ATS3531 - Gender and sexuality in film and television - 2019

Gender and Sexuality in Film and Television surveys different dimensions of film feminism. It acknowledges the vital ways in which feminist film theory has shaped the discipline and the importance of gender in understanding how film and television circulates in the public sphere. Topics may include genre, authorship, national and transnational cinema and the construction of masculinity, femininity and queerness. There will be an emphasis on theories of spectatorship, audiences and the relationship between film and television and the viewer. A range of different contemporary and historical screen examples will be discussed and viewed throughout the semester, encompassing film and television from Australian, the USA and other national contexts.

On the successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding the historical development of key theoretical approaches in feminist film theory;
2. analyse the formal and narrative codes of different screen media by employing and synthesizing multiple methods in feminist film theory;
3. compare and assess different theoretical approaches to gender, film, television or web media and evaluate their utility for critiquing gender politics;
4. critically analyse written and filmic texts in a clear and confident manner in both written and oral presentation.

Within semester assessment: 100%

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.

See also Unit timetable information

Film and screen studies

Communications and media studies