FIL-10008 - Module Specification School of Humanities Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
For academic year: 2020/21 Last Updated: 25 February 2021
FIL-10008 - Approaching Film: History and Theory
Coordinator: Neil Archer Tel: +44 1782 7 33202
School Office: 01782 733147
Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21
Available as a Free Standing Elective
Co-requisites
None
Prerequisites
None
Barred Combinations
None
Description for 2020/21
This module provides a detailed and analytical overview of the development of the feature film, from the beginning of the twentieth century to the beginning of the twenty-first. We will look at the history of film¿s development internationally, reflecting on the various circumstances ¿ cultural, economic, technological, political ¿ shaping the transformation of film across different contexts. As a result, the module will consider films not in isolation, but as texts both specific to their place and time, and alsoas parts of a longer historical journey in the evolution of the medium. Accompanying this historical approach, the module will visit a number of key theoretical discussions about the meaning and value of film, offering invaluable insights into the ways we analyse and understand films in their contexts. Students will engage throughout with key technical terms for analysing film, and will become adept in approaching film criticism from a historical perspective.
Familiarise students with essential terminology and concepts used in film analysisFoster an understanding of a range of historical and theoretical approaches to the academic study of filmIdentify and analyse through diverse examples key areas of film aestheticsIntroduce to students the key ideas and debates that have contributed to the development of film theory and analysis in the 20th CenturyEnable students to practise close film analysis through verbal and written exercisesExplain the historical and cultural factors that have shaped different theories of filmEnable students to recognise and understand a variety of different approaches to film and to be able to compare the potential and limitations of each.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Engage in detailed film analysis using appropriate terminology accurately: 1,3,Write concisely and competently, in both short and extended written forms about a variety of forms of cinema: 1,2,3,Discuss the role of different aspects of film aesthetics in the production of narrative meaning in cinema: 1,2,3,Articulate an understanding of the connection between film production, film criticism, and history: 1,2,3,Carry out independent critical analysis of the value and/or limitations of different approaches to film analysis and film criticism: 1,2,3,Interact confidently and regularly with the Keele Learning Environment (KLE), as well as other electronic and online resources: 1,2,3,Understand and discuss the implications of film for exploring issues of identity, be they national, racial, sexual or political: 1,2,3,Identify the significance of wider international contexts to the production and reception of film: 1,2,3,
Study hours
10 x 1 hour lecture 10 hours10 x 2 hour lecture + screening 20 hours12 x 2 hour seminar 24 hoursEssay writing workshops 2 hoursSupervision and feedback 4 hoursClass preparation 48 hoursShort paper preparation 80 hoursEssay plan preparation 22 hoursEssay preparation 90 hours
School Rules
None
Description of Module Assessment