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  5. Film And Visual Culture
  6. FS30MC: GLOBAL SILENT CINEMA A

FS30MC: GLOBAL SILENT CINEMA A (2014-2015)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

This course will introduce students to the eccentricities and complexities of cinema's first three decades: from Japanese Benshi narration to Russian melodrama, from ethnographic expedition films to abstract animations. Each week, we will be guided by a different concept (eg. language, narrative, sex/voyeurism, the archive, comedy, etc.) and a new constellation of questions. This course will conclude by making some connections between the user-oriented paradigms of early cinema and those that give shape to contemporary digital media.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Old Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Katherine Groo

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

None.

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

While the transition to sound in 1929 brought a new layer of sensory experience to the cinema, synched sound technology also homogenized the film market, eliminating the idiosyncratic film formats, genres, and theatre experiences that defined the silent era. This course will introduce students to the eccentricities and complexities of cinema's first three decades: from Japanese Benshi narration to Russian melodrama, from ethnographic expedition films to abstract animations. Each week, we will be guided by a different concept (eg. language, narrative, sex/voyeurism, the archive, comedy, etc.) and a new constellation of questions. This course will conclude by making some connections between the user-oriented paradigms of early cinema and those that give shape to contemporary digital media. Readings will include (among others): Henri Bergson, Siegfried Kracauer, Jacques Derrida, Miriam Hansen, Tom Gunning, Richard Abel, Jennifer Bean, and Paolo Cherchi Usai.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt: 1 essay (2,500 words) (40%), 1 final project (40%), WebCT Responses (10%), Seminar Assessment (10%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Students are expected to complete web-ct submissions each week, on which feedback will be provided.

Two pieces of written work are also completed during the course (the essay and final project). Extensive feedback on this work will be provided.

Feedback

Through comments on web-ct submissions, essays, and final projects.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.
 

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