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 US film's interaction with both changing social mores, and legislation such as the Hays production code. It also explores the way space, especially urban space, is a means of representing sexuality. Films covered by the course typically include the following: Alfred Hitchcock's US productions of the 1950s and 1960s; Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulvard, and The Apartment; King Vidor's The Fountainhead; Bryan Forbes's The Stepford Wives; David Lynch's. Mulholland Drive. The course also typically includes reatment of at least one 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
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| Academic year 2016/17, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 17 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Revision Session Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
175 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1 x 2,500 word extended essay (50%)
1 x take home examination (50%)
Formative assessment normally consists of (1) participation in group discussion, (2) participation in group tasks set in class, and (3) student seminar presentations. The number of and variety of these tasks will vary according to the size and the ability of the group. Feedback on formative assessment will be provided verbally in class.
Summative assessment consists of one essay of 2,500 words and one 2-hour exam. Feedback on essays is provided in written and verbal form. Preparation for both essays and exams is an integral part of teaching.
Feedback on students work in class will be provided verbally in the class itself. Feedback on written work will be provided in written form as part of assessment, and verbally in individual meetings with the course organiser. The course organiser will normally provide verbal feedback to the whole group on questions of relevance to the whole class.
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| Feedback |
Feedback is provided on formative assessments as follows: written or verbal feedback on class presentations and one-to-one feedback on essay plans.
Students are expected to assimilate all feedback and apply when working on their essays.
The course involves a significant amount of group work in class. Students will be expected to work regularly in pairs or small groups, and to present findings to the whole group. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Sexuality, Space and the Cinema | 0:05 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonatrate a good general knowledge of 8-10 key films covered by the course. 'Knowledge' includes details of photography, scenoraphy, narrative, structure, and character development.
- Do detailed visual analysis of individual scenes in selected films.
- Demonstrate a good general understanding of the psychoanalytical terminology used in writing on on film.
- Demonstrate a good understanding of 8-10 key theoretical texts on film. Key texts typically include works by Laura Mulvey, Slavoj Zizek and Camille Paglia.
- Demonstrate the ability to write confidently and convincingly about film.
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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 Harry Weeks
Tel: (0131 6)51 5450
Email: Harry.Weeks@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: Sue.Cavanagh@ed.ac.uk |
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