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This module studies individual genres, which may vary across different academic terms (it may focus on the horror, science-fiction, western, musical, comedy, the noir or the gangster film, among others). It combines aesthetic and narrative analysis with the history of the genre. The theoretical framework draws from traditionally employed methods to study the genre in question (for example, psychoanalytical, postmodern or cognitive theory). The historical portion of the course examines the genre's growing commercial viability, the proliferation of subgenres, and the growing attention of academics. Topics include, but are not restricted to, gender politics, representations of sexuality, political commentary, allegory.
Total contact hours: 60
Private study hours: 240
Total study hours: 300
Main assessment methods:
Essay 1 (2,000 words) (40%)
Essay 2 (3,000 words) (60%)
Reassessment methods:
Like for Like
Indicative Reading List:
Rick Altman, Film/Genre, London, BFI, 1999.(ed.). Film Genre Reader III, Austin, U of Texas Press, 2004.
Kevin Heffernan, Ghouls, Gimmicks, and Gold: Horror Films and the American Movie Business, 1953-1968. Durham and London: Duke UP, 2004.
Barry Keith Grant (ed.), The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film. Ed. Barry Keith Grant. Austin: U of Texas Press, 2000.
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Explore the narrative and stylistic characteristics of the genre in question;
2 Critically analyse the studied genre by drawing from theories of genre, authorship, self-reflexivity and national allegory, as well as from reception theories and, when applicable, psychoanalytical, semiotic and/or cognitive approaches to the study of film;
3 Understand the historical context that produced the studied generic tradition, contemplating the cultural, political and/or social frameworks that both inform the contemplated genre and are reflected on it;
4 Understand the genre in relation to the modes of production, distribution and exhibition of the relevant film industry;
5 Meditate on the tensions between uniqueness and repetition, artistic and commercial, artisanal and industrial, mainstream and marginal, classical and modern.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Develop verbal and written communication, including the communication of complex concepts about film to a variety of audiences in accessible ways;
2 Examine and debate conceptual approaches;
3 Organise and deploy specific conceptual and analytical arguments;
4 Employ historical and critical enquiry and interpretation, use reference sources and judge evidence;
5 Organise their private study and library research;
6 Present properly referenced coursework;
7 Manage a workload in the context of a professional organisation.
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