Module RUSS2241: RUSSIAN AND SOVIET CINEMA

Department: Modern Language and Cultures (Russian)

RUSS2241: RUSSIAN AND SOVIET CINEMA

Prerequisites

• Russian Language 1A (RUSS1161) OR Russian Language 1B (RUSS1042).

Corequisites

• Either Russian Language 2B (RUSS2012) OR Russian Language 2A (RUSS2191).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To impart an understanding of the main industrial, cultural and aesthetic trends in the development of Russian and Soviet cinema.
• To examine the social, political and ideological contexts in which Russian and Soviet cinema was produced.
• To impart an understanding of the machanics of representation in film, and to develop an appreciation of various cinematic genres and modes.

Content

• Lectures:
• week 1 Introduction: Popular Cinema before and after Revolution
• week 2 The Soviet Avantgarde
• week 4 Documentary and the Avantgarde
• week 6 Sound I: Cultural and Industrial Revolution
• week 8 Sound II: Music, Stalinism, and Mass Entertainment
• week 10 War and its Aftermath
• week 11 The Thaw
• week 13 The Soviet ‘New Wave’
• week 15 Kinoglasnost and Kinoperestroika
• week 17 The End of the Soviet Union
• week 19 Post–Soviet Cinema
• Seminars:
• week 3 Popular Cinema versus the Avantgarde
• week 5 Realism in the Cinema
• week 7 The Advent of Sound
• week 9 The Cinema of Stalinism
• week 12 From ‘Socialist Realism’ to ‘Neo-Realism’?
• week 14 Auteurism
• week 16 The Last Taboo: De-Stalinization
• week 18 How Soviet Was Soviet Cinema?

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the course students will have a thorough knowledge of the main trends in the development of Russian cinema, an understanding of the changing relationship between cinema and its social and political context, and a knowledge of the key directors and films of the period. They will also have the ability to assess the relative significance of, on one hand, the social role of the cinema, and, on the other, its aesthetic and technical specificity.

• Students will acquire the ability to evaluate film texts in the original Russian, and to identify, evaluate, and, to some extent, critique relevant critical sources. Students will also acquire an appreciation of the specifics of working with visual as well as textual source material.

• Students will begin to develop the ability to work independently within a prescribed framework, and to respond critically to a range of primary and secondary sources. On completion of the course, students will be able to present a cogent and structured argument in both oral and written form; in the former case, this may involve, where appropriate, a team-working approach to oral presentation in the context of a seminar.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are designed to set the historical and conceptual framework for the study of film in general, and Russian and Soviet cinema in particular, and will introduce methods of cultural and textual analysis.
• Seminars provide a forum for presentation of the results of independent study.
• The range of elements of assessment reflect the range of skills developed: the sequence analysis focuses on the technical aspects of film; the essay allows the relation of technical and artistic developments to the historical context; the oral presentation examines students’ ability to present the results of independent study in oral form; and the written examination interrogates the depth and breadth of knowledge acquired over the course of the year.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University