Undergraduate Course: From Girls in Uniform to Men in Drag: Gender, Sexuality and Ethnicity on the German Screen (Ordinary) (ELCG09010)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This option will explore how gender, sexuality and ethnicity, central and often contested categories throughout German history, have been represented in German film from the Weimar period to the present day. Weimar film introduced cinema audiences to Marlene Dietrich, famous for her gender-bending, as well as the first feature film with an openly pro-lesbian storyline; both the innovations of New German Cinema and the effects of post-war immigration resulted in a variety of żotherż identities on the German screen; and film since the reunification is increasingly transcultural, featuring multiple ethnicities as well as a high proportion of queer genders and sexualities.
We will begin by considering ideas from film studies to facilitate studentsż ability to żreadż film, before examining themes and theories relating to gender, sexuality and ethnicity and applying these to German film from various periods in order to consider a spectrum of identities including: masculine; feminine; drag; trans; homosexual; heterosexual; żAryanż; Jewish; German; and Turkish.
Although our central focus is German film, many of the ideas covered can be applied to other disciplines and outside of the German context. Students will, therefore, be encouraged to discuss the representation of gender, sexuality and ethnicity in films of their choice (i.e. other German films, World Cinema, and/or Hollywood) as well as those on the course.
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| Course description |
Week-by-week overview of how the course may look (as a research-led course, there could be some substitutions or additions to secondary literature listed here eg the introduction of significant new scholarship in the field, including my own):
N.B. The film for each session should be screened the week before the corresponding seminar.
WEEK 1 Introduction to Film Studies in the German Context
Literature:
Extracts from Monaco, James How to Read a Film (via Learn)
WEEK 2 The Male Gaze
Film: Der blaue Engel (von Sternberg, 1930)
Literature:
Mulvey, Laura żVisual Pleasure and Narrative Cinemaż, in Visual and Other Pleasures (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), pp. 14-30
Schwarzer, Alice (ed.) żDas andere Geschlechtż, in Simone de Beauvoir ż Ein Lesebuch mit Bildern (Berlin: rtv, 1984), pp. 159 ż 188
WEEK 3 Queering Desire
Film: Mädchen in Uniform (Sagan, 1931)
Literature:
Fest, Kerstin (2012) żYesterday and/or Today: Time, History and Desire in Christa Winsloeżs Mädchen in Uniformż, in German Life and Letters, volume 65, issue 4,October 2012, pp. 457 ż 471
Meyer, Veronika (2012) żLesbian Classics in Germany? A Film Historical Analysis of Mädchen in Uniform (1931 and 1958)ż, in Journal of Lesbian Studies. Special Issue: Global Lesbian Cinema, volume 16, issue 3, pp. 340-353.
Rich, B. Ruby (1981) żMädchen in Uniform: From Repressive Tolerance to Erotic Liberationż, in Jump Cut, volume 24-25, March 1981, pp. 44-50.
WEEK 4 Gender Performativity
Film: Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant (Fassbinder, 1972)
Literature:
Butler, Judith żSubjects of Sex/Gender/Desireż, in Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (London: Routledge, 2006), pp. 1-34
WEEK 5 Colouring in Characters
Film: Angst essen Seele auf (Fassbinder, 1974)
Literature:
Dyer, Richard żThe Matter of Whitenessż, in White: Essays on Race and Culture (New York and London: Routledge, 1997), pp. 1-40
Neale, Steve żMasculinity as Spectacleż in Cohan, Steven, and Hark, Ina Rae (eds.) Screening the Male (London: Routledge, 1993), pp. 9 ż 20
WEEK 6 Gender and Culture
Film: Yasemin (Bohm, 1988)
Literature:
Anderson, Susan C. (2002) żOutsiders, Foreigners and Aliens in Cinematic or Literary Narratives by Bohm, Dische, Dörrie, and Örenż, in The German Quarterly, volume 75, number 2, Spring 2002, pp. 144-159.
Gökturk, Deniz żTurkish Delight ż Migrant Fright: Migrant Identities in Transnational Cinemaż in Deniz Derman, Karen Ross and Nevena Dakovic (eds.) Mediated Identities (Istanbul: Bilgi University Press, 2001)
WEEK 7: Femmeinisation
Film: Aimée & Jaguar (Färberböck, 1999)
Literature:
Dawson, Leanne (2012) żAimée, Jaguar and Butlerian Gender Melancholiaż in Evans, Owen, and Harper, Graeme (eds.) Studies in European Cinema, November 2012, pp. 35- 52.
