BA Art and Theatre

Title:

Art Studio

Code:

FA1ART

Convenor:

MISS Wendy McLean

Summary:

This is a studio-based Art module designed to introduce key methods and approaches towards the development of a self-directed and informed studio practice

Assessment Method:

Project 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Analysing Theatre and Performance

Code:

FT1ATP

Convenor:

DR Matt McFrederick

Summary:

How do theatrical stories allow us to examine and reimagine our impression of the world today?  What practical qualities do theatre makers return to - or reinvent - in creating meaning in performance?

In this introduction to theatre and performance, you will share your interpretations and expand the ways you see and think about theatre in relation to the world today. You will learn how to be a confident spectator and reader of theatre through a range of diverse and topical performances in local or in London-based venues - previous trips have included the National Theatre, RSC Live, Peking Opera, the West End and smaller, innovative fringe venues.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Oral 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Radical Forms in Theatre and Performance

Code:

FT1RFT

Convenor:

DR Lucy Tyler

Summary:

Since the late nineteenth century, in an era ravaged by war and enormous political upheaval, theatre and performance makers have engaged in innovative and often radical experimentation with the aim of challenging the status quo and rehearsing alternative futures. This module introduces you to practitioners whose interrogation of the possibilities of performance have influenced many artists working today. You will investigate an exciting range of historical and contemporary texts and performance practices, and through a dynamic mix of lectures, seminar discussions and practical workshops, explore the key themes and preoccupations that have marked radical and experimental performance since the late nineteenth century. 

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Drawing skills

Code:

FA1DS

Convenor:

DR Florian Roithmayr

Summary:

In this module you will develop your drawing skills in a series of focused practical sessions, drawing from various subjects, including life drawing, still life, spatial and architectural/landscape contexts. Through the module you will develop your skill-set in terms of foundational techniques such as line, tone, scale; you will also develop applied drawing skills including planning, scaling and gridding up; and develop an understanding of the relationship of the whole subject to detail and internal form. Practical teaching will support a focus on drawing as a way to record, document and communicate observations, as well as a way to explore, realise and communicate ideas and imagination. 

Assessment Method:

Project 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Expanded Drawing

Code:

FA1ED

Convenor:

PROF John Russell

Summary:

In this module you will develop your drawing skills in a series of practical sessions focused on ‘expanded’ or experimental drawing techniques. This will include working from still and moving subjects including life drawing, animals, still life, spatial and architectural/landscape contexts but also exploring other approaches to drawing such as sculptural, performance and conceptual-based strategies, digital drawing, dry point and mono-print drawing techniques and the inter-section of drawing and painting.  Through the module you will develop your skill set in terms of foundational skills such as line, tone, scale but you will also develop an understanding of the varied contemporary and historical contexts, uses, ideas and techniques of expanded drawing.  

Assessment Method:

Project 90%, Report 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Modernisms & Mythologies

Code:

FA1MM

Convenor:

DR Jenny Chamarette

Summary:

This module will provide a broad, introductory survey of key developments in the history, theory and criticism of art during the modern period. Its starting point will be theories of the development of modernity and its social, political and economic components, and the ways in which modern art functions in and on its historical contexts. It will continue to look at the retrospective modernist critical and theoretical accounts of modern art's development.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Postmodernisms & Other Fictions

Code:

FA1PF

Convenor:

MISS Lisa Barnard

Summary:

This module will provide a broad, introductory survey of key developments in the history, theory and criticism of art during the postmodern period (c. 1960s on). Its starting point will be theories of the development of postmodernity and its social, political, and economic components, and the ways in which modern, postmodern and contemporary art functions in and on its historical contexts.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Approaches to Film

Code:

FT1ATF

Convenor:

DR Adam O'Brien

Summary:

How do films tell stories, make meanings, and contribute to our culture? What questions can, and should, we ask of a film?

This module includes a mix of cinema screenings, seminars and lectures, exploring a range of fiction and non-fiction films. Class discussions and assignments will challenge you to explore the meanings and cultural significance of moving images, across the 20th and 21st centuries.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Approaches to Television

Code:

FT1ATT

Convenor:

DR Faye Woods

Summary:

In an era of intensified competition for audiences and technological innovation, the box in the corner has expanded to include a vast universe of televisual content that can be slipped into your pocket. In this module you will learn the tools to both analyse this wealth of programming and the industry that produces it. Considering contemporary developments alongside the extensive history of the form, it examines continuities rather than disruption. Centred on close analysis and critical reading, you will explore a range of exciting viewpoints and frameworks through which to approach television.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Comedy on Stage and Screen

Code:

FT1CSS

Convenor:

DR Tonia Kazakopoulou

Summary:

This module gives you the opportunity to study comedy on stage and screen, encompassing film, television, theatre and stand-up comedy. You will engage with the relevant critical vocabulary and contextual knowledge to explore how humour is created, consumed and debated, across a range of genres and practices. Case studies may include classic and contemporary film comedies (e.g. screwball comedy, black comedy); musical comedies (e.g. The Book of Mormon); stand-up comedy (e.g. Ali Wong, Hannah Gadsby); sitcoms (e.g. Friends); or the work of specific creative practitioners (e.g. Joe Orton).

