| Unit name | Modernism and the Movies |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL30128 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Cleo Hanaway-Oakley |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
An ‘orgy of abstraction’ – this is how D. H. Lawrence disapprovingly described film-watching. Virginia Woolf was a little more forgiving; she, at least, recognised cinema’s potential: ‘some residue of visual emotion which is of no use either to painter or to poet may still await the cinema’. Other modernist authors became involved in the film business. Dorothy Richardson and H. D. were film critics. James Joyce ran a cinema, yet his own novels were deemed unfilmable. There are, however, three film-versions of Ulysses: according to Joseph Strick, director of the 1967 Ulysses, Joyce’s novel is ‘written like a movie’ – ‘it’s a screenplay’.
This unit will explore the relationship between modernist literature and cinema from a variety of angles. It will consider: involvement (the ways in which modern writers partook in the business and criticism of film); impact (the ways in which early film influenced, or had parallels with, modernist literature); and adaptation (the ways in which film-makers have appropriated, or been consciously influenced by, modernist literature).
This unit aims to familiarise students with a selection of modernist literary texts and their film adaptations; introduce students to a variety of early-20th century films and film criticism; and enable students to critically analyse both films and literary texts using appropriate terminology.
Students will be given the opportunity to submit a draft or outline of their final, summative essay of up to 1,500 words and to receive feedback on this
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1 x two-hour seminar per week
1 x 3500 word essay (100%) [ILOs 1-5]
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGL30128).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
