Module description
London is a city with a rich variety of film or media related events: festivals, conferences, workshops, day schools, film seasons, public interviews with filmmakers, artists, or media creators, public lectures, special screenings, multimedia events, film or media related exhibits in galleries and museums. The purpose of this module is to help students learn how to survey, assess, and interpret such events, and how to get the most out of them intellectually, gaining an understanding of London's film and media culture as they do so. Each student attends a custom-made program of events, curated by the student with the advice of the module convener, and produces a reflective logbook as a result. However, the aim is not to produce a diary of attendance or a set of 'marks-out-of-ten' reviews of the events, but rather to examine the events for the intellectual assumptions and ideas involved, their relation to theoretical and historical ideas about film and media, and what the events say about the organisations, institutions, curators, audiences, funders, or other parties involved in planning and running them. Students taking this module will be expected to prepare themselves for each event by reading up (and watching relevant films or visual media) on the topic, and also to follow up on each event by further reading and watching. Contact time will include workshop discussions, presentations and tutorials.
Assessment details
- 3000-word event pitch (40%) 4000-word research event logbook (60%)
Educational aims & objectives
- To expose students to a wide range of film and media related events held in London during any given year, and their ability to evaluate, debate, and think critically about them
- To develop students' understanding of London's rich film and media culture, and to develop their skills in curating, interpreting and writing reflectively about a representative programme of events which the students select and attend, in consultation with the module convener
- To examine London's film and media culture, and representative events (lectures, workshops, festivals, screenings, exhibitions, etc.), for the intellectual assumptions and ideas on which they are based, their relation to theoretical and historical ideas about film and media, and what the events say about the organisations, institutions, curators, and funders planning and running them, and the audiences attending them
- To consider the relationship between film and media studies as academic disciplines and the role and influence of film and media, and film and media events, in the everyday life of a major city and its public sphere
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, students will have an advanced knowledge and understanding of:
- a wide range of film and media related events held in London during any given year, and London's rich film and media culture as a whole
- the importance of evaluating, debating, and thinking critically about film and media related events, and the practice of curating and reporting on a programme of events over time
- the intellectual assumptions and ideas on which film and media related events are based, their relation to theoretical and historical ideas about film and media
- the organisations, institutions, curators, and funders who plan and manage film and media related events, and the audiences attending them
- the relationship between film and media studies as academic disciplines and the role and influence of film and media, and film and media related events, in the everyday life of a major city and its public sphere
Teaching pattern
Ten two-hour seminars.