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Exploring the Studio

Code:

FT1ES

Convenor:

PROF Teresa Murjas

Summary:

This module offers you the experience of developing creative practical work, working in small teams. It introduces you to relevant facilities and equipment, processes of practical group work, and exploring how meaning is created in cultural media. This module is focused on the creative possibilities in the Film/TV Studio, a space which calls for projects that draw both on elements of staging a live performance and filming for the screen, involving decision-making processes concerning scripting, set design, costume, make up, lighting and/or sound. So, this module is suitable for you whether you have a particular interest in film, television and/or theatre.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Project 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Towards Sustainability: Positive Action for a Better World

Code:

AP1A35

Convenor:

PROF Julian Park

Summary:

This is a 20 credit University-Wide module offered at Part 1 the aim of which is to better understand the sustainability challenges facing the world and to consider the positive actions that can be taken either collectively or at the individual level that aids the sustainability agenda. The module will consist of lectures, case studies, discussions and speakers from external organisations as well as a group project work.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Marketing

Code:

AP1EM1

Convenor:

MR Nick Walker

Summary:

Gain fundamental knowledge of the key concepts of marketing and relate these critically to contemporary practice. Examine traditional approaches to marketing such as strategic marketing, segmentation, targeting and positioning, as well as the marketing mix, and discuss issues arising within marketing theory and practice, which bring into question some of the foundational principles of the discipline. Through lectures, readings, and the analysis of case studies, address the latest thinking within the marketing discipline.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

The Fundamentals of Business and Marketing

Code:

AP1EM2

Convenor:

MR Nick Walker

Summary:

Gain an introduction to management science and its relevance to businesses. Interactive in-class activities and the use of online apps will help you learn techniques for inspiring teamwork in an organisational context, discover the importance of strategic management design for achieving an organisation's goals, and understand the roles of the manager and the responsibilities this carries. You will also have a range of opportunities to gain hands-on practising decision making through case studies. Develop your leadership skills to motivate and guide a team towards the achievement of an organisation’s objectives. 

Gain fundamental knowledge of the key concepts of marketing and management, and relate these critically to contemporary practice. Examine fundamental marketing concepts such as strategic marketing, market segmentation and the marketing mix. You will also begin to explore these concepts through the lens of Digital Marketing.

You will discuss issues arising within marketing theory and practice, which bring into question some of the foundational principles of the discipline. Through lectures, readings, and the analysis of case studies, address the latest thinking within the marketing discipline.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Management

Code:

AP1SB1

Convenor:

PROF Julian Park

Summary:

This module provides a contemporary and comprehensive introduction to management science and its relevance to businesses. Interactive in-class activities and the use of online apps will help you learn techniques for inspiring teamwork in an organisation context, discover the importance of strategic management design for achieving an organisation's goals, and understand the roles of the manager and the responsibilities this carries. You will also have a range of opportunities to gain hands-on practising decision making through case studies. Furthermore, develop your leadership skills to motivate and guide a team towards the achievement of an organisation’s objectives.  

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome

Code:

AR1EMP

Convenor:

PROF Roger Matthews

Summary:

This module introduces the archaeology and historical context of the world’s early empires, dating from 2500 BC to AD 395. We focus on the great empires of ancient Mesopotamia (Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria), Egypt, the Persian Achaemenid Empire and the Roman Empire. We will review other imperial entities of the world, including examples from China and the Far East, and the Americas. We will examine special themes relevant to the topic of empires, including ideology, imperial cult, trade, urbanisation, warfare, agriculture and the everyday lives of imperial subjects. You will study the rise and fall of some of the greatest, and the most fearsome, socio-political entities to have existed on our planet.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Practical 10%, Report 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome [10 credits]

Code:

AR1EMP10

Convenor:

PROF Roger Matthews

Summary:

