Postgraduate Course: Film Theory (CLLC11150)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | 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. |
| Course description |
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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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| 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 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Essay 1: 2000 words (30%)
Essay 2: 3000 words (70%)
Formative assessment: Presentation
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- gain familiarity with the major theories of film and their development.
- understand and have the ability to apply these analytical and critical tools for the investigation of individual films and a discussion of issues in film theory and analysis.
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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. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
* Advanced skills of critical analysis
* Presentation skills
* Time management
* Cultural and historical awareness
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| Keywords | FT |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr David Sorfa
Tel:
Email: David.Sorfa@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Inga Ackermann
Tel: (0131 6)50 4465
Email: Inga.Ackermann@ed.ac.uk |
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