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  5. Film And Visual Culture
  6. FS30ML: COMIC CINEMAS A

FS30ML: COMIC CINEMAS A (2014-2015)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

The course aims to provide in-depth knowledge of essential genres, styles and forms in film history through the particular lens of comedy. Students will be introduced to general theories of comedy, which will be linked to close analysis of individual films from several national cinemas and numerous auteurs and actors. Each week will be organised around a comic theme with a theoretical reading and pertinent examples discussed in the first session and a major film work, with additional reading, analysed in the second. Students will be marked according to two essays, participation and attendance, and weekly Blackboard posts.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Paul Flaig

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

This course will trace comic forms, genres and theories developed over the course of film history. Screenings and readings will follow comic cinemas as they mutate from gags, tricks and jokes into complex narratives and genres including slapstick, screwball, farce and satire. Essential theories of comedy will be in dialogue with each week?s film, analysing concepts ranging from the grotesque to laughter, the absurd to humour noir. Throughout the semester, we will keep a handful of broad questions in mind: How does comedy subvert, confirm or ignore social norms, whether they are political, ethnic or gendered? What is the relationship between the comic body and the corporeal response of laughter? What are the outer limits and most extreme forms of comic experience? Films by Sennett, Keaton, Renoir, McCarey, Foreman, Kusturica, Sturges, Andersson, the Marx Brothers and others.

Further Information & Notes

Only one of these courses (either FS 30ML or FS 35ML) may be taken as part of a graduating curriculum. This course may NOT be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with FS 40ML / FS 45ML Comic Cinemas B.

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: 100% Continuous assessment: 1 short essay, 1500-2000 words (30%); 1 research essay 3000-4000 words (40%); 1 Project (20%); Seminar Assessment (10%). Resit: One 2-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Students are expected to complete Blackboard submissions each week, on which feedback is provided. The essay is completed during the course. Feedback on this work will be provided to teh students, thus helping them to prepare for the research essay.

Feedback

Formal feedback will be provided on both essays in the form of written comments provided through Turn-it-In on MyAberdeen. Students will also be encouraged to discuss their performance on a one-to-one basis with the course co-ordinator. Written feedback will be offered on short written responses. Informal feedback on contributions to seminars will be offered on an on-going basis and students will also receive feedback in the form of a seminar assessment mark and written comments.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.
 

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