This module introduces the archaeology and historical context of the world’s early empires, dating from 2500 BC to AD 395. We focus on the great empires of ancient Mesopotamia (Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria), Egypt, the Persian Achaemenid Empire and the Roman Empire. We will review other imperial entities of the world, including examples from China and the Far East, and the Americas. We will examine special themes relevant to the topic of empires, including ideology, imperial cult, trade, urbanisation, warfare, agriculture and the everyday lives of imperial subjects. You will study the rise and fall of some of the greatest, and the most fearsome, socio-political entities to have existed on our planet.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death

Code:

AR1FOR

Convenor:

DR Gundula Müldner

Summary:

This module investigates the archaeological methods employed in the scientific study of the dead, both from modern crime scenes and within older archaeological contexts. You will have the opportunity to analyse skeletal remains, and carry out fieldwork in the form of a cemetery survey, learning how to analyse and interpret these results. Through a series of case studies, you will explore the role of forensic archaeologists and anthropologists (working within the context of the ethics, law and politics) behind the examination of human remains.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Report 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death [10 credit]

Code:

AR1FOR10

Convenor:

DR Gundula Müldner

Summary:

This module investigates the archaeological methods employed in the scientific study of the dead, both from modern crime scenes and within older archaeological contexts. Through a series of case studies, you will explore the role of forensic archaeologists and anthropologists (working within the context of the ethics, law and politics) behind the examination of human remains.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Revolutions and Transitions: The Human Journey from 6 Million Years Ago to the Present Day

Code:

AR1RAT

Convenor:

PROF Steve Mithen

Summary:

This module investigates the development of human society from a long-term and global perspective. It traces the human journey from our earliest ancestors of c. 6 million years ago to the present day. The module considers the key revolutions and transitions that have affected human thought, behaviour and society, focussing on the evidence from material culture. Key themes include human evolution, the development of complex societies, the inventions of metallurgy and writing, the industrial and agricultural revolutions, and globalisation. The module is taught by a combination of online lectures, face-to-face seminars and lectures, and practical classes.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Revolutions and Transitions: The Human Journey from 6 Million Years Ago to the Present Day

Code:

AR1RAT1

Convenor:

PROF Steve Mithen

Summary:

This module investigates the development of human society from a long-term and global perspective. It traces the human journey from our earliest ancestors of c. 6 million years ago to the present day. The module considers the key revolutions and transitions that have affected human thought, behaviour and society, focussing on the evidence from material culture. Key themes include: human evolution, the development of complex societies, the inventions of metallurgy and writing, the industrial and agricultural revolutions, and globalisation. The module is taught by a combination of online lectures and face-to-face seminars and lectures.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology

Code:

AR1SOC

Convenor:

DR Alanna Cant

Summary:

This module provides a general introduction to social anthropology, the study of human societies and cultures. It will introduce you to major themes in the discipline of anthropology through focused study on topics that may include: kinship and marriage, gender and sexuality, the roles of religion, ritual and witchcraft in modern life, the concepts of ethnicity and race, and contemporary hunting and gathering societies. The module will also consider how anthropology can help us understand key issues in today’s world, such as ethnicity, race and decolonisation, and the role that work and consumption play in forming identities. Teaching is focused on real-world case studies from different cultures and regions around the globe, including the research expertise of the lecturer(s). 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology [10 credits]

Code:

AR1SOC10

Convenor:

DR Alanna Cant

Summary:

This module provides a general introduction to social anthropology, the study of human societies and cultures. It will introduce you to major themes in the discipline of anthropology through focused study on topics that may include: kinship and marriage, gender and sexuality, the roles of religion, ritual and witchcraft in modern life, the concepts of ethnicity and race, and contemporary hunting and gathering societies. The module will also consider how anthropology can help us understand key issues in today’s world, such as ethnicity, race and decolonisation, and the role that work and consumption play in forming identities. Teaching is focused on real-world case studies from different cultures and regions around the globe, including the research expertise of the lecturer(s). 

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Ancient Song

Code:

CL1SO

Convenor:

PROF Ian Rutherford

Summary:

This module introduces students to the lyric poetry of ancient Greece and Rome, studying authors from both civilisations and considering a range of thematic approaches to the surviving corpus of poetry. It is intended to be suitable for beginners and for those who have studied some ancient literature before; there is no language requirement, but there will be an opportunity for students who do have relevant skills to employ them in their coursework and exams.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Texts, Readers, and Writers

Code:

CL1TR

Convenor:

PROF Eleanor Dickey

Summary:

This module explores the history of texts, reading, and writing in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. We shall look at literature, papyri, inscriptions, letters, Linear B, etc. Attention will also be given to the invention of the alphabet and to ancient writing materials and technologies. No knowledge of Latin, ancient Greek, or the ancient world more generally is required.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 50%, Set exercise 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Environmental Science

