Undergraduate - UnitATS1305 - Introduction to film studies

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	Film and Screen Studies
Offered	Caulfield First semester 2015 (Day) Clayton First semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Associate Professor Deane Williams; Associate Professor Con Verevis; Dr Julia Vassilieva

Synopsis

This introductory unit aims to acquaint students with basic principles of film studies, including film theory and history. Topics to be discussed include: film narrative and formal analysis, film sound and editing, film genre and authorship, art cinema and national cinemas, documentary and experimental film practice. Attention will be paid to recent theories of film including those which address the socio-political significance of the medium and the ways in which it may reinforce conceptions of social and sexual identity. Film texts for exploration include those from Australian, American, European and Asian cinemas.

Outcomes

By the completion of this subject students will be expected to have:

Acquired a sense of the scope of film studies.
Demonstrated an understanding of film form and various film genres.
Demonstrated an understanding of broad cultural and historical developments in film studies.
Developed skills in the analysis of film texts in relation to contemporary film theoretical debates.
Developed an ability to recognise and evaluate critical arguments.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Deane Williams

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Film and screen studies