Undergraduate Course: Hollywood's Ancient World: Cinematic Constructs of the Past (ANHI10009)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course traces the development of the epic film genre in Hollywood from 1916 to 1966 and will question how the American film industry approaches, uses and markets the ancient world. The course will question the political, social and cultural use of the past in Hollywood cinema, as well as examining issues such as masculinity, spectacle, sex and sexuality, advertising and marketing, film production, and film design. This course focuses on epic movies of Hollywood¿s Golden Age as a vehicle by which we can understand the importance cinematic uses and recreations of the past in modern culture. |
| Course description |
¿Pomp, Pageantry, Spectacle Unsurpassed¿ ¿ Hollywood had a passion for the ancient world, and in the many epic movies produced during its Golden Age, the studios used every device they could muster to wow audiences with spectacle - all to convince them that they were voyeurs of ¿living history¿. The majesty of the epic genre was created in the on-screen chariot races, slave markets, and gladiatorial contests; it was there in the vastness and monumentality of Rome under the Caesars, the pyramids of the Pharaohs, or the temple in Jerusalem. The glamour was provided by extravagant costumes and the casting of movie stars like Rita Hayworth as Salome, Kirk Douglas as Spartacus, and Victor Mature as Samson. Nobody can think of Cleopatra without visualizing Elizabeth Taylor; she outlives history just as Charlton Heston outlives Ben-Hur and Moses. And Peter Ustinov will perpetually be seen in the guise of Nero, just as Nero will always be envisaged as Peter Ustinov. This unique and lively course will show how in the years between 1916 and 1966 Hollywood carefully created the modern perception of antiquity; it analyses how producers, art directors, costumiers, musicians, publicity agents, film stars, and, inevitably, ¿a cast of thousands¿ crafted the ancient world according to the requirements on twentieth century American ideologies and tastes.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics related subject matter (at least 2 of which should be in Ancient History) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Babington, B. and Evans, P.W. 1993. Biblical Epics. Sacred Narrative in the Hollywood Cinema. Manchester.
Birchard, R.S. 2004. Cecil B. DeMille¿s Hollywood. Lexington.
Blanshard, A. and Shahabudin, K. 2011. Classics on Screen. London.
Cyrino, M.S. 2005. Big Screen Rome. Oxford.
------2013a. ¿Ancient Sexuality on Screen¿ in T.K. Hubbard (ed.), A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities. Oxford. 613-28.
Llewellyn-Jones, L. 2002. ¿Celluloid Cleopatras or Did the Greeks Ever Get to Egypt?¿ in D. Ogden (ed.), The Hellenistic World. New Perspectives. London. 275-304.
------2005. ¿The Fashioning of Delilah. Costume Design, Historicism and Fantasy in Cecil B. DeMille¿s Samson and Delilah (1949)¿ in L. Cleland, M. Harlow & L. Llewellyn-Jones (eds.) The Clothed Body in the Ancient World. Oxford. 14-29.
------2009. ¿Hollywood¿s Ancient World¿ in A. Erskine (ed.), A Companion to the Ancient World. Oxford. 564-79
Malamud, M. 2009. Ancient Rome and Modern America. Oxford.
Richards, J. 2008. Hollywood¿s Ancient Worlds. London.
Solomon, J. 2001 (2nd edition). The Ancient World in Cinema. New Haven and London.
Winkler, M.M. 2007. Spartacus. Film and History. Oxford.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
In order for a student from outwith Classics to be enrolled on this course, contact must be made with a Course Secretary on 50 3580 in order for approval to be obtained. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
2 hours per week for 11 weeks. Weekly (afternoon) film-showings attendance to be encouraged. |
| Keywords | Hollywood / Ancient History |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Tel: (0131 6)50 3585
Email: L.Llewellyn.Jones@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: E.Hutchison@ed.ac.uk |
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