European Cinemas: Art, Industry, Entertainment
| Module title | European Cinemas: Art, Industry, Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Module code | EAF2500 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Sally Faulkner (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 45 |
|---|
Module description
This is a module that introduces you to the diverse and complex production, distribution, and exhibition histories of European cinemas. We will study some of European cinema’s most famous films, made by world-renowned auteur directors and we will ask how and why these films are so important for the image of European cinema as art cinema. We will also think about how European cinema is an industry and a form of entertainment. We will see how European cinema is a counterweight to Hollywood, and how it both struggles against, and thrives alongside, its great cinematic rival.
Module aims - intentions of the module
On this module you will study European cinema from 1960 to the present day. A wide range of major European film producing countries will be examined, including France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. Several landmark films will be considered, with the module examining critically how cinema of this kind comes to be understood as ‘art’, in some of the same ways as forms such as painting and literature. European cinema also aims to offer entertainment to domestic and international audiences. Various EU policy initiatives and film festivals held in Europe seek to provide it with a firm industrial footing. This module aims to analyse how successfully or otherwise European cinema navigates between its status as art, entertainment, and creative industry.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Understand critical debates about European Cinemas and their status as art, industry, and entertainment
- 2. Analyse film texts using appropriate technical and critical terminologies
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Demonstrate autonomous skills in the research and evaluation of relevant critical and historical material for the study of film
- 4. Analyse films of different origins at a sophisticated and intellectually mature level.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Demonstrate research and bibliographic skills and an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument and to write clear and correct prose
- 6. Demonstrate an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to question assumptions, to distinguish between fact and opinion, and to critically reflect on your own learning process
- 7. Demonstrate independence of thought and confidence in developing ideas and formulating questions
Syllabus plan
The module surveys the history of European cinema from c.1960 to the present day.
It looks at major trends, exemplary films, and the industrial, creative, and cultural contexts that shape them.
All films selected for study will be subtitled in English.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 125 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 16 | 1.5 hour lectures every week |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 9 | 1.5 hour seminars every other week |
| Guided Independent Study | 44 | Film viewings |
| Guided Independent Study | 81 | Private study for seminars and assessment |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay Plan | 750 words | 1-5 | Written |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 2,500 words or equivalent where non-text materials are included | 1-7 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | Repeat study or mitigation | n/a | n/a |
| Coursework - Essay | 2,500 word essay | 1-7 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – If you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – If you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
The format of the assessments will not change for re-assessments. Students will complete the same assignment questions.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Indicative Viewing:
81/2 (Fellini, 1962)
Wild Strawberries (Bergman, 1959)
Fear eats the Soul (Fassbinder, 1974)
A bout de souffle (Godard, 1959)
Vagabond (Varda, 1985)
Diva (Beineix, 1981)
Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown (Almodovar, 1988)
Joyeux Noel (Carrion, 2005)
Edge of Heaven (Akin, 2007)
Summer 1993 (Estiu, 2017)
Happy as Lazzaro (Rohrwacher, 2018)
A digitised reading list will be available on ELE, Readings will be taken from texts including the following:
Goff, Michael and Thibault Schit (eds), Cinema-monde: Decentered Perspectives on Global Filmmaking in French I(Edinburgh UP, 2019)
Forbes, Jill, The Cinema in France after the New Wave (BFI 1992)
Fowler, Catherine (ed), The European Cinema Reader (Routledge, 2002)
Harrod, Mary, Mariana Liz and Alissa Timoshkina (eds), The Europeanness of European Cinema: Identity, Meaning, Globalization (I B Tauris, 2015)
Luisa Passerini, Jo Labanyi, and Karen Diehl, eds, Europe and Love in Cinema (Intellect: 2012)
Smith, Paul Julian, Desire Unlimited: The Cinema of Pedro Almodovar (verso, 1994)
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | Yes |
| Origin date | 20/01/23 |
| Last revision date | 20/01/23 |
