Postgraduate Course: Film Theory (CLLC11150)

Course Outline
School	School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	Film Theory is designed to make students familiar with major European and American film theories and various approaches to film analysis. The discussion will focus on core theoretical contributions from realism, formalism, psychoanalysis, auteurism, genre theory, audience reception studies and film semiotics amongst others. The theoretical discussion will be combined with exercises in film analysis.
Course description	Indicative Topics and Films (subject to change): Introduction: What is Film Theory? Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg, 1980) Hugo Münsterberg and the Psychology of the Photoplay The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928) Soviet Montage and Formalist Film Theory Earth (Alexander Dovzhenko, 1930) Realism and Realist Theory Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2010) Narratology: Narrative, Narration and Unreliability Swimming Pool (Francois Ozon, 2003) The Life of Pi (Ang Lee, 2013) Classical Hollywood Cinema and Related Theory Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) Psychoanalysis and Film I: Hysteria Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945) Psychoanalysis and Film II: The Dream Surviving Life (Jan żvankmajer, 2010) Psychoanalysis and Film III: The Uncanny The Phantom of Liberty (Luis Buńuel, 1974) Theories of Genre My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946) Structuralism and Semiotics Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1962) Gender, Sexuality, Ethnicity Lola+Bilidikid (Kutluż Ataman, 1999) Theories of Spectatorship Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995) Authorship Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None
High Demand Course?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Course Start Date	21/09/2015
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 22, Formative Assessment Hours 5, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 147 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Essay 1: 2000 words (30%) Essay 2: 3000 words (70%) Formative assessment: Presentation
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Course Start Date	29/09/2015
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 22, Formative Assessment Hours 5, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 147 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Essay 1: 2000 words (30%) Essay 2: 3000 words (70%) Formative assessment: Presentation
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
* Familiarity with the major theories of film and their development. * Understanding and ability to apply these analytical and critical tools for the investigation of individual films and a discussion of issues in film theory and analysis. * The course as a whole prepares for, and accompanies, the work in various options.

Reading List
* Bergstrom, Janet (ed.) (1999) Endless Night: Cinema and Psychoanalysis, Parallel Histories. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London. * Bordwell, D. (1989) Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema. Harvard University Press: Harvard. * Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson (1991-2010) Film Art: An Introduction. Multiple editions. McGraw-Hill. * Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen (eds.) (2004) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. 6th edt. Oxford University Press: Oxford. * Elsaesser, Thomas and Warren Buckland (2002) Studying Contemporary American Film: A Guide to Movie Analysis. Hodder Arnold: London. * Gledhill, Christine and Linda Williams (eds.) (2000) Reinventing Film Studies. Arnold: London. * Hayward, S. (2000) Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. Routledge: London & New York. * Lodge, David (ed.) (1988) Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader. Longman: London and New York. * Miller, Toby and Robert Stam (eds.) (1999) A Companion to Film Theory. Blackwell: Malden, Mass. and Oxford. * Nichols, Bill (ed.) (1976) Movies and Methods: An Anthology, Volume I. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London. * Nichols, Bill (ed.) (1985) Movies and Methods: An Anthology, Volume II. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London. * Rushton, Richard and Gary Bettinson (2010) What is Film Theory? An Introduction to Contemporary Debates. New York: McGraw Hill and Open University Press.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills	* Advanced skills of critical analysis * Presentation skills * Time management * Cultural and historical awareness
Keywords	FT