Undergraduate Course: Policy and Politics in Film (SCPL10048)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | 'The most political decision you make is where you direct people's eyes'. In that sentence, the German filmmaker Wim Wenders captures the ethos of this course. Policy and Politics on Film takes the visual presentation of social and political issues in narrative and documentary film as a starting point for a different form of critical reflection. The course introduces students to the relationship between film and political thinking, offering instruction and guidance on how to watch films with an eye toward writing a research paper in which a film (or set of films) constitute(s) a vehicle for thinking critically about important concepts in politics and policy, for example: poverty, bureaucracy, precarity, violence, race, national identity, borders, and war. Films from various countries will be explored and analysed in the course. |
| Course description |
Policy and Politics in Film is grounded in the fields of visual politics (Bleiker 2018) and critical geopolitics (Carter and Dodds 2014), both of which explore how social and political issues are represented in film and popular culture. Going deeper, the course also explores the relationship between film form and political thinking drawing on the work of Michael Shapiro (2020). The course introduces these foundational texts, and, through them, core concepts associated with the work of Giles Deleuze, Jacques Rancière and Walter Benjamin.
The filmmaker Robert Bresson requested of viewers, 'do not look at film to see what you are already thinking but, rather, look at film to think about what you see and to be the first to see what you see, the way you see it'. Echoing that, Rancière (1981) called for an absolute attention to 'seeing and seeing again'. He asks us, 'look at these images. What do you see? What do you think about it? Show me what makes you say what you say.' That is the essence of this course.
After introducing the core texts and discussing the history of cinema and politics, including Soviet montage cinema and the Nazi propaganda cinema of Leni Riefenstahl, each week of the course is organised around a key political theme or topic - recent examples have included poverty and precarity, the welfare state, borders and migration, warfare, banking and finance, unions and strikes, and reproductive rights - and two relevant films. Alongside the films, core materials include articles, film reviews, and video essays.
Seminar discussions will explore how our understanding of social and political issues changes if we make visual representations central to our inquiries. The course will engage with the visual as a site of power and struggle. We will consider how politics shape the images that we see and, in turn, how the act of watching films can make us question our own identity, beliefs, and position in society.
Outline content:
Weeks 1-3: Introductory materials and frameworks.
Weeks 4-10: Each of these seven weeks will be structured around a key topic that will involve viewing two films and one or two core readings.
Week 11: Conclusion and reflections.
Learning experience:
The class meets for two-hours each week in a seminar format. Discussion is an especially important part of this course. Students will be expected to come to class prepared to talk about the assigned films and texts carefully and thoughtfully, and to listen attentively and respond seriously to the opinions and arguments of others. Some of the issues, themes and some of the visual material itself will be sensitive, controversial, and provocative. The seminars will thus be demanding but pursued in the right spirit, should be both fun and productive.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Screening Social Policy (SCPL10042)
|
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of some of the key literature on film and politics.
- Demonstrate a detailed understanding of how films can function as a vehicle for engaging critically with political and policy issues.
- Demonstrate originality and creativity in formulating an analytical essay autonomously.
- Apply knowledge and understanding of visual politics and film analysis to empirical cases and issues.
|
Reading List
R. Bleiker (ed.) (2018) Visual Global Politics. New York: Routledge.
W. Callahan (2020) Sensible Politics: Visualizing International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
S. Carter and K. Dodds (2014) International Politics and Film: Space, Vision, Power. London and New York: Wallflower Press.
M.J. Shapiro (2008) Cinematic Geopolitics. New York: Routledge.
M.J. Shapiro (2020) The Cinematic Political: Film Composition as Political Theory. New York: Routledge. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course takes a fundamental part of everyday life (film) and engages with it critically, developing a mindset of enquiry and lifelong learning.
Engaging with representations of different communities encourages a mindset of outlook and engagement.
Seminar debates on controversial and sensitive topics will develop skills of personal effectiveness such as communication, adaptability, sensitivity and integrity.
The course assessment develops the skill of personal and intellectual autonomy. |
| Keywords | politics,power,cinema,film,representation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Daniel Kenealy
Tel: (0131 6)50 4080
Email: Daniel.Kenealy@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
|
|
University Homepage