| CODE | ATS5039 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Methods of Research: Critical Approaches to Film Studies | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Arts | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This unit will be divided into two distinct but intimately related parts. In the first part of the unit, students will be introduced to the most diverse of film strategies and narrative techniques via the close analysis of a number of exemplary film sequences. Theory will thus be judiciously grounded in concrete examples. In the process, the students will be introduced to, or refamiliarised with, the basic vocabulary and concepts of film studies as well as the major competing theoretical and critical approaches in film analysis such as psychoanalysis, semiotics, Marxism, reception theory, feminism, and queer theory. In the second part of the unit, students will be trained to research, plan and write properly-referenced essays through the use of film-related materials, such as monographs, articles, and electronic databases. The use of recognized style manuals will also be discussed. Study-unit Aims: - To allow students to absorb the various methods of research in cinema studies; - To help students to develop the critical skills that are required to analyse film as an art form; - To enable students to critically engage with various theoretical and critical approaches in their analysis of film; - To train students to research and write essays which draw on the appropriate bibliographical material and follow a recognized style manual. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically draw on and apply competing methodological approaches and interpretive procedures in their film analysis; - Draw on the basic key concepts and the terminology of film studies in their research; - Survey and critique the relationship between film and other forms of knowledge such as literature, history, and anthropology; - Actively engage in the ongoing debate on film studies through a multifaceted lens which includes gender, nation, queer theory, genre, authorship and spectatorship; - Draw on their improved expressive potential in their critical engagement with film studies; - Provide in writing and also in seminar discussion coherent, well-referenced analyses of the texts which are being discussed. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Conduct appropriate research in film studies through the use of different materials, such as monographs, articles, and electronic databases; - Draw on a broad spectrum of such schools of thought as feminism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, and poststructuralism when critically appraising films; - Coherently express his or her ideas on film in seminar discussion; - Write essays on film in a scholarly and rigorous fashion. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - William H. Phillips, Film: An Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan, 4th edition, 2009 - Toby Miller and Robert Stam (eds.), A Companion To Film Theory, Blackwell Publishing, 2004 - David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction, McGraw-Hill, 1997 A coursepack with a selection of theoretical and critical readings will be made available. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Rebecca Anastasi Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone Glen Bonnici Saviour Catania Fabrizio Foni Timothy Gambin Gloria Lauri Lucente (Co-ord.) Nicola Ann Petroni Charlo Pisani |
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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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