| Unit name | World Cinemas: from national to transnational |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODL23016 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Steven Roberts |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Film production and reception are transnational in scope as the film industry has exchanged creative ideas, resources, and products across national boundaries. However, much research has focussed on the national subject matter and context of individual films, instead of their local or transnational features. This unit will introduce you to current methods and debates that acknowledge world cinemas’ global flows across time and places. You will view artistic, political, and entertaining films from unfamiliar cultural contexts, asking such important questions as: How do filmmakers’ choices inspire wide stylistic trends? To what extent do films critically engage with the world around us? How does global film business produce stars, adaptations, and blockbusters? Through the detailed study of past and recent cinema from multiple continents, we will map the relations between cross-national films.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
You should take this unit if you are new to film studies or looking to develop your existing understanding of cinema’s transnational style, politics and business. You will be supported in the transition from early to intermediate stages of university study, by analysing and contextualising films in an informed way, using your study skills to adapt to the latest critical methodologies. The unit’s considered treatment of varied texts will help to prepare you for more advanced units on global film or cultural production, where offered, or provide intercultural skills that can be transferred to study or work abroad.
An overview of content
The unit introduces you to methods for the analysis and comparison of world cinemas. You will become trained in film analysis and learn how to relate textual details to specific national and transnational contexts, conceptually mapping the relations between films as informed by current methodologies. Content might include films from major producers such as India and Nigeria, small national cinemas or independent filmmakers, regional groupings such as South East Asia/North America/Central Europe/West Africa, and transcultural works by migrant or diasporic filmmakers. Each week, you will engage with an aspect of world cinema related to transnational flows, which could include trends in realist, action and slow cinema, or political films about postcoloniality, environmentalism and neoliberal satire, or the global business of documentary and fiction films.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will recognise the complexity of cinema in a global context and will have broader insight into historical trends that have affected significant cross-national films. You will understand disciplinary terminology and methodological approaches that support comparative film analysis, and your growing confidence in the close reading and criticism of cultural texts will also be presented effectively. The opportunity to work alongside students on multiple degree programmes will develop your interpersonal skills and appreciation of alternative perspectives, which could be useful for study at a foreign university or work placement on a year abroad. A rich engagement with film will give you a critical standpoint when considering the relations between national cultures generally, alerting you to marginalised traditions or artists as well as the major commercial trends.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
1. Identify and apply national and transnational approaches to film studies;
2. Develop a sophisticated, comparative analysis of films in different cultural and historical contexts;
3. Argue your critical position on the topic, informed by evaluative readings of current scholarship;
4. Reflect critically on your own work and academic development;
5. Independently organise research appropriate to this level of study.
Seminars will set out the key concepts informed by scholarship, demonstrating how these might be applied to interpret specific sequences and discussing these in small groups, alongside passages of the reading, and light independent research on transnational contexts, using industry or academic resources provided by tutors. Preparation tasks and sequences will be provided ahead of the seminars to scaffold your learning. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills in collaborative work and different forms of communication/discussion, with peer feedback built into the assessment that will also have industry and reflective aspects. You can examine films that go beyond those taught on the unit but which engage with its transnational approaches and key issues. As such, you will be able to expand your understanding of the topic, tailor your study of it to your own particular interests and share your findings with your peers.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Group critique, 500 words (0%, Not required for credit)
Use Microsoft Word to annotate, evaluate and redraft a brief mission statement for a world cinema festival, informed by current scholarly approaches. Feedback and peer review after submission will support reflection on your work for the summative.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Group project, 2000-words (80%) [ILOs 1, 2, 3 and 5]
Individual reflection, 500-words (20%) [ILOs 4 and 5]
Produce a festival website or brochure which has a mission statement, relates and analyses films around the world, informed by current scholarly approaches. This includes a 500-word individual reflection on your learning throughout the unit.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MODL23016).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
