Film Studies—Theory and Practice (MA/PDip)

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Mr Tony Tracy

Lecturer
Huston School of Film & Digital Media
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Dr Conn Holohan

B.A.,M.A.,Ph.D.

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Dr Seán Crosson

BA, MPhil, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer
Huston Film School
University of Galway
Galway
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Requirements and Assessment

Glossary of Terms

Year 1 (90 Credits)

RequiredFM6123: American Cinema: History, Aesthetics, Ideology

FM6123: American Cinema: History, Aesthetics, Ideology

Semester 1 | Credits: 10

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of American film history during its ‘classical’ period shaped by the studio system; (c. 1930-1970’). This module will take as its organising principle the dominance of genre as a structuring principle for the history, aesthetics and ideologies of American film and explore a number of genres in detail.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify the centrality of genre in the construction of mainstream Hollywood narrative cinema.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with the ideological and socio-political contexts within which Hollywood cinema has been produced
3. Demonstrate skills in written, oral and visual communications.

Assessments

• Department-based Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  SEÁN CROSSON 🖂
  
•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  
•  JENNY ROCHE 🖂
  
•  ANTHONY TRACY 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The Female of the Species" D. W. Griffith: Father of the Woman's Film'," by Scott Simmon,
2. "Artful Racism, Artful Rape: Griffith's Broken Blossoms, "Home is Where the Heart Is" by Julia Lesage,
3. "More Sinned Against than Sinning: The Fabrications of Pre-Code Hollywood'." by Richard Maltby,
4. "Film History" by Gregory Black
   Chapters: Hollywood Censored: The Production Code Administration and the Hollywood Film Industry
5. "Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema," by Thomas Doherty
   Publisher: Columbia University Press
6. "Public Enemies, Public Heroes: Screening the Gangster," by Jonathan Munby,
   Chapters: 2
7. "‘Apes and Essences: Some Sources of Significance in the American Gangster Film’" by Edward Mitchell
8. "Home is Where the Heart is" by Thomas Elsaesser,
9. "Melodrama and the Woman's Picture'" by Pam Cook
10. "Masked Men," by Steven Cohan
11. "TheWestern: Or the American Film par excellence.’" by Andre Bazin,
12. "The Evolution of theWestern’" by Andre Bazin,
13. "Westerners and the Myth of the Past RobinWood, Rio Bravo and Retrospect" by Leo Braudy
14. "The American Nightmare: Essays on the Horror Film" by Robin Wood
15. "ForWanda', The Last Great American Picture Show: Hollywood Cinema in the 1970s." by Thomas Elsaesser, Alexander Horwath and Noel King,
    Publisher: Amsterdam University Press

RequiredFM514: Minor Dissertation

FM514: Minor Dissertation

15 months long | Credits: 30

The minor dissertation offers students a choice between a traditional 18,000 word research project OR a final draft feature-length screenplay OR a videographic essay (written & practice)
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. demonstrate the ability to undertake independent study;
2. demonstrate presentation skills in giving an overview of research question and methodology
3. to demonstrate skills which are associated with library-based study including effective use of bibliographic searches, the identification of relevant sources and the critical interpretation and correct referencing of sources.
4. Demonstrate skills in writing a rigorous, coherent and well-supported argument

Assessments

• Research (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  SEÁN CROSSON 🖂
  
•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  
•  ANTHONY TRACY 🖂
  
•  CONN HOLOHAN 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "MLA handbook for writers of research papers" by Joseph Gibaldi
   ISBN: 873529863.
   Publisher: Modern Language Association of America

RequiredFM521: Critical Theory I

FM521: Critical Theory I

Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This course aims to provide a critical understanding of the ways in which theories of film have been formulated and applied, relating these theories to their historical and cultural context, and testing out their application to specific texts.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a specific and comparative knowledge of various theoretical approaches to cinema;
2. Analyse specific texts in structural, formal and historical terms;
3. Demonstrate an enhanced awareness of film aesthetics and film cultures;
4. Work in flexible, creative and independent ways, showing self-direction, self-discipline and reflexivity;
5. Demonstrate skills in written, oral and visual communications.