Code:

GV1B1

Convenor:

DR Hazel McGoff

Summary:

The module provides an overview of the scope of Environmental Science, and introduces the scientific processes that control and affect our environment.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intercultural Competence and Communication

Code:

IL1GICC

Convenor:

MS Joan McCormack

Summary:

In this module students develop the skills and understanding needed for communicating effectively in a multi-cultural global environment, including the university and the workplace.  Intercultural competence and communication will be considered from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including Language Education, Film, and Curriculum. During the course of the module you will tackle questions such as: How do you work successfully in multicultural Teams? Are nationality and identity the same thing? Why do stereotypes exist?

Students will demonstrate their learning through reflections and by defining and explaining a real-world situation. The module will be delivered at the University of Reading Whiteknights campus.

Assessment Method:

Oral 10%, Portfolio 30%, Project 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Modern Britain: Society, History and Politics

Code:

IL1GMB

Convenor:

DR Lucy Watson

Summary:

This module aims to provide an introduction to key aspects of modern British society, politics and history, identifying past and present issues.

Topics explored include the historical and political landscape of Post war Britain, British identities, patterns of inequality, education, religion, and Britain’s relationship with Europe.

In the Summer term students will work independently to explore a specific from the range taught in Term 1, to develop knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles and demonstrate an ability to evaluate and interpret these.

Assessment Method:

Oral 40%, Project 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

English Language and Society

Code:

LS1ELS

Convenor:

DR Christiana Themistocleous

Summary:

The course aims to provide a broad introduction to English Language and Society, and a basis for further in-depth study of the field in parts two and three of the degree in English Language and Linguistics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Globalization and Language

Code:

LS1GL

Convenor:

DR Tony Capstick

Summary:

In this module students will explore the role of language in globalization. They will examine the reasons for the spread of languages around the globe historically and in the future (especially in the context of political developments such as Brexit, and the increasing importance of World languages such as English). They will also explore debates about linguistic imperialism and the political dimensions of language use and language policies. Finally, they will explore the effects of technology and migration on the linguistic situation in Latin America, New Zealand and the Middle East, including how urban centers are becoming increasingly multilingual and ‘superdiverse’, and the political and social consequences of this. Teaching is drawn from across the School of Literature and Language.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 10%, Project 90%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Presenting the Past

Code:

MC1PP

Convenor:

DR Rhi Smith

Summary:

Museum display environments create representations of the past through a complex process of design, curatorship, and interpretation. This module uses museological theory and practice to interrogate the way that heritage organisations present the past to the public.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Greats of European Cinema

Code:

ML1GEC

Convenor:

DR Marta Simo-Comas

Summary:

The aim of this module is to provide students with an understanding of the ways in which European Cinema – and the various national cinemas that comprise it – reflects the changing political, social and cultural climate of the twentieth century. The course is designed to introduce students to key features of film analysis and to develop their ability to apply these to the films studied.

Assessment Method:

Exam 55%, Set exercise 45%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Student Enterprise

Code:

MM1F10

Convenor:

DR Lebene Soga

Summary:

This is a dynamic module introducing students to key concepts of business start-up. Students work in a team to identify and develop a new business opportunity, and then seek to test their idea through ‘lean start-up’ experiments. Students will be introduced to key concepts of entrepreneurial management including design thinking, business model creation, entrepreneurial finance and marketing. This is a highly interactive and practical module, with a focus on experiential learning.

Assessment Method:

Project 60%, Class test 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

The Science of Climate Change

Code:

MT1CC

Convenor:

PROF Nigel Arnell

Summary:

This module provides an introduction to the science of climate change, aimed at students who do not necessarily have a scientific background.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Assignment 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

British Society

Code:

PO1BRI

Convenor:

DR Dawn Clarke

Summary:

The module draws on theories and approaches from Politics, Sociology, Psychology, History and Philosophy to consider some of the main contours of contemporary British Society. The module will explore a number of images of Britain including: Britain as a Welfare State, Multicultural Britain and Britain as a Class Society. It will also explore crime and deviance in Britain, the role of the mass media and the increasing power of the food industry. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Inequality

Code:

PO1INE

Convenor:

DR Jonathan Golub

Summary:

Inequality is everywhere around us: different individuals earn different salaries, people of different genders and backgrounds have access to different economic opportunities, and those at the top of the income distribution have radically distinct life chances than those at the bottom. What explains rising inequality, is it fair and what are the consequences? Should anything be done to reduce inequality, and if so, what? This course aims to answer these questions by providing students with the analytical tools and knowledge to understand and explain the evolution of earnings, racial and gender inequality over time and its variation across developed countries. It also considers the economic, normative and political implications of different forms of inequality, in particular gender and racial inequality. Is inequality at the top of the income distribution (i.e. the 1% v. the rest of us) the inevitable outcome of a well-functioning market system or does it suggest problems in the way democracy works? Does inequality undermine democracy for instance by affecting political participation or increasing the appeal of non-liberal populist parties? Take the course and you will find out more about these fascinating questions and more!

