Unit information: Screening Nations in 2027/28

Please note: Programme and unit information may change as the relevant academic field develops. We may also make changes to the structure of programmes and assessments to improve the student experience.

Unit name Screening Nations
Unit code FATVM0017
Credit points 20
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director Dr. Maingard
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

None

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department Department of Film and Television
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

Screening Nations will examine the notion of national cinema and consider issues in its definition. Topics covered will include (as appropriate): key genres and themes in national and transnational cinemas; questions of the relation between national and transnational cinemas with Hollywood and other national cinemas; policy, censorship and regulatory questions; the position of the state and relations with government; globalisation and global media networks; colonial and post-colonial questions; representation, especially with regard to national identities. It will also focus on issues such as popularity, audience response and cinema-going as a social/cultural activity.

Aims:

  • To introduce major debates, themes and problems in relation to national cinemas, the transnational and world cinema
  • To historicise, problematise and interrogate ideas around 'national cinema'
  • To situate cinema within a global framework
  • To explore contexts of cinema reception and/or cinema’s place in society
  • To examine the ways in which cinema and related media circulate internationally
  • To explore cinema’s place within larger political, cultural and/or ideological histories.

Your learning on this unit

Learning Outcomes:

  1. understand and apply a range of methodologies to the study of cinema and shifting conceptions of the national
  2. critically analyse and apply a range of cultural theory (e.g., postcolonial theory) to cinema
  3. analyse cinema in relation to audiences, industries and/or their national and international regulatory frameworks
  4. display knowledge of a comparative and broad range of relevant cinema texts
  5. make useful contributions to academic discussions and learning.

How you will learn

Weekly seminar and screening.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

In-class Presentation (Formative) (ILOs 2;3)

Essay (4,000 words) 90% [ILOs 1-4]

Contribution Mark (10%) [ILO 5]

When assessment does not go to plan

When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. FATVM0017).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.

The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.