2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

CULT1003 Film and History: Cultural Readings and Historical Fictions

20 creditsClass Size: 55

Module manager: Dr Claudia Sternberg
Email: c.sternberg@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

This module explores some of the ways in which film has generated its own particular 'grammar' for the retelling of key historical events, proposing that this 'grammar' - like any text - requires careful reading. In considering the ways in which films can be interpreted in relation to the events that they mediate, as well as to their own particular historical context/reception, this module will provide an overview of the history of film and the ways in which it has been understood to function by various filmmakers, film theorists and cultural historians. The representation of historical events in silent cinema, European film and recent Hollywood revisions and epics will be examined. Foremost amongst the topics to be explored are the ideology of filmic representations of history and the complex relationship between past and present. Films to be considered will include: D W Griffith, Birth of a Nation; Sergei Eisenstein, Battleship Potemkin; Charles Chaplin, The Great Dictator; Alain Resnais, Hiroshima Mon Amour; Steven Spielberg, Schindler's List; Oliver Stone, JFK. Assessment: 3 x 800-1,000 word essays (60%) and 1 x 2 hour exam (40%).

Objectives

By the end of this module students should:
- have considered through case studies the role of the cinema in the representation of history;
- be able to understand and apply some basic methods of film analysis aimed at discerning the ideological reconstructions of historical materials through narrative, visual image and textual organisation;
- have an understanding of tropes of historical narrative and the role of cultural representations in the mediation of the understanding of history.

Skills outcomes
- Engagement with various text types and complex historical and theoretical material;
- Audiovisual literacy;
- Verbal and written fluency in constructing a logical and coherent argument;
- Participation in group discussions;
- Using libraries, archives, bibliographies and databases.

Syllabus

Starting with the study of early cinematic representations of history from silent cinema, Birth of a Nation and Battleship Potemkin, students will then consider, by a series of case studies, two major historical themes that have been variously represented through the cinema. Using Triumph of the Will, The Great Dictator, Schindler's List and Hiroshima Mon Amour, issues of the representation of the 'Third Reich' (Nazi Germany), the Holocaust, the Second World War and the atomic bomb will be analysed.

American history and politics will form a second case study, beginning with John Ford's classic historical drama of 1939, Young Mr. Lincoln, which was analysed by the Cahiers du Cinema group in a text that has become foundational for the ideological analysis of film. Further films to be discussed in this context are Oliver Stone's JFK and Robert Zemeckis's Forrest Gump as well as more recent productions.

Students will be asked to consider how in different contexts filmic representations produce historical narratives that reflect in complex ways the social, political, economic and cultural circumstances of their time.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Film Screenings	10	2.50	25.00
Lecture	10	1.50	15.00
Tutorial	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			150.00
Total Contact hours			50.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

150 hours reading, class/assignment/exam preparation.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- Record of attendance kept
- Participation in tutorial discussions
- 5 to 6 non-assessed exercises on film analysis (material will be covered in tutorial sessions).

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	3 x 800-1,000 word essays	60.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		60.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	2 hr	40.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		40.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 27/04/2010

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