Module RUSS3411: SCREENING THE NATION: RUSSIAN CINEMA AND THE NATIONAL QUESTION

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Russian)

RUSS3411: SCREENING THE NATION: RUSSIAN CINEMA AND THE NATIONAL QUESTION

Prerequisites

• Russian Lanage 2A (RUSS 2191) OR Russian Language 2B (RUSS 2012) OR an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: Russian Language 4 (RUSS3031) or Russian Language 4 following Year Abroad (RUSS3211). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To examine the complexities of the “national question” in the Soviet Union and to elucidate the role that Russian and Soviet cinema played in the articulation of “national question” over the most of the twentieth century.

Content

• This module is conceived as an interdisciplinary investigation of the articulations of national question in Russia and the Soviet Union between early 1900s to the present day.
• Investigation of the national question in a multinational state is being carried out through the systematic and contextualised analysis of cinematic production in the period. The specificity of the Soviet politics towards nationalities will first be explored and the key concepts of “indigenisation” and ”assimilation” will be introduced.
• The changes in the Soviet politics will also be covered and given thorough explanation against the vacillating internal, and external socio-political contexts. Transformations of the on-screen representations of the “problem of nationalities”, as well as the transformations of the national cinemas within the Soviet ethnic conglomerate, will be covered in detail. Similarly, the notion of national cinema, from a descriptive category denoting a cinema of one Union republic, through the more complex idea of national cinema as the instrument of official Soviet politics, to the idea that national cinema is the vehicle of national revivals, will be given due consideration

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module, students will have
• acquired a thorough interdisciplinary knowledge which will intertwine political history of the Soviet Union with Cultural history of the State.

• By the end of this module, students will have
• acquired the ability to analyse cinematic texts in a markedly cross-disciplinary context, which will emerge in the interstice of cinema studies, cultural and political history.
• they will identify the presence of ideas on national question and they will utilise appropriate primary and secondary sources in support of this.

• By the end of this module, students will:
• have further developed their ability to work independently within a prescribed framework, with considerable emphasis being placed on the rudiments of the research process.
• be able to present a cogent and structured argument in both oral and written form.

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

• The module is taught intensively in Term 1 or Term 2 on a ‘short–fat’ basis.
• A weekly 2-hour lecture delivers key information and concepts, acting as exegesis for the weekly set readings and allowing for discussion and clarification as necessary. Small class sizes allow for seminar-style discussions to be built into the lectures.
• A weekly seminar is devoted to class discussion and/or presentation of results of independent study by students working individually or in pairs. It provides for development of analytical and interpretative skills.
• Use is made of Duo for students to further consolidate their learning independently.
• The assessment is in the form of two summative essays.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative assessment during seminars builds on independent study by students working individually or in pairs. In the seminars students are expected to give short oral presentations, based on set questions and reading materials, and where appropriate accompanied by written handouts and/or PowerPoint presentations. Oral feedback and comments are provided regularly in the course of the seminar discussion.

■ 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