| CODE | PHI5103 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Philosophical Explorations of Popular Cinema | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Philosophy | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will focus on popular and mainstream cinema so as to show that even in what is usually perceived as low culture can contribute to philosophical engagement. Unlike movies that come from art house perspective, and which, by definition tend to operate with concepts that are grounding in philosophical aesthetics, this study unit will show that the medium of popular cinema can serve as a tool for communicating philosophical - metaphysical, ethical, political, epistemological - concepts. Study-unit Aims: 1. To instill a better understanding of the philosophical issues within popular cinema; 2. To examine whether these philosophical issues have a substantive basis. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. analyze the philosophical issues within a number of popular movies and obtain knowledge of the philosophical tradition underlying these issues; 2. investigate the philosophical presuppositions underlying popular movies; 3. theorize the concepts and themes related to the the movies selected; 4. explore the possibility that popular cinema might communicate certain truths. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. review the key thesis communicated by the movie; 2. analyze and critique in a systematic and effective manner the philosophical issues of a number of specific popular movies; 3. suggest possible alternatives to the dominant philosophical theme of the movies under discussion. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts Falzon, Christopher. Philosophy Goes to the Movies (London: Routledge 2007) Gilmore, R. Doing Philosophy at the Movies, (New York: State University of New York, 2005) Hollows, Joanne and Jancovich, Mark. Eds. Approaches to Popular Film (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995) Supplementary texts Mulhall, Stephen Stanley Cavell: Philosophy's Recounting of the Ordinary Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994) Smith Murray, and Wartenberg Thomas. Thinking Through Cinema (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006) |
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| RULES/CONDITIONS | ||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Claude Mangion |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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