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 10%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Political Ideas

Code:

PO1IPI

Convenor:

DR Andrew Reid

Summary:

An introduction to political theory, covering central topics like the state and its authority, democracy, rights and liberty, equality and social justice, and war and intervention, as well as some of the basic methods for understanding them all. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

War and Warfare

Code:

PO1WAR

Convenor:

DR Vladimir Rauta

Summary:

What is war? How do we classify war? What causes war? How are wars fought? What kinds of warfare can we identify and how have these changed throughout history? How do we make sense, theoretically and empirically, of the growing spectrum of contemporary war - including, but not limited to, great power war, nuclear inter-state war, civil wars, hybrid/cyber/proxy/grey zone warfare? This is an introductory module for students seeking foundational knowledge of war in international relations. The emphasis is on concepts and types of war, their causes, and how they relate to real world issues in international relations and international security. By thinking through and examining a subset of wars and types of warfare the ultimate objective is to have students embrace a range of theoretical arguments about both historical and contemporary examples, to apply these insights to current debates about war in international relations and to prepare students for future scholarly research and security/strategy-focused analysis.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Global Justice

Code:

PP1GJ

Convenor:

MISS Michela Bariselli

Summary:

Global traditions of philosophy  from the Buddha and Confucius to Simone Weil, Frantz Fanon, Martin Luther King Jr., and African and Native American thinkers advocate ideas of justice and freedom that extend far beyond contemporary conceptions. This course shows how these thinkers question our  ideas of justice, and  transform how we approach injustice and freedom in the  context of race and colonialism, nature and  indigenous communities, identity  and sexuality, family and polity, through radically different conceptions of freedom and violence,  love, equality and harmony.

Some of the claims we will examine include: Justice is freedom from suffering!  Revolutionary violence is cathartic and emancipatory! Political justice  requires mental training! Nature is alive and has rights! Gender and sexual freedom are gained by  dissolving bodily boundaries!  Truth lies in pleasure! Justice is  love! Social justice comes with harmonising differences! 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

The Meaning of Life

Code:

PP1ML

Convenor:

DR Luke Elson

Summary:

What is the meaning of life? This is perhaps the most important philosophical question we can ask. What is the answer? Indeed, what is the question really asking? In this module, we seek the answers. Along the way, we will consider a series of fascinating questions which promise to enlighten our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. What makes life worth living? Is there any reason to fear death? Could life in artificial reality be better or more fulfilling than life in the real world?

Reading:

A list of required readings will be posted online. All or nearly all core readings are available electronically.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Reason and Argument

Code:

PP1RA

Convenor:

DR Jumbly Grindrod

Summary:

This module enhances students’ ability to understand and construct complex arguments through the study of logic and the psychology of human reasoning. Reading: A module guide will be available. Recommended: Jamie Carlin Watson and Robert Arp, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Reasoning Well, 2nd edition, Bloomsbury, 2015.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Radical Philosophy

Code:

PP1RP

Convenor:

PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford

Summary:

From Plato and Marx to contemporaries like Judith Butler, Slavoj Zizek, and Catharine MacKinnon, there is a long tradition of radicalism in philosophy. This course is about how radical philosophy can usefully question our deepest assumptions and challenge our deepest beliefs. Poets should be outlawed from our society! We can secure knowledge by doubting everything! Capitalism will be destroyed by the very forces it creates! Gender is a social performance! Pornography silences women! Torture is permissible in extreme circumstances, e.g. post 9/11! These are some of the claims this course investigates philosophically.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Psychology

Code:

PY1IPY

Convenor:

DR Katie Barfoot

Summary:

This module is delivered at the University of Reading, for students who are interested in but not studying Psychology.  

