58勛圖

FR4187 Gender, Disability and Race in Early Modern French Theatre

Academic year

2026 to 2027 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

15

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

TBC

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Prof J T Prest

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Prof Julia Prest

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module is designed to open up the richness and complexities of early modern French theatre as it was performed in Metropolitan France and, where relevant, in its richest colony, Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). Drawing on a range of works from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that encompass spoken drama (tragedy and comedy), opera and ballet, students will examine a range of key issues relating to gender (including sexuality, cross-casting and female monarchs), disability (including disability drag and disabled performers) and 'race' (including blackface performance, slavery and colonialism). The emphasis will be on theatre in performance as understood in its original socio-political context(s), but students will also be invited to make use of modern theories and to consider the resonance of these theatre works today.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

HONOURS ENTRY TO FRENCH

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Exam = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 x 1.5-hour seminar (x10 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

15

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

135

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Understand and explain how the theatre as a social and cultural institution functioned in the context of early modern France and its most lucrative colony, Saint-Domingue (now Haiti)
  • Demonstrate a deep knowledge of a range of theatre texts from a variety of genres (comedy, tragedy, tragi-comedy, ballet and opera) and across the 17th and 18th centuries
  • Think more critically about issues of gender, 'race' and disability (as well as intersectionality)
  • Think more critically about the links between the early modern period and today, especially in relation to the fact that many early modern theatre works are still performed now