Undergraduate Course: Sexuality, Space and the Cinema (HIAR10139)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Sexuality has long been one of the defining concerns of western societies. This course explores the visual representation of sexuality in cinema, with a particular focus on mainstream US-produced films from 1945 to the present. It explores the Hollywood¿s interaction with both changing social mores, and legislation such as the Hays production code. It also explores the way cinematic space, especially urban space, is a means of representing sexuality. The films discussed therefore are ¿city¿ films, as well as films that have sexuality at their centres. Key material covered the course includes Hitchcock¿s US productions of the 50s and 60s, film noir, King Vidor¿s The Fountainhead, and the work of David Lynch. ¿Film¿ also include several long-form TV dramas. Related textual material includes theories of sexuality by Freud, cinematic criticism by Laura Mulvey, and core feminist texts by Betty Friedan. |
| Course description |
1 Theories and methods. Film (s): Strangers on a Train (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)
2 Phallic Architecture and Phallic Architects. Film(s): The Fountainhead (dir. King Vidor, 1949)
3 The Return of the Repressed. Film(s): Double Indemnity (dir. Billy Wilder 1944)
4 The Fetish Object. Film(s): Vertigo (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1958).
5 The Femme Fatale. Film(s): The Birds (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1963).
6 Queer Space. Film(s): Strangers on a Train (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1951), Some Like it Hot (dir. Billy Wilder, 1958), Midnight Cowboy (dir. John Schlessinger, 1969).
7 Sex and Suburbia. Film(s): The Stepford Wives (dir. Bryan Forbes, 1975), American Beauty (dir. Sam Mendes, 2001)
8 Pornomodernism. Film(s): Boogie Nights (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997).
9 Postmodern Sex. Film: Mulholland Drive (dir. David Lynch, 2001).
10 Sex is History. Film: Mad Men season 1 (dir. Matthew Wiener, 2007), The Apartment (dir. Billy Wilder, 1960)
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will be able to demonstrate:
1. an expert knowledge of c.10 key films from the post-war period.
- 2. an understanding of key modern theories of sexuality, and how they have been used in both film theory, and as a subject in film-making.
- 3. the ability to analyse films to a high level in written work, with a particular emphasis on visual analysis.
- 4. the use of a specialized theoretical vocabulary in order to write about films.
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Reading List
Chapman, J., Cinemas of the World (London: Reaktion 2003)
Kaplan, E. A., Psychoanalysis and Cinema (London: Routledge, 1990)
The Sexual Subject: A Screen Reader in Sexuality (London: Routlege, 1992)
Penguin Freud Library vol. 7: On Sexuality (London: Penguin, 1991)
Williams, R. J., Sex and Buildings (London: Reaktion 2013)
Kuhn, A., Women¿s Pictures: Feminism and Cinema (London: Verso, 1994)
Colomina, B., (ed.) Sexuality and Space (Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 1992)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Sexuality, space, cinema, film, city |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Richard Williams
Tel: (0131 6)51 6792
Email: R.J.Williams@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: Sue.Cavanagh@ed.ac.uk |
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