- UCAS course code
- PR70
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
Screen, Culture and Society
Unit code | DRAM20041 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 2 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
This course will introduce students to the key concepts and debates that have developed out of film and cultural theory within the past fifty years, and apply them to specific case studies, across national cinemas and genres. The key ideas of the course — ‘screen culture’ and ‘society’ — will be offered to students in ways which address constructed aesthetic, socio-cultural and industrial processes that go into the production and reception of screen media, including the experiential. The course will explore aspects of ideology, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, sensory cinema, national allegory, slow cinema, political filmmaking, technology and representation. A range of case studies will be used for close textual analysis and theoretical elaboration.
Pre/co-requisites
Pre-requisites: Any L1 core Drama (DRAM) film study course unit
Aims
- To interrogate the notion of a 'screen culture' through modes of production and reception
- To explore the relationship between screen media and wider socio-cultural contexts
- To employ textual analysis within a contextual framework
Knowledge and understanding
Relate the close textual analysis of the films to wider socio-historical processes and contexts
Understand the impact of social change and attitudes on screen media
Understand screen media’s potential for socio-political commentary and intervention
Read screen texts across genres and national industries
Analyse screen texts in relation to wider cultural theories
Apply theories and secondary readings critically to their understanding of screen texts
Intellectual skills
Develop a critical language for analysing and evaluating narrative content and aesthetic forms in screen media within wider socio-historical contexts
Conduct in-depth research into screen media and their histories
Apply theoretical readings to questions of screen production, exhibition and reception
Practical skills
Conduct close textual analysis of screen texts
Construct a persuasive argument in clear language, grounded in research
Work individually and collaboratively with other members of the group
Transferable skills and personal qualities
Demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively with others about intellectually demanding concepts, topics, materials
Demonstrate an ability to draw with accuracy, focus, detail and precision on complex materials in independent and group work
Demonstrate an ability to effectively present – through discussion and in writing – complex topics, drawing convincingly on oral, written and visual media as appropriate to the topic
Employability skills
- Group/team working
- An ability to work productively as part of a group and independently in learning environments that present complex challenges
- Innovation/creativity
- An ability to develop detailed, planned and multi-layered approaches to tasks
- Problem solving
- A good level of critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Other
- An enhanced ability to effectively adapt self-presentation to different audiences/contexts, especially when communicating complex topics
Assessment methods
Summative: Group Visual / Video Essay: 30%
Summative: Essay question: 70%
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Group Visual / Video essay | Formative and summative |
Exam – oral and written | Summative |
Recommended reading
- Aaron, Michelle (2004) New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press
- Braudy, Leo and Cohen, Marshall eds. (1999) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings.
- New York: Oxford University Press. Latest edition.
- Edgar, Andrew and Sedgwick, Peter eds. (2002) Cultural theory: the key concepts. London:
- Routledge.
- Hayward, Susan (2006) Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. 3rd ed. London: Routledge.
- hooks, bell (1992) Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: Southend Press.
- Turner, Graeme, ed (2002) The Film Cultures Reader. London: Routledge,
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Lectures | 11 |
Seminars | 16.5 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 172.5 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Darren Waldron | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes
Weekly screening