Course syllabus

 

EUROPEAN 200/300: Screening Europe

SEMESTER 2, 2020

15 points

 
Course Convenors & Lecturers: 

Professor Bernadette Luciano (b.luciano@auckland.ac.nz)

Assoc. Prof.  Deborah Walker-Morrison (d.walker@auckland.ac.nz)

Course Tutor: Miranda Wilson (mwil054@aucklanduni.ac.nz)

Guest Lecturers: Prof. Tracy Adams;  Prof.  Jose Colmeiro;  Dr. Stephan Resch; Dr Steele Burrow

The identities of European national cinemas, like the identities of Europeans nations themselves, have always been complex, interrelated, and effervescent, never more so than since the turn of the Millennium, with film-makers joining artists, scholars and political leaders in the debate over whether these individual entities add up to something distinctly “European.” Over the course of the semester we will watch and discuss eleven films to explore what “European” cinema might be, if indeed such a thing can be said to exist, and/or what the relationship of this hypothetical institution to European identity in a larger sense would be. We will also approach the films as works worthy in themselves of attention, both in terms of their varied aesthetics; their thematic focus on historical and contemporary issues around European identities. We notably address the on-going impact of World War 2; immigration and mobility; and the relationship between European and American Cinema. Students will complete the course equipped with new tools for thinking critically about Europe, European identity and cinema.

Coursework Assessment  for European 200:

Coursework Only:

Weekly Tutorial Assignments (Best 5, 200 words each) - 30%

Peer Reviews ( 4 required, 100 words each)-10%

Close Reading/Thematic Essay (1500 words)-30%

Final Test (1 hour, approx. 1000 words)-30%

Please note: you have to take part in every one of the assessments to pass the course

Coursework Assessment  European 300:

Coursework Only:

Weekly Tutorial Assignments (Best 5, 300 words each) - 30%

Peer Reviews (4 required, 100 words each)-10%

Group Oral Presentation -20%

Research Essay (2500-3000 words)-40%

 

Please note: you have to take part in every one of the assessments to pass the course

 

All assessment components are compulsory. You must obtain a grade above 0 for each component to be eligible for a Pass Grade. Since there is no Final Exam, you are expected to devote an average of 10-12 hours of week to the course over the semester and Mid-Semester Break (14 weeks).

Weekly Schedule:

Lectures: Monday 11-1  (Humanities 203) ; Lectorial: Thursday 2-3 (OGG  005) 

Representing History and Memory

Week 1  Course Intro+Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella) (Roberto Benigni)  (BL)

Week 2 A Self-Made Hero (Un héros très discret) (Jacques Audiard) (DWM)

Week 3 Europa, Europa  (Agnieszk Holland) (TA)

Week 4 The Girl of Your Dreams (La niña de tus ojos) (Fernando Trueba)(JC)

Europe and Hollywood: Representing Genre and Gender

Week 5 Spaghetti Western: The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly (Sergio Leone) (BL)  

Week 6 French Film Noir:  The Bait (L’Appât) (Bertrand Tavernier) (DWM)  

Immigration

Week 7 Ali: Fear Eats The Soul(Angst essen seele auf) (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)(SR)

Week 8 Code Unknown(Code inconnu) (Michael Haneke) (DWM)

Mobility, Gender and European Identities

Week 9 Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, UK) (DWM)

Week 10 Transit  (Christian Petzold) (SB)

Week 11 Tickets (Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach) (BL)

Week 12: Monday holiday, NO LECTURE, 200 Test at Tutorial time on Thursday 29/10