EN1IDR: Introduction to Drama

Module code: EN1IDR

Module provider: English Literature; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Steven Matthews, email: s.matthews@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Chloe Houston, email: c.houston@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module is designed to introduce the genre of drama, equipping students with knowledge and understanding of a historical range of drama in English from the early modern to the modern periods. Focusing on four plays, it will introduce students to the conventions of the dramatic form and explore how thee vary over time, looking at elements of change and of continuity. It will consider ideas relating to genre, including comedy, tragedy and tragicomedy, and to form and structure. As well as paying close attention to language and style, the module will focus on aspects of performance, by looking at staging, and of interpretation, considering how the plays have been read and re-read over time.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Apply discipline-specific practices of close reading, interpretative analysis and critical argument
2. Discuss and appraise published research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, within the field of English literature
3. Recognise what and how they have learnt, through self-reflection and through constructive dialogue with other people
4. Articulate their own and other people’s ideas concisely, accurately, and clearly

Module content

This module aims to enable students to gain knowledge about and develop a critical understanding of a range of dramatic work. It aims to foster students’ critical reasoning, both in relation to the primary texts and to a range of critical ideas encountered during the course of the module. The module also seeks to equip students with skills in sustained and focussed reading and analysis which will be important throughout their degree, and to enable them to understand how texts appear differently in different situations, including on the page and stage. Plays studied may include: Christopher Marlowe, Dr. Faustus; Aphra Behn, The Rover; Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest; Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching will be delivered by a combination of lectures and structured seminar discussion, for which students are required to do preparatory reading. 

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will have the opportunity to receive feedback on a plan for their essay from their seminar leader between weeks 7-9 of semester 2.

Reassessment

Additional costs