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FS35ZB: LANDSCAPES OF FILM AND LITERATURE (2022-2023)

Last modified: 26 Oct 2022 16:30


Course Overview

This course will invite students to explore the ways film and literature can engage with and represent a variety of landscapes, and how, in turn, landscape can influence both the production of the work and the creation of meaning. We will study selected works of film and literature from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including mainstream and independent cinema, poetry, and fiction and non-fiction literary texts that have been adapted for film. We will look at ways in which various landscapes may have been appropriated for their emotive qualities: to connote feelings of desolation, oppression or plenitude; loneliness, fear or joy. We will also look at landscapes as sites of specific cultural history. As the course progresses, drawing on contemporary research in cultural and human geographies, and elsewhere, we will explore the ways that studying landscapes of film and literature can assist in our ability to conceive landscape not only as a static or symbolic entity, but as a highly mobile, interactive site in which history, experience and materiality converge in the ongoing production of space and meaning. In this way, we will consider how the works studied articulate John Wylie’s provocative claim that ‘landscape is tension’. 

This interdisciplinary course will draw on writings from literary, film and cultural theorists, philosophers, artists and social scientists. 

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term Second Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Mr Alan Macpherson

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

  • Either Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4
  • Either English (EL) or Film And Visual Culture (FS)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This course will invite students to explore the ways film and literature can engage with and represent a variety of landscapes, and how, in turn, landscape can influence both the production of the work and the creation of meaning. We will study selected works of film and literature from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including mainstream and independent cinema, poetry, and fiction and non-fiction literary texts that have been adapted for film. We will look at ways in which various landscapes may have been appropriated for their emotive qualities: to connote feelings of desolation, oppression or plenitude; loneliness, fear or joy. We will also look at landscapes as sites of specific cultural history. As the course progresses, drawing on contemporary research in cultural and human geographies, and elsewhere, we will explore the ways that studying landscapes of film and literature can assist in our ability to conceive landscape not only as a static or symbolic entity, but as a highly mobile, interactive site in which history, experience and materiality converge in the ongoing production of space and meaning. In this way, we will consider how the works studied articulate John Wylie’s provocative claim that ‘landscape is tension’. 


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

Seminar Assessment Mark 20%

Group Presentation and Reflective Report 40%

Essay 40%

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ReflectionCreateStudents will learn to write clearly and construct coherent arguments
ProceduralEvaluateStudents will be able to use appropriate methodologies and synthesise ideas drawn from a variety of sources
ConceptualAnalyseStudents will develop knowledge and understanding of theories of landscape, space and place
ConceptualApplyStudents will be able to work in an interdisciplinary fashion
ConceptualEvaluateStudents will be able to identify key claims and summarize arguments
ReflectionApplyStudents will develop the ability to participate in reflective discussion and lead seminar discussion
ReflectionAnalyseStudents will develop the ability to engage in critical thinking
ReflectionCreateStudents will be able to produce written reflection across a range of styles
ReflectionCreateStudents will develop the ability to design and deliver an effective presentation to a group
ConceptualEvaluateStudents will learn to evaluate the role of landscape across multiple film styles
ReflectionEvaluateStudents will develop the ability to manage their time and workload effectively
ProceduralApplyStudents will develop the ability to work independently and in groups

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