Postgraduate Course: Film Theory (CLLC11150)
Course Outline
School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
Home subject area | Common Courses (School of Lit, Lang and Cult) |
Other subject area | None |
Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
Course description | Film Theory is designed to make students familiar with major European and American film theories and various approaches to film analysis. The discussion will focus on core theoretical contributions from realism, formalism, psychoanalysis, auteurism, genre theory, audience reception studies and film semiotics amongst others. The theoretical discussion will be combined with exercises in film analysis. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
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Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 22,
Formative Assessment Hours 5,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
147 )
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Additional Notes |
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Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
* Familiarity with the major theories of film and their development.
* Understanding and ability to apply these analytical and critical tools for the investigation of individual films and a discussion of issues in film theory and analysis.
* The course as a whole prepares for, and accompanies, the work in various options.
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Assessment Information
Essay 1: 2000 words (30%)
Essay 2: 3000 words (70%)
Formative assessment: Presentation
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Special Arrangements
None |
Additional Information
Academic description |
Not entered |
Syllabus |
Indicative Topics and Films (subject to change):
Introduction: What is Film Theory?
Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg, 1980)
Hugo Münsterberg and the Psychology of the Photoplay
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)
Soviet Montage and Formalist Film Theory
Earth (Alexander Dovzhenko, 1930)
Realism and Realist Theory
Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2010)
Narratology: Narrative, Narration and Unreliability
Swimming Pool (Francois Ozon, 2003)
The Life of Pi (Ang Lee, 2013)
Classical Hollywood Cinema and Related Theory
Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
Psychoanalysis and Film I: Hysteria
Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945)
Psychoanalysis and Film II: The Dream
Surviving Life (Jan ¿vankmajer, 2010)
Psychoanalysis and Film III: The Uncanny
The Phantom of Liberty (Luis Buñuel, 1974)
Theories of Genre
My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946)
Structuralism and Semiotics
Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1962)
Gender, Sexuality, Ethnicity
Lola+Bilidikid (Kutlu¿ Ataman, 1999)
Theories of Spectatorship
Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)
Authorship
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
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Transferable skills |
* Advanced skills of critical analysis
* Presentation skills
* Time management
* Cultural and historical awareness
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Reading list |
* Bergstrom, Janet (ed.) (1999) Endless Night: Cinema and Psychoanalysis, Parallel Histories. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London.
* Bordwell, D. (1989) Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema. Harvard University Press: Harvard.
* Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson (1991-2010) Film Art: An Introduction. Multiple editions. McGraw-Hill.
* Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen (eds.) (2004) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. 6th edt. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
* Elsaesser, Thomas and Warren Buckland (2002) Studying Contemporary American Film: A Guide to Movie Analysis. Hodder Arnold: London.
* Gledhill, Christine and Linda Williams (eds.) (2000) Reinventing Film Studies. Arnold: London.
* Hayward, S. (2000) Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. Routledge: London & New York.
* Lodge, David (ed.) (1988) Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader. Longman: London and New York.
* Miller, Toby and Robert Stam (eds.) (1999) A Companion to Film Theory. Blackwell: Malden, Mass. and Oxford.
* Nichols, Bill (ed.) (1976) Movies and Methods: An Anthology, Volume I. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London.
* Nichols, Bill (ed.) (1985) Movies and Methods: An Anthology, Volume II. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London.
* Rushton, Richard and Gary Bettinson (2010) What is Film Theory? An Introduction to Contemporary Debates. New York: McGraw Hill and Open University Press. |
Study Abroad |
Not entered |
Study Pattern |
2 hour screening followed by 2 hour seminar |
Keywords | FT |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr David Sorfa
Tel:
Email: David.Sorfa@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ersev Ersoy
Tel: (0131 6)50 5565
Email: Ersev.Ersoy@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 29 August 2014 3:39 am
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