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Critical and theoretical fashions have led to waves of new approaches and methodologies, each with certain distinctive emphases and concerns. These have made Film Studies into a rich and varied discipline, particularly as they have formed an addition to concerns rather than a replacement for the concerns that have animated film theory and analysis since the birth of the medium. This module was conceived as a complement to ‘Interpreting Film: Contextual Approaches to Cinema History’. It will look at some of the tradition and essential concerns of film theory, including notions of film as art and how films ‘work’ on a micro-scale. Its focus will be on ‘Classical Film Theory’ (including Eisenstein, Bazin, etc), which set out the traditional interests and emphases of Film Studies. It will also embrace more recent film theory (such as ‘Screen theory’ and psychoanalysis, ‘Wisconsin’ formalism and cognitive psychology). The module will address questions of ontology and epistemology, as well as debates about art and cultural value

Another central concern of this module is textual detail and there will be a focus on close textual analysis of films. Consequently, there is an interest in film ‘specificity’ – seeing film as film (as Victor Perkins put it), rather than seeing film as a symptom of something else (eg.social change, cultural degeneration), or as a vehicle for other concerns (such as more general social, economic or cultural history, or sociological, philosophical or psychological concerns) that reside outside of cinema.

Critical and theoretical fashions have led to waves of new approaches and methodologies, each with certain distinctive emphases and concerns. These have made Film Studies into a rich and varied discipline, particularly as they have formed an addition to concerns rather than a replacement for the concerns that have animated film theory and analysis since the birth of the medium. This module was conceived as a complement to ‘Interpreting Film: Contextual Approaches to Cinema History’. It will look at some of the tradition and essential concerns of film theory, including notions of film as art and how films ‘work’ on a micro-scale. Its focus will be on ‘Classical Film Theory’ (including Eisenstein, Bazin, etc), which set out the traditional interests and emphases of Film Studies. It will also embrace more recent film theory (such as ‘Screen theory’ and psychoanalysis, ‘Wisconsin’ formalism and cognitive psychology). The module will address questions of ontology and epistemology, as well as debates about art and cultural value

Another central concern of this module is textual detail and there will be a focus on close textual analysis of films. Consequently, there is an interest in film ‘specificity’ – seeing film as film (as Victor Perkins put it), rather than seeing film as a symptom of something else (eg.social change, cultural degeneration), or as a vehicle for other concerns (such as more general social, economic or cultural history, or sociological, philosophical or psychological concerns) that reside outside of cinema.

Philosophy flourished in classical India for well over a millennium, with figures in this tradition producing works that are on a par with those of figures in ancient Greece and late antique and medieval Europe. In fact, figures in classical India contributed extensively to what what we now recognise as core areas of philosophy such as epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and ethics. This module provides an overview of this long-neglected tradition of philosophy. Texts covered may include the early texts of the Brahmanical and Śramaṇa traditions (e.g. the Upaniṣads, and Pali Canon of Buddhism), and writings in the age of sutras and commentaries (e.g. those of Brahmanical schools such as Nyāya, Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga, and Śramaṇa schools such as Buddhism and Jainism). The module’s approach will not be purely historical, but will critically examine the contributions these texts make to philosophical debates that remain live today.

Philosophy flourished in classical India for well over a millennium, with figures in this tradition producing works that are on a par with those of figures in ancient Greece and late antique and medieval Europe. In fact, figures in classical India contributed extensively to what what we now recognise as core areas of philosophy such as epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and ethics. This module provides an overview of this long-neglected tradition of philosophy. Texts covered may include the early texts of the Brahmanical and Śramaṇa traditions (e.g. the Upaniṣads, and Pali Canon of Buddhism), and writings in the age of sutras and commentaries (e.g. those of Brahmanical schools such as Nyāya, Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga, and Śramaṇa schools such as Buddhism and Jainism). The module’s approach will not be purely historical, but will critically examine the contributions these texts make to philosophical debates that remain live today.

Philosophy flourished in classical India for well over a millennium, with figures in this tradition producing works that are on a par with those of figures in ancient Greece and late antique and medieval Europe. In fact, figures in classical India contributed extensively to what what we now recognise as core areas of philosophy such as epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and ethics. This module provides an overview of this long-neglected tradition of philosophy. Texts covered may include the early texts of the Brahmanical and Śramaṇa traditions (e.g. the Upaniṣads, and Pali Canon of Buddhism), and writings in the age of sutras and commentaries (e.g. those of Brahmanical schools such as Nyāya, Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga, and Śramaṇa schools such as Buddhism and Jainism). The module’s approach will not be purely historical, but will critically examine the contributions these texts make to philosophical debates that remain live today.

Philosophy flourished in classical India for well over a millennium, with figures in this tradition producing works that are on a par with those of figures in ancient Greece and late antique and medieval Europe. In fact, figures in classical India contributed extensively to what what we now recognise as core areas of philosophy such as epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and ethics. This module provides an overview of this long-neglected tradition of philosophy. Texts covered may include the early texts of the Brahmanical and Śramaṇa traditions (e.g. the Upaniṣads, and Pali Canon of Buddhism), and writings in the age of sutras and commentaries (e.g. those of Brahmanical schools such as Nyāya, Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga, and Śramaṇa schools such as Buddhism and Jainism). The module’s approach will not be purely historical, but will critically examine the contributions these texts make to philosophical debates that remain live today.

Philosophy flourished in classical India for well over a millennium, with figures in this tradition producing works that are on a par with those of figures in ancient Greece and late antique and medieval Europe. In fact, figures in classical India contributed extensively to what what we now recognise as core areas of philosophy such as epistemology, logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and ethics. This module provides an overview of this long-neglected tradition of philosophy. Texts covered may include the early texts of the Brahmanical and Śramaṇa traditions (e.g. the Upaniṣads, and Pali Canon of Buddhism), and writings in the age of sutras and commentaries (e.g. those of Brahmanical schools such as Nyāya, Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga, and Śramaṇa schools such as Buddhism and Jainism). The module’s approach will not be purely historical, but will critically examine the contributions these texts make to philosophical debates that remain live today.

Beginning with a review of Newton's Laws applied to systems of particles, the course moves on to rotational motion, dynamical gravity (Kepler's Laws) and motion in non-inertial reference frames. Systems of coupled oscillators are studied.

Beginning with a review of Newton's Laws applied to systems of particles, the course moves on to rotational motion, dynamical gravity (Kepler's Laws) and motion in non-inertial reference frames. Systems of coupled oscillators are studied.

‘It is well done, and fitting for a princess descended of so many royal kings'. Shakespeare's words on the suicide of Cleopatra VII echo rare ancient Roman admiration for the last queen of Egypt. Defeated by Rome, Cleopatra's choice of death might show a glimpse of her noble origins. But what of her life and the world that made her? Roman propaganda made a monster of Cleopatra: power-mad; sexually depraved; fanatical, animal-worshipping Egyptian; a stain on the glorious reputation of Alexander the Great who brought her ancestors to Egypt. That legacy proved powerful and enduring. Can we get behind the propaganda to the real Cleopatra and her context? We explore the world of Cleopatra's Egypt; its multicultural society and relationship with Roman power; and the fragmentary remains of Cleopatra's life and rule. And we reflect, finally, on Cleopatra's post-mortem power on the western imagination, from Shakespeare to Hollywood and beyond.