Whatling, Clare żFantastic Desiresż in Screen Dreams: Fantasising Lesbians in Film (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997), pp. 53 - 78
WEEK 8: Sexuality and Culture
Film: Lola+Bilidikid (Ataman, 1999)
Literature:
Clark, Christopher (2007) żTransculturation, Transe Sexuality, and Turkish Germany: Kutluż Ataman's Lola und Bilidikidż, in German Life and Letters, volume 59, issue 4, pp. 555-572
Tapinc, Husseyin żMasculinity, Femininity and Turkish Male Homosexualityż, in Modern Homosexualities: Fragments of Lesbian and Gay Experience, ed, Plummer, Ken (London: Routledge, 1992), pp. 39 ż 51
WEEK 9: Transculturalism
Film: Auf der anderen Seite (Akin, 2007)
Literature:
De Lauretis, Teresa (1988) żSexual Indifference and Lesbian Representationż, in Theatre Journal, volume 40number 2, May 1998, pp. 155 ż 177
Lewis, Rachel (2012) żTowards a Transnational Lesbian Cinemaż, in Journal of Lesbian Studies volume 16, issue 3, pp. 273-290
WEEK 10: Revision
Feed-forward discussion of studentsż responses to fictional exam questions (in place of past papers); student queries.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | In order to be eligible to take 4th Year Options, Visiting Students should have the equivalent of at least two years of study at University level of the appropriate language(s) and culture(s). |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 3 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One course essay of 2500 words (50%)
One 1.5hrs examination essay (50%)
In addition, students will deliver (unassessed) presentations on themes covered during the course.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
demonstrate knowledge of a variety of German films and locate these within their historical and cultural contexts;
display a nuanced understanding of complex theories relating to gender, sexuality and ethnicity, and how these relate to film;
use the above categories to critically analyse film, using the appropriate terminology;
analyse and evaluate a range of secondary literature, employing academic work from the fields of film, gender and sexuality studies in their own arguments;
construct and present a clear, sustained argument on the themes central to the course, individually and in pairs/groups, in both written and oral form.
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Reading List
Reading Lists
Anderson, Susan C. (2002) żOutsiders, Foreigners and Aliens in Cinematic or Literary Narratives by Bohm, Dische, Dörrie, and Örenż, in The German Quarterly, volume 75, number 2, Spring 2002, pp. 144-159.
Bergfelder, Tim, Carter, Erica, and Gokturk, Deniz (eds.), The German Cinema Book (London: BFI, 2002).
Butler, Judith, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (London: Routledge, 2006).
Butler, Judith Undoing Gender (New York: Routledge, 2004).
Clark, Christopher (2007) Transculturation, Transe Sexuality, and Turkish Germany: Kutluż Ataman's Lola und Bilidikidż, in German Life and Letters, volume 59, issue 4, pp. 555-572.
Dawson, Leanne (2012) żAimée, Jaguar and Butlerian Gender Melancholiaż, in Studies in European Cinema, November 2012, pp. 35-52.
De Lauretis, Teresa (1988) żSexual Indifference and Lesbian Representationż, in Theatre Journal, volume 40, number 2, May 1998, pp. 155 ż 177.
Dyer, Richard, White: Essays on Race and Culture (New York and London: Routledge, 1997).
Fest, Kerstin (2012) żYesterday and/or Today: Time, History and Desire in Christa Winsloeżs Mädchen in Uniformż, in German Life and Letters, volume 65, issue 4,October 2012, pp. 457 ż 471.
Gökturk, Deniz żTurkish Delight ż Migrant Fright: Migrant Identities in Transnational Cinemaż, in Deniz Derman, Karen Ross and Nevena Dakovic (eds.) Mediated Identities (Istanbul: Bilgi University Press, 2001).
Isenberg, Noah, Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009).
Kuzniar, Alice, The Queer German Cinema (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000).
Lewis, Rachel (2012) żTowards a Transnational Lesbian Cinemaż, in Journal of Lesbian Studies volume 16, issue 3, pp. 273-290.
Meyer, Veronika (2012) żLesbian Classics in Germany? A Film Historical Analysis of Mädchen in Uniform (1931 and 1958)ż, in Journal of Lesbian Studies, volume 16, issue 3, pp. 340-353.
Monaco, James, How to Read a Film: The world of Movies, Media, and Multimedia: Language, History, Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Mulvey, Laura, Visual and Other Pleasures (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).
Neale, Steve żMasculinity as Spectacleż, in Cohan, Steven, and Hark, Ina Rae (eds.) Screening the Male (London: Routledge, 1993), pp. 9 - 20.
Rich, B. Ruby (1981) żMädchen in Uniform: From Repressive Tolerance to Erotic Liberationż, in Jump Cut, volume 24-25, March, pp. 44-50.
Schwarzer, Alice, Simone de Beauvoir ż Ein Lesebuch mit Bildern (Berlin: dtv, 1984).
Tapinc, Husseyin żMasculinity, Femininity and Turkish Male Homosexualityż, in Modern Homosexualities: Fragments of Lesbian and Gay Experience, ed, Plummer, Ken (London: Routledge, 1992), pp. 39 ż 51.
Whatling, Clare, Screen Dreams: Fantasising Lesbians in Film (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997).
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
critical/analytical thinking;
presentational skills: oral and written;
research ability and clear presentation of findings;
independent thinking/working and group/collaborative working.
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Leanne Dawson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3644
Email: Leanne.Dawson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Vivien Macnish Porter
Tel: (0131 6)50 3646
Email: vivien.macnish-porter@ed.ac.uk |
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