Module FREN3481: STAGE DESIGN IN 17TH-CENTURY FRANCE

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (French)

FREN3481: STAGE DESIGN IN 17TH-CENTURY FRANCE

Prerequisites

• French Language 2 (FREN2051). Others: see the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: French Language 4 (FREN3041). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To introduce students to the major developments in French 17th-century theatre architecture and stage design.
• To examine the major social, political and theoretical trends that influenced these developments.
• To study a number of representative plays performed in these spaces to explore how they worked in practice.

Content

• The following topics will be covered:
• Theatre design (tennis courts and private spaces),
• Early stage design (compartments, Mahelot),
• The ‘unities’,
• Farce and the practicable décor,
• The early machine play,
• Court performances and their spaces,
• Later machine plays,
• The remodelling of the Palais-Royal,
• The impact of Lully and French opera.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module, students will:
• Have full knowledge of the major developments in French 17th- and 18th-century theatre and stage design;
• Understand the social, political and theoretical developments that gave rise to these;
• Be familiar with a number of plays that illustrate how these spaces worked in practice.

• By the end of this module, students will be able to:
• Conduct independent research into 17th-century performances spaces;
• Analyse a range of relevant documentary evidence pertaining to theatre and stage design (archival documents, ground plans, frontispieces and other images);
• Evaluate the performance requirements of 17th-century play texts.

• By the end of this module, students will be able to:
• Conduct independent research and present their findings both in writing and orally;
• Read and understand a variety of forms of written French;
• Read, understand and apply critical discourses relating to this topic written in both French and English;
• Read, evaluate and apply visual evidence.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars.
• Students will give sole or group presentations in seminars (depending on student numbers).
• Assessment will be by means of two assessed essays, one at the end of term 1 and one at the end of the module (25% and 75%).
• Students will be required to devise their own essay title for the second essay.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students will give sole or group presentations in seminars (depending on numbers) for which they will be required to undertake independent research. Feedback with be given on these and on Essay 1 in class and in the tutor’s office hours. The tutor will also be available in office hours or by appointment to discuss the formulation of Essay 2 titles and possible approaches.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University