School of Humanities
Discipline
Course Title
Film Studies
MA in Film Studies (Film, Culture and Society)
Module Coordinator
Module Title
Lecture times
Teaching Format
Brief outline of
content
Dr. Conn Holohan
Learning Outcomes
Critical Theory 2 FM522
Semester 2
11 x 3 hr sessions, including screening each week.
This semester’s course will offer students an insight into the means by
which meaning can be created outside the film text. It will assess the
role played by the audience and the audience’s prior knowledge of the
film canon in the creation of a film’s meaning. It will also engage with
critical debates on the ways that digital technologies are transforming
the means by which film creates meaning. This course aims to provide
a critical understanding of classic and post-war film theories and their
applications, assessing the impact of structural theories on debates
about representation, concepts of film language and spectatorship.
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Assessment Types
and Deadlines
Required Text
Demonstrate a specific and comparative knowledge of various
theoretical approaches to cinema;
Analyse specific texts in structural, formal and historical terms;
Demonstrate an enhanced awareness of film aesthetics and film
cultures;
Engage critically with film-makers, theorists in debates about
the paradigms of film studies;
Work in flexible, creative and independent ways;
Demonstrate skills in written, oral and visual communications.
One essay of 2500 – 3000 words (50 marks) plus one take home exam
question (50 marks) each semester. Deadline TBC
Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen, eds, Film Theory and Criticism, 6th ed.
(Oxford UP, 2004)