Course description
COURSE INFORMATION
The MA in Film Studies provides students with an opportunity to study cinema as a cultural medium with a rich and varied history. The programme will explore aspects of this history as well as the critical and theoretical issues it raises. In doing this, the programme will draw upon a wide range of films from different countries and historical periods. Mainstream cinemas and various forms of oppositional cinema will all be considered.
The programme also seeks to locate cinema in relation to broader social, cultural and intellectual contexts and debates. It aims to give students an understanding of cinema in terms of both its historical development and its constantly changing place within different national cultures in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Integral to the MA is the acquisition of research skills, and training in these is an essential element of the programme of study. These skills equip students for postgraduate research at Masters level, but they also provide a basis for further advanced research at doctoral level.
Students may opt to take either a module in Contemporary Cultural and Social Theory or Skills in Media Practices and also undertake a compulsory Research Methods module. They also take two Film options; current options include 'The City in Film', 'Gender and Sexuality in Film', 'Italian Film Genres' and 'Approaches to Cinema History'. Finally, students write a dissertation on a film-related subject.
MODULE INFORMATION
Year 1 Modules
MP0700 New Media and the Arts (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0701 Animation Final Programme of Work (OPTION, 60 Credits)
MP0702 Animation Performances (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0703 Animation Preproduction (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0704 Critical Theory of Technology (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0705 Issues in Contemporary Mass Media (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0706 Mass Media Practices (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0707 Skills in Media Practice (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0708 Contemporary Cultural and Media Theory (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0709 Popular Culture(s) (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0710 Research Methods (CORE, 30 Credits)
MP0711 Media and Communication Postgraduate Dissertation (OPTION, 60 Credits)
MP0712 Approaches to Film History (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0713 European and American Cinematic Cities (OPTION, 30 Credits)
MP0714 Gender, Sexuality and Film (OPTION, 30 Credits)
SO0558 Popular Culture(s) (OPTION, 30 Credits)
COURSEWORK AND ASSESSMENT
Assessment is by academic essay and by Masters Dissertation. In the first two semesters students are expected to write on a range of cinematic, theoretical and critical topics and then in the summer specialise in their final Masters Dissertation.
CAREERS
Students graduate with:
# a sophisticated and detailed knowledge of film history and film theory.
# the ability to think critically, exercise independent judgement and evaluate complex information and ideas.
# enhanced research skills adaptable to a wide range of professional careers and contexts.
# a high level of communication skills, both written and verbal.
Graduates are employed in a wide range of contexts, including the film, television and other cultural industries, teaching, lecturing and journalism.