or the movies of Quentin Tarantino. In this module, we will approach the plays – and the scholarly controversies they have provoked – by drawing on frameworks including media and film theory, psychoanalysis and performance criticism, metapoetics and Hellenistic philosophy.
- Module Organiser:
- Professor Monica Gale
- Duration:
- Semester 1
- Contact Hours:
- 22 (one 2-hr seminar per week)
- Weighting:
- 10 ECTS
- Assessment:
- 40% coursework (oral presentation and written assignment), 60% written examination
- Course Open To:
- Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology; TJH Latin; Visiting
Learning Outcomes
Upon the successful completion of this module students should be able to demonstrate:
- Translate and analyse the prescribed texts
- Identify and analyse the author’s characteristic themes, style and diction
- Give a competent and independent interpretation of the prescribed texts in their literary, philosophical and historical contexts
- Critically engage with modern scholarship on the plays, including approaches based on psychoanalytic theory, media and film theory, and performance criticism
- Articulate well-researched views both orally and in writing
- Translate unseen Latin extracts of similar genre, style or content as the studied Latin texts into idiomatic English.
More Information CLU34488 (PDF) (2020-21 only)