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 |
2016-17 Syllabus:
Classical Film Theory
Introduction: What is Film Theory?
Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg, 1980)
Suggested: Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) / Swimming Pool (François Ozon, 2003)
Classical Formalism and Montage Theory
Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
Suggested: The Man with the Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929)
Classical Realist Theory
Umberto D. (Vittorio de Sica, 1952)
Suggested: Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922)
High Film Theory
Structuralism and Semiotics / Apparatus Theory
Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939)
Suggested: The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
Feminism and Film
Riddles of the Sphinx (Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen, 1979)
Suggested: Lovely Rita (Jessica Hausner, 2001)
Semiotics and Symbol Theory
Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964)
Film Genre
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
Suggested: Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968)
Contemporary Developments in Film Theory
Neo-formalism/Cognitive film theory
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946)
Film Aesthetics
Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)
Suggested: Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
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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 2016/17, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 32 |
| 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 |
Students will discuss their essay topics with the relevant lecturer and will receive written feedback on their final essay. Students will receive comments on their presentations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a familiarity with the major theories of film and their development.
- apply these theories to the investigation of individual films and cinema generally.
- critically engage with 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,Film,Cinema,Film Theory |
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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© Copyright 2016 The University of Edinburgh - 3 February 2017 3:35 am
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