Assessments

• Department-based Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  SEÁN CROSSON 🖂
  
•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  
•  CONN HOLOHAN 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "Film art" by David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson
   ISBN: 0070064393.
   Publisher: McGraw-Hill
2. "Film theory and criticism" by edited by Leo Braudy, Marshall Cohen
   ISBN: 0195365623.
   Publisher: Oxford University Press
3. "Readings and writings" by Peter Wollen
   ISBN: 0860910555.
   Publisher: Verso
4. "Hitchcock's films revisited" by Robin Wood
   ISBN: 0231126956.
   Publisher: Columbia University Press
5. "Image, music, text" by Roland Barthes; essays selected and translated [from the French] by Stephen Heath
   ISBN: 0006861350.
   Publisher: Fontana
6. "Movies and methods" by edited by Bill Nichols
   ISBN: 0520031512.
   Publisher: University of California Press
7. "Audio-vision" by Michel Chion; edited and translated by Claudia Gorbman; with a foreword by Walter Murch
   ISBN: 0231078986.
   Publisher: Columbia University Press

OptionalFM6101: Ireland on Screen

FM6101: Ireland on Screen

Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module provides students with an overview of Irish cinema from the early twentieth century to the present. It includes an analysis of the major films produced and the discourses concerning cinema in Ireland over the past one hundred years. Among the questions the module examines are: what are the major traditions of representing Ireland in cinema? How have indigenous filmmakers responded to these representations? What are the distinctive characteristics of contemporary Irish film culture?
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Comprehend the major issues and debates surrounding ‘national cinema’.
2. Recognise patterns in the representation of Ireland in international cinema.
3. Recall the major developments in the history of cinema in Ireland and examine key texts.
4. Analyse the major themes apparent in contemporary Irish cinema.
5. Evaluate the challenges and advantages of film-making in Ireland today.

Assessments

• Department-based Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  SEÁN CROSSON 🖂
  
•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "Irish national cinema" by Ruth Barton
   Publisher: Routledge
2. "Contemporary Irish Film: New Perspectives on a National Cinema." by Werner Huber & Sean Crosson
   Publisher: Braumüller

OptionalDT6120: Ensemble Acting and Devising

DT6120: Ensemble Acting and Devising

Semester 1 | Credits: 10

A practical and theoretical introduction to twentieth-century acting and performance techniques with special emphasis on Artaud, Grotowski, and Peter Brook.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Engage in practical ensemble-based activities for devising theatre practice.
2. Describe and put into practice modern and contemporary theories of ensemble
3. Describe and put into practice the ideas of key practitioners, such as Boal, Brook and Chekhov.

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  PATRICK LONERGAN 🖂
  
•  MARIANNE NÍ CHINNÉIDE 🖂
  
•  KAREN M WALSH 🖂
  
•  CHARLOTTE MCIVOR 🖂
  
•  MIRIAM HAUGHTON 🖂
  
•  AOIFE HARRINGTON 🖂
  
•  EMMA BRINTON 🖂
  
•  THOMAS CONWAY 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The Empty Space" by Peter Brook
2. "Towards a Poor Theatre" by Jerzy Grotowski

OptionalDT6123: Playwright's Workshop I

DT6123: Playwright's Workshop I

Semester 1 | Credits: 10

A weekly writer’s workshop in which students will explore fundamental dramaturgical playwriting strategies and structures through analysis of plays from different genres and in-class writing tasks.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Analyse and identify dramaturgical structures as well as particular genre specific theatrical devises
2. Develop prompts for starting and completing written work
3. Plan, structure and complete original short play
4. Critically reflect on writing and situate it within established genres

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  PATRICK LONERGAN 🖂
  
•  DEARBHLA MOONEY 🖂
  
•  IRENE OMALLEY 🖂
  
•  CHARLOTTE MCIVOR 🖂
  
•  MIRIAM HAUGHTON 🖂
  
•  EMMA BRINTON 🖂
  
•  IAN WALSH 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The Secret Life of Plays" by Steve Waters
   Publisher: Nick Hern Books
2. "How Plays Work" by David Edgar
   Publisher: Nick Hern
3. "Playwriting a Practical guide" by Noel Greig
   Publisher: Routledge

OptionalFM6117: Sport and Film

FM6117: Sport and Film

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module will provide students with an overview of the major developments in the depiction of sport in film. Considering fiction, documentary, and newsreels, the module will explore the diverse ways different cultures have depicted sport in film.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate the key themes evident in the depiction of sport in film internationally.
2. Recognise the diverse approaches to depicting sport in film.
3. Evaluate the role sports cinema has played in particular societies.
4. Identify the distinctive forms and their attributes (fiction, documentary, newsreels) that have been employed in the depiction of sport.
5. Conduct original research and analyse and write up findings.
6. Develop and demonstrate skills in written, oral and visual communications.

