Module PHL3002 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL3002: Existentialism
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Introduction to Existentialism & Soren Kierkegaard
- Friedrich Nietzsche – The Gay Science
- Martin Heidegger – Being & Time – Dasein, Authenticity and being-towards-death
- Jean-Paul Sartre – ‘Existentialism as Humanism’
- Jean-Paul Sartre – Nausea
- Simone de Beauvoir – Feminist Existentialism and The Ethics of Ambiguity
- Simone de Beauvoir – The Blood of Others
- Albert Camus – The Outsider and The Myth of Sisyphus
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky – Notes from Underground
- Frantz Fanon – Black Skins, White Masks
- Ralph Ellison – The Invisible Man
- Soren Kierkegaard – Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 21.5 | 128.5 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 16.5 | 11 x 1.5 hour lectures. Lectures provide you with detailed overview and analysis of key thinkers and texts in the existential tradition; lectures cover more ground than is possible in tutorials, and are designed to establish a context in which to think about the themes, thinkers and texts discussed in tutorials. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 5 | 5 x 1 hour Fortnightly tutorials. A specific reading is assigned, and you are provided with a list of key issues to identify and discuss for each tutorial. Texts are carefully chosen as classic exemplars of the core course themes. |
| Guided Independent Study | 45 | Preparation for lectures and tutorial participation including reading and planning. |
| Guided independent study | 83.5 | Independent research for glossary entry and essay. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial Participation | Fortnightly | 1-7 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glossary Entry | 40 | 1,000 words | 1-7 | Written |
| Essay | 60 | 3,000 words | 1-7 | Written |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glossary Entry | Glossary Entry (1,000 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay | Essay (3,000 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |
Re-assessment notes
For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
