Module description
This module provides students with opportunities for advanced study of the intersection of history, society and the screen, asking them to engage with the ways in which images circulate within specific societies and cultures in order to understand how they shape our conceptions of the past and our present. The module will look at the ways in which history has been mediated and shaped by film and/or other screen-based media, as well as looking at how key developments in history have shaped our media. Another important focus will be the relationship between cinema, media and social groups, defined, for example, by nationality, class, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality. At the same time, the module encourages students to think about the methodological approaches they might take to understanding history and its mediatisation, and to work across disciplines, time periods and media. Close analyses of audio-visual texts will be matched by close readings and debates about key literature in order to develop students' historiographical, critical, interpretative and analytical abilities and understanding. Depending on the module convener, the precise weighting of the above elements may vary from year to year.
Assessment details
4000-word essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
- To provide students with opportunities for advanced study of the intersection of history, society and the screen.
- To illustrate and examine the ways in which media circulate within specific societies and cultures, shaping our conceptions of the past and our present while also being shaped by historical events.
- To interrogate the relationship between cinema, media and social groups, defined by nationality, class, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality.
- To encourage students to think about the methodologies required for the analysis of history and its mediatisation, and to work across disciplines, time periods and media.
- To develop students' skills in close analysis of audio-visual texts and close readings of key literature
- To develop students' historiographical, critical, interpretative and analytical abilities and understanding.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, students will have studied at an advanced level the intersection of history, society and screen-based media.
Students will have an advanced knowledge and understanding of:
- the ways in which media circulate within specific societies and cultures, shaping our conceptions of the past and our present while also being shaped by historical events
- the relationship between cinema, media and social groups, defined by nationality, class, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality
- the methodologies required for the analysis of history and its mediatisation
- An ability to work across disciplines, time periods and media
Students will have developed advanced skills in close analysis of audio-visual texts and close readings of key literature. They will also have developed to a high level their historiographical, critical, interpretative and analytical abilities and understanding.
Teaching pattern
Ten two-hour seminars and ten three-hour screenings.