Introduction to Film II: European Cinema

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• identify narrative, and audio-visual strategies and techniques in films, and interpret these according to selected critical methodologies
• demonstrate an awareness of historical paradigms in Film Studies, and combine this with the tools of textual analysis acquired on the previous core module FILM1001.
• engage with a range of different critical methodologies, and evaluate their use value for the interpretation of audio-visual texts and historical developments

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• discourses surrounding the distinction between popular culture and high art in European cinema
• distinguishing and evaluating historical periods, artistic movements, and national (political, social, and cultural) contexts
• the history of European cinema, both as an art form and as a mass medium, in different cultural contexts and transnationally

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• structure written work towards communicating a lucid and original argument that draws on a wide range of secondary sources
• organise your time
• conduct research
• present written work in an appropriate style, with consistent referencing, proper bibliography and filmography, and conforming to grammatical conventions
• research a specific subject, using a range of resources (such as books, journal articles, internet data);

The module covers the history of European film from silent cinema to the present day, placing particular emphasis on the inter-war years, the post-war period and the contemporary moment. Following an introductory lecture presenting the overarching themes and questions examined throughout the module, each of the three key phases are covered in three lectures each. The section focused on inter-war years typically includes lectures on German Expressionism and Soviet Montage, while the post-war portion discusses Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave. In addition to examining national film movements, industrial developments, and political agendas, the module also offers lectures focused on transnational themes and elements in European film culture. Furthermore, while analysing the importance that ‘art cinema’ has played in establishing European cinema as a global concept, we also highlight the enduring importance of popular genres (such as horror, crime or science-fiction) across different European countries and pose questions about the complex reciprocal connections between Hollywood and European cinema.

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching and learning activities

Teaching methods include

• Lectures
• Screenings
• Seminars

Learning activities include

• Written essays
• Informal presentation
• Independent study and research

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Catherine Fowler (ed.) (2002). The European Cinema Reader. Routledge.

Elizabeth Ezra (ed.) (2004). European Cinema. OUP.

Assessment strategy

Assessments designed to provide informal, on-module feedback

• individual and/or group tutorials on essay topics and plans
• guidance on presentations, followed by feedback after the event, in tandem with self-evaluation

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External