Assessments

• Department-based Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  SEÁN CROSSON 🖂
  
•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "Sport and Film" by Seán Crosson
   ISBN: 978-04155699.
   Publisher: Routledge
2. "The Sports Film: Games People Play" by Bruce Babington
   ISBN: 9780231169653.
   Publisher: Columbia University Press
3. "Visual Economies Of/in Motion: Sport and Film" by C. Richard King,David J. Leonard
   ISBN: 9780820478524.
   Publisher: Peter Lang

OptionalFM6100: Film exhibition, administration and education

FM6100: Film exhibition, administration and education

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This innovative module provides student with an introduction to important cultural areas increasingly relevant to film studies, film administration, education and curation. Structured around sessions with practitioners from each of these areas, this module provides students with crucial insights into the distinctive requirements and possibilities in each of these spheres and prepares them for potential employment opportunities in these areas.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. demonstrate an understanding of historical contexts in the distribution and exhibition of film
2. Understand practical and theoretical issues surrounding the distribution and exhibition of digital cinema
3. Undertake independent research into current case studies in the marketing, distribution and exhibition of film (incl festivals)
4. Demonstrate an understanding of practices around film programming in a range of cinematic and festival contexts
5. Develop an awareness and understanding of the work of developing young audiences and filmmakers
6. Gain experience in the programming of a film programme
7. Gain an understanding of the work and theoretical issues within film preservation and archiving

Assessments

• Department-based Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  
•  ANTHONY TRACY 🖂
  
•  CONN HOLOHAN 🖂
  
•  EMMA HOGAN 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The death of cinema: History, cultural memory and the digital dark age" by Paolo Cherchi Usai
   Publisher: BFI
2. "Film Festivals: Culture, People, and Power on the Global Screen" by Cindy Hing-Yuk Wong
   Publisher: Rutgers University Press

OptionalDT6109: Applied Theatre

DT6109: Applied Theatre

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This course introduces students to core concepts and practices in the field of applied theatre techniques which includes but is not limited to educational theatre, Theatre for Social Change, community arts/theatre,Theatre of the Oppressed and other Boalian techniques, theatre for development, and prison theatre.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify key working methods and genres in the practice of applied theatre.
2. Distinguish between different working methodologies and genres within the larger field of applied theatre.
3. Analyse key debates over ethics and collaboration in this field of practice.
4. Building on our practical classroom exercises, lead basic exercises from each major genre of applied theatre discussed in class.
5. Interrogate the role of the faciliator in applied theatre work.
6. Propose a framework for their own independent applied theatre project.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of a more advanced repertoire of activities and techinques from one targeted area of specialisation in applied theatre.

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  PATRICK LONERGAN 🖂
  
•  KAREN M WALSH 🖂
  
•  CHARLOTTE MCIVOR 🖂
  
•  MIRIAM HAUGHTON 🖂
  
•  AOIFE HARRINGTON 🖂
  
•  EMMA BRINTON 🖂
  
•  THOMAS CONWAY 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The Applied Theatre Reader" by Sheila Preston and Tim Prentki
2. "Theatre of Good Intentions: Challenges and Hopes for Theatre and Social Change" by Dani Snyder-Young
3. "Games for Actors and Non-Actors" by Augusto Boal
4. "Community Performance: An Introduction" by Petra Kuppers
5. "Local Acts: Community-Based Performance in the United States" by Jan Cohen-Cruz

OptionalDT6135: Playwright's Workshop II: Dramaturgical Approaches to Craft

DT6135: Playwright's Workshop II: Dramaturgical Approaches to Craft

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This workshop based module explores special topics in playwriting strategies and dramaturgical approaches which may include but are not limited to adaptation, documentary/verbatim theatre, and dramatic writing for the radio. By working through the challenges of different genres and writing processes, playwrights will stretch their skills in a collaborative group format. Students should be prepared to read work aloud in class and will learn to critique each other’s work.

