- UCAS course code
- PV10
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Film Studies and History
- Typical A-level offer: AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ACC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 35 points overall with 6.6.5 at HL including specific subjects
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
God at the Movies
Unit code | DRAM20632 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 2 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Strange and interesting things happen to religious ideas when filmmakers get hold of them! This course unit explores the way Judaeo-Christian stories and beliefs have been taken up and transformed in a selection of classic and popular films, ranging from the Hollywood blockbuster to the European art film.
After an introductory session on the theological interpretation of film, the course examines the cinematic depiction of Moses and Jesus in such films as The Ten Commandments and The Last Temptation of Christ. The remainder of the course considers how the Christian notions of sacrifice, salvation, and eschatology have been transposed to non-biblical and often non-Christian contexts. Among the films studied are Cool Hand Luke, The Mission, The Matrix, and The Seventh Seal. A further theme of the course is to examine the role of religious motifs in the cinematic representation of gender and ethnicity.
Aims
- To explore the way Judaeo-Christian stories, beliefs, and symbols are featured in a selection of classic and popular films.
- To examine the cinematic representation of gender and ethnicity in a selection of religious films.
- To equip students with the skills necessary to interpret primary and secondary sources in Theology and Film.
Knowledge and understanding
- Have gained an understanding of cinematic techniques for conveying the sacred.
- Have become acquainted with the biblical epic and with cinematic representations of Moses and Jesus Christ.
- Have acquired an understanding of the cinematic representation of the themes of sacrifice, salvation, and eschatology.
- Have acquired an understanding of the cinematic representation of class, gender, and ethnicity in a selection of religious films.
Intellectual skills
- Be able to translate a critical awareness of film into individual research for seminars and essays.
- Be aware of and able to account for social and historical factors that contribute to the religious themes explored in the films studied.
- Be familiar with the visual style employed to illustrate subtextual religious themes by the filmmakers studied.
Practical skills
- Have developed skill in observing, describing, analysing and assessing film.
- Have consolidated and advanced your essay writing skills
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Have sharpened your skills in independent research, critical thinking, and essay writing.
- Be aware of how religious ideas permeate popular culture and an ability to identify and analyse cultural expressions of these ideas.
Assessment methods
Essay | 50% |
Exam | 50% |
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Essay plans | Formative |
Summative Essay | Summative and Formative |
Essay tutorials | Formative |
Online Exam | Summative and Formative |
Recommended reading
Louis D. Giannetti, Understanding Movies, multiple editions (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1993-2013).
Joel Martin and Conrad Ostwalt (eds), Screening the Sacred: Religion, Myth, and Ideology in Popular American Film (Boulder; Oxford: Westview, 1995).
Eric S. Christianson, Peter Francis, and William R. Telford (eds), Cinéma Divinité. Religion, Theology and the Bible in Film (London: SCM, 2005).
John Lyden (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film (London: Routledge, 2009).
Adele Reinhartz, Bible and Cinema: An Introduction (London: Routledge, 2013).
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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David Law | Unit coordinator |