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Report 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

History of Graphic Communication

Code:

TY1HGC

Convenor:

DR Rob Banham

Summary:

The module provides students with an introduction to the history of graphic communication over the past 150 years, and the changing role of the graphic designer during that time. We will study the key design movements of the 20th century and the work of some of its most influential graphic designers and typographers.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Oral 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Printing and printmaking

Code:

TY1PRI

Convenor:

DR Rob Banham

Summary:

The invention of printing, and the resulting spread of knowledge, played a crucial part in the development of modern society. This module will provide students with a broad overview of advances in printing and printmaking over the past 500 years. We will study how technological advances and the changing needs of readers affected the production, distribution, and reception of printed documents of all kinds. Students will also gain practical experience of printing, including letterpress, copper-engraving, and stone lithography, and will have opportunities to handle books, prints, and artefacts produced by some of the great printers and printmakers of the past.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Set exercise 10%, Portfolio 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

What the font? Making and using typefaces

Code:

TY1WTF

Convenor:

DR Rob Banham

Summary:

You are surrounded by fonts. Social media, text messages, email, branding, advertising, websites, books, magazines … Human (and machine) communication relies extensively on fonts, but what do you really know about them? How and why are new fonts created? And is it ever OK to use comic sans?! This module will introduce you to the world of typeface design, exploring the history, theory, and practice of making and using fonts and giving you the opportunity to design a typeface of your own. No background in design is required.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 50%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Part 2I Studio

Code:

FA2IS2

Convenor:

MR Angus Wyatt

Summary:

This is an Art studio module that is supported by tutorials, group critiques, material sessions, weekly seminars, exhibitions, and a program of visiting artist talks. There is also an option to take a study abroad module or take up a work placement in the Autumn term. The aim of the module is to support and challenge students in their development of an independent, creative and critically informed art practice. The module encourages students to identify and investigate particular (individual) interests and concerns through practical engagement in the studio and workshop areas. Students are further supported in the development of research skills relevant to both the development of an art practice and an understanding of its relationship to the broad field of contemporary art. Through the visiting artist program and placement schemes, students are encouraged to enhance their knowledge of career opportunities and reflect upon skills required to make effective applications.

Assessment Method:

Practical 33%, Portfolio 33%, Report 34%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Part 2 Studio including Career Management Skills

Code:

FA2S2

Convenor:

MS Tina O'Connell

Summary:

This is a studio-based module where students are supported and guided in the development of an individual art practice. Studio tutors are available from Monday to Friday and they encourage students to be experimental, creative and

to become knowledgeable about contemporary art and culture. Material sessions where students can learn new skill in a range of media from painting to digital are available in the Autumn and Spring term. Weekly lectures by visiting artist give insight into diversity in the art world and the different ways artists make and practice today. Through staging exhibitions students learn about group working and this is further advanced through a program of group tutorials. During the module students learn appropriate methods of documenting and writing about their work. Through making, documenting and writing students learn what materials and ideas matter to them and how their concerns are informed by and relate to relevant contemporary art practices. The university careers team and alumni visit the department in the Autumn and Spring term to give practical and creative advice on the range of careers open to arts graduates.

Assessment Method:

Project 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Identity, Performance and Culture

Code:

FT2IPC

Convenor:

DR Matt McFrederick

Summary:

On this module, you will explore the construction, representation and theatrical performance of diverse modes of identity such as gender, sexuality, class, nation, ethnicity or disability.  We will consider how these intersect with the performance of identity in culture more generally, asking how theatre and performance can both reinforce particular identity positions and stereotypes, and can also expose or contest narrow, oppressive or exclusionary identity positions. We will investigate the work of theatre practitioners in relation to specific socio-historical, theoretical and theatrical frameworks, and will consider a range of performance forums such as public installations. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Visual Thinking and Material Writing

Code:

FA2IMW

Convenor:

PROF Alun Rowlands

Summary:

This is a seminar based module designed to develop writing skills and the awareness of the scope of writing within art and art history. It will focus on the range of writing that constitutes the current discourses in art. The module will look at writings from Art Historical and critical theory approaches to genre in order to expand the student's expectations of what approaches are acceptable and useful within writing about art and art writing. Each week the group will look at different models of art writing in order to think through and begin to find a position on the appropriate forms for different contexts.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Philosophies and Theories of Art

Code:

FA2IPA

Convenor:

DR James Hellings

Summary:

This module explores a range of philosophical and political ideas and tracks their impact on the histories and discourses of art. Over the course of 10 lectures students will be introduced to a range of historical and contemporary expositions and their use in Art, art criticism and theory. The module will develop through a combination of lectures, seminar discussion, exhibition visits, screenings and a written assignment.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

International Study

Code:

FA2IS

Convenor:

PROF Alun Rowlands

Summary:

This module involves a week long supervised study trip to a major European art centre (there is also 1 lecture in Week 2 of the Autumn term). Students see and experience contemporary art at first hand and also benefit from the knowledge and expertise of accompanying academic staff. Recent centres have included Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, Cologne, Paris and Venice.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