Learning Outcomes

1. Chart and adapt dramaturgical structures across a range of different styles of theatre
2. Complete a short play( 20 minutes in duration) and a longer play (at least 40 minutes in duration).
3. Critically reflect on their playwriting practice

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  CHARLOTTE MCIVOR 🖂
  
•  MIRIAM HAUGHTON 🖂
  
•  AOIFE HARRINGTON 🖂
  
•  EMMA BRINTON 🖂
  
•  IAN WALSH 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The Secret Life of Plays" by Steve Waters
2. "How do Plays Work" by David Edgar
3. "The Writers Journey" by Christopher Volger

OptionalFM6125: Global Cinemas: Expanding Film

FM6125: Global Cinemas: Expanding Film

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module charts the development of global cinemas that brought film practice in new directions at critical points in the development of the artform, including the impact of German Expressionism and particularly Italian Neorealism. We will examine work from a range of practitioners, including Satyajit Ray (India), Akira Kurasawa (Japan), Ousmane Sembene (Senegal), Jean-Luc Godard (France), Abbas Kiarostami (Iran), Lars Von Trier (Denmark) and leading figures in contemporary cinema.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify key figures and movements in world cinema 'beyond Hollywood'.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with the ideological and socio-political contexts within which the various filmmakers and movements discussed emerged
3. Demonstrate skills in written, oral and visual communications.

Assessments

• Department-based Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  SEÁN CROSSON 🖂
  
•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  
•  ANTHONY TRACY 🖂
  
•  CONN HOLOHAN 🖂
  
•  EMMA HOGAN 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "Course Reader" by Print-that
2. "Oxford Guide to Film Studies" by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson,
3. "” Springtime in Italy : a reader on neo-realism" by David Overbey..
   Publisher: Archon Books
4. "Italian film in the light of neorealism" by Millicent Marcus,
   Publisher: Princeton
5. "World cinema : critical approaches" by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson
6. "Ashish Rajadhyaksha, “India: Filming the Nation” in The Oxford history of world cinema." by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith..
   Publisher: Oxford University Press
7. "If..." by Lindsay Anderson & David Sherwin,
   Publisher: Lorrimer
8. "If..." by Mark Sinker,
   Publisher: BFI
9. "Questions of Third cinema" by Ed Jim Pines
   Chapters: Paul Willemen, “The Third Cinema question : notes and reflections”
10. "The Dogme Manifesto." by Lars Von Trier
11. "“The making of an Iranian filmmaker: Abbas Kiarostami” in Close up: Iranian cinema, past, present, and future" by Hamid Dabashi..

OptionalFM6119: Film, Politics, and Colonialism

FM6119: Film, Politics, and Colonialism

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module considers the significance of film as a mode of cultural production, the politics of representation, and the role of ‘national’ cinema. The films viewed and analysed address subjects including colonial history, marginal groups, conflict, resistance, gender, and postcolonial realities. Students will consider aspects of those films including genre, theme, and narrative structure. The political and historical circumstances of their production will also be discussed and analyzed.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the language of film and be able to deconstruct and read a film critically.
2. Analyse the politics of representation, with reference to the historical and social context of films under discussion, including the effects of colonialism and postcolonialism.
3. Explore ideas about film and politics which provide theoretical and analytical tools that can be deployed in the specific media practices involved in advocacy, for example the application of postcolonial theory to film texts.
4. Demonstrate understanding of the relationship between film and politics, and the difference between propaganda and entertainment.

Assessments

• Department-based Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  FIONA BATEMAN 🖂
  
•  DEIRDRE QUINN 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "Questions of Third Cinema" by Jim Pines
2. "Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television" by Michael Anderegg
   Publisher: Temple UP
3. "Irish Film: The Emergence of a Contemporary Cinema" by Martin McLoone
   Publisher: BFI

OptionalFM6126: Applied Learning in Film Studies

FM6126: Applied Learning in Film Studies

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module examines the use and application film studies in educational, community, cultural, or industrial contexts. It will provide a structure through which students can apply learning acquired on the MA Film Studies programme in a practice context (for example participating in a film festival, or in an educational context) and receive credit for doing so.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate how learning in film studies can be used in educational, cultural. community or industrial contexts in Ireland and internationally
2. Discuss and be able to demonstrate the the processes through which learning is applied in educational, community and/or professional artistic settings including but not limited to teacher, facilitators, artists, community liaisons, participants, funders, researchers
3. Develop and demonstrate skills in oral and writing skills through assignments completed on the programme

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers & Administrators

Click a name to search for their researcher profile. Note: Only teachers publish research profiles.

•  SEÁN CROSSON 🖂
  
•  ANTHONY TRACY 🖂
  
•  Teresa O'Donovan 🖂