Aims: The unit builds on the experience of both Cultural Studies and Politics & Society by examining the inter-War period, the Occupation, and the beginning of the end of Empire, and the ways in which French drama both implicated and exemplified the trends in and the experience of the real world. The unit seeks to evaluate the conspicuously theatrical aspects of these plays, to consider why playwrights at this time chose to return to Classical mythology for their subject matter, and to establish the extent to which these works were allegorical in terms of their references to current affairs as distinct from or in addition to being purely theatrical and imaginative creations.
Learning Outcomes:
A good knowledge of one of the most important and culturally productive periods of French drama, and a deeper understanding of the social and political issues in French domestic and foreign policy during the most traumatic period in the recent history of France.
Skills:
Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, effective communication in the target language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, teamwork and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are taught and assessed in this unit. Skills in effective learning and language skills are developed in this unit.
Content:
Cocteau: La Machine infernale; Giraudoux: Électre and La Guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu; Anouilh: Antigone; Sartre: Les Mouches; Montherlant: Le Maître de Santiago.
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