International Study 2

Code:

FA2IS3

Convenor:

PROF Alun Rowlands

Summary:

This module involves a week long supervised study trip to a major European art centre (there is also 1 lecture in Week 2 of the Autumn term). Students see and experience contemporary art at first hand and also benefit from the knowledge and expertise of accompanying academic staff. Recent centres have included Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, Cologne, Paris and Venice.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Independent study with Work Placement

Code:

FA2ISP

Convenor:

DR Kate Allen

Summary:

Students undertake an intensive investigation into an organisation, museum, gallery, studio complex, selected in consultation with a supervisor. Students will develop and present a portfolio consisting of elements such as an annotated list of sources; a critical bibliography including an analysis of a selected number of key sources; an exhibition and reproduction history, including illustrations; a visual analysis; a short discursive text accounting for the significance of their chosen investigation.  It may also be an exhibition or key texts in the field.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

What is the Contemporary? 3

Code:

FA2IWC3

Convenor:

MISS Julia Crabtree

Summary:

This module provides a rigorous critical forum where students consider their own artistic concerns in relation to the experiences of visiting speakers. Module content will centre on Contemporary Art's debates and trajectories as well as diverse models of practice through presentations by visiting artists, theorists, writers, curators, and others involved in visual culture. Students will critically analyse the artist presentations through seminar discussion, course reading, art historical research and written response.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

What is the Contemporary? 4

Code:

FA2IWC4

Convenor:

MISS Julia Crabtree

Summary:

This module provides a rigorous critical forum where students consider their own artistic concerns in relation to the experiences of visiting speakers. Module content will centre on Contemporary Art's debates and trajectories as well as diverse models of practice through presentations by visiting artists, theorists, writers, curators, and others involved in visual culture. Students will critically analyse the artist presentations through seminar discussion, course reading, art historical research and written response.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Visual Thinking and Material Writing

Code:

FA2MW

Convenor:

PROF Alun Rowlands

Summary:

This is a seminar based module designed to develop writing skills and the awareness of the scope of writing within art and art history. It will focus on the range of writing that constitutes the current discourses in art. The module will look at writings from Art Historical and critical theory approaches to genre in order to expand the student's expectations of what approaches are acceptable and useful within writing about art and art writing. Each week the group will look at different models of art writing in order to think through and begin to find a position on the appropriate forms for different contexts.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Philosophies and Theories of Art

Code:

FA2PA

Convenor:

DR James Hellings

Summary:

This module explores a range of philosophical and political ideas and tracks their impact on the histories and discourses of art. Over the course of 10 lectures students will be introduced to a range of historical and contemporary expositions and their use in Art, art criticism and theory. The module will develop through a combination of lectures, seminar discussion, exhibition visits, screenings and a written assignment.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Study Abroad

Code:

FA2SSA

Convenor:

MISS Julia Crabtree

Summary:

Module code to indicate that a student has undertaken a period of Study Abroad at a partner institution as part of their single or joint honours Art degree.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

What is the Contemporary? 1

Code:

FA2WC1

Convenor:

PROF John Russell

Summary:

This module provides a rigorous critical forum where students consider their own artistic concerns in relation to the experiences of visiting speakers. Module content will centre on Contemporary Art's debates and trajectories as well as diverse models of practice through presentations by visiting artists, theorists, writers, curators, and others involved in visual culture. Students will critically analyse the artist presentations through seminar discussion, course reading, art historical research and written response.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

What is the Contemporary? 2

Code:

FA2WC2

Convenor:

PROF John Russell

Summary:

This module provides a rigorous critical forum where students consider their own artistic concerns in relation to the experiences of visiting speakers. Module content will centre on Contemporary Art's debates and trajectories as well as diverse models of practice through presentations by visiting artists, theorists, writers, curators, and others involved in visual culture. Students will critically analyse the artist presentations through seminar discussion, course reading, art historical research and written response.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Exploring Location

Code:

FT2EL

Convenor:

DR Tonia Kazakopoulou

Summary:

Building on Part 1, this module gives you the opportunity to deepen your engagement with creative practical work, working on more advanced projects. You will explore the creative possibilities of working on location, for the purposes of staging a live performance and/or filming for the screen. In groups, you will choose a site and develop a creative project in response. You will develop your experience of Health and Safety practices, relevant equipment and processes of practical group work. You will be able to follow your particular interests in specific creative decision-making processes, such as scripting, set design, lighting and/or sound.  

