Module description
This module considers cinema and/or television from a global perspective. Given that the history of the moving image is a transnational history, this module seeks to address the relationships between the global and local through a range of case studies from across the world. In this module, students will study global screens through appropriate theoretical frameworks such as transnationalism and postcolonialism, as well as considering how global cinema and/or television can provide insights into areas such as race, gender, sexuality, and class. This module will consider how the study of global screens may intersect with moves to decolonize the curriculum within film studies, and will situate the chosen case studies in relation to broader global issues such as international conflict, geopolitical tensions, and environmental crisis. The chosen case studies from global cinema and/or television will provide insight into the specific socio-historical contexts in which they were produced, along with the wider global structures that have shaped them.
Depending on the convenor, the precise weighting of the above elements may vary from year to year. For example, the module convenor may choose to focus in particular on a specific area such as global art cinema, global cult cinema, global queer cinema, global television drama, or cinemas of the global South. Regardless of the specific focus, the overarching framework will involve providing a global perspective on the cinema and/or television texts that we study.
Assessment details
- Participation (10%)
- 1500 word essay (30%)
- 2500 word essay (60%)
Educational aims & objectives
(1)Examine case studies from global cinema and/or television through the specific socio-historical contexts in which they were produced
(2)Understand global cinema and/or television through appropriate theoretical frameworks such as transnationalism, postcolonialism, and worlding.
(3)Study how global cinema and/or television can provide insights into areas such as race, gender, sexuality, and class.
(4)Investigate broader global issues such as cultural imperialism, globalisation, international conflict, and environmental crisis, via a range of examples from global cinema and/or television.
(5)Engage with debates surrounding the move to decolonize the curriculum within film studies
(6)Interrogate the global/local dynamics of films and/or television programmes from a variety of different contexts
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable and practicable skills appropriate to a Level 6 module and in particular will be able to:
- Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the major debates within scholarship on global screens.
- Articulate a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between global cinema/television texts and the (trans)national contexts in which they are produced
- Show awareness of how global cinema and/or television texts can provide insights into areas such as race, gender, sexuality, and class.
- Critically assess and discuss scholarship on global screens in relation to a range of film and/or television texts from around the world.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the dynamics of globalisation and localisation that shape global screens.
- Design and undertake their own investigations into specific aspects of global screens.
Teaching pattern
Ten one hour lectures, ten 90 minute screenings and ten one hour seminars.