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Project 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Film Forms and Cultures

Code:

FT2FFC

Convenor:

DR David Foster

Summary:

This module will broaden your knowledge of historical and contemporary global cinema through screening a variety of exciting film forms.  This will deepen your understanding of the relationships between films and their artistic, social and cultural contexts. The module iincludes art cinema and experimental in documentary, giving you the opportunity to engae with, analyse, discuss, research and write about a diverse range of carefully selected films and relevant critical/theoretical material.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Placements and Employment Skills (Twenty Credits)

Code:

FT2PE20

Convenor:

MR James Kenward-Abdollahyan

Summary:

Through taught sessions you will gain relevant employment skills. You will then have the opportunity to apply these skills through self-directed study. You will either a) self-organise a placement to undertake in an industry or organisation of your choice or b) undertake a detailed examination of an industry, organisation or role of your choice. Students will develop their approach to the written assessment supported by workshop discussion, and tutor and peer feedback, and in doing so will also develop their pitching and presentation skills.  

In the summer term of the previous year, a session will provide advice on how to secure a placement.  

Assessment Method:

Portfolio 50%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Performance Skills: Acting and Directing

Code:

FT2PS

Convenor:

DR Lisa Woynarski

Summary:

In this module, you will enter the rehearsal room and practically explore acting and directing strategies. By exploring historic and contemporary acting and directing modes from a global context, this module will enable you to develop a tool-kit of practical acting and directing strategies and approaches to inform your work and identity as an artist-practitioner.  This is part of critical practice so you will be critically Through a case-study approach, you will engage with a diverse set of aesthetic forms of theatre and performance, exploring their associated directing and acting methodologies and critical ideas within them such as agency and expression. You will have the opportunity to test out these different modes of acting and directing in hands-on sessions, reflecting on their use and application of different strategies and approachesin practice.?

Assessment Method:

Practical 50%, Oral 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Screen Storytelling and Criticism

Code:

FT2SSC

Convenor:

DR Adam O'Brien

Summary:

This module explores film and television storytelling, against the backdrop of different genres and historical periods. It focuses on a coherent selection of films / programmes, plus associated critical and theoretical writing. You will explore a range of narrative techniques, and develop your skills in close analysis. This work will be integrated with the study of videographic criticism. You will produce a series of short videographic exercises, and develop skills which will enable you to create video essays for assignments on other modules on your degree programme.  

Assessment Method:

Project 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Television and Contemporary Culture

Code:

FT2TCC

Convenor:

DR Faye Woods

Summary:

This module deepens your understanding of television form, industry and the complexity of the medium and its programming. It provides the tools to critically engage with issues of representation and identity, explores industrial concerns (who has the power to make television and how does that impact how and what stories are told) as well as global production and trade of television. It considers different approaches to television storytelling and representations of the world around us through a selection of television genres and forms, which may include reality tv, documentary, period drama and sitcom. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Project 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Studio (joint honours)

Code:

FA3HS2

Convenor:

PROF Susanne Clausen

Summary:

This is an Art studio module that is supported by tutorials, group critiques, material sessions, weekly seminars, exhibitions, and a program of visiting artist talks.  The aim of the module is to support and challenge students in their development of an independent, creative and critically informed art practice. The module encourages students to consolidate and develop particular (individual) interests and concerns through practical engagement in the studio and workshop areas, to prepare them for future public exhibitions and to state their positions as artists. Students are further supported in the development of research skills relevant to both the development of an art practice and an understanding of its relationship to the broad field of contemporary art and to locate their practice both historically and theoretically. Through the visiting artist program students are encouraged to enhance their knowledge of career opportunities to enable them to plan and make effective applications for future postgraduate opportunities, employment, professional practice. 

Assessment Method:

Project 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Adaptations across Stage and Screen

Code:

FT3AD

Convenor:

DR Tonia Kazakopoulou

Summary:

You will explore contemporary practices of adaptation in performance and on screen through a series of creative experiments and case study analyses. You will also examine the politics and the disruptive potential of adaptation as a process. Areas of exploration may include: relocating narratives in time and space, Intercultural adaptation, queer adaptations, cultural appropriation, transposing stories across form and genre, retelling stories. You will be able to specialise in the discipline of your choice (film, theatre, television), thinking about adaptation in relation the particular area of practice that interests you.  

This module is taught twice to two different cohorts of students - first in the Autumn term and then repeated in the Spring term.  The 200 contact hours are listed for the first iteration of teaching in the Autumn term, and these same contact hours are repeated for the second iteration of teaching in the Spring term.

Assessment Method:

Practical 60%, Portfolio 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Contemporary Documentary

Code:

FT3CD

Convenor:

DR Adam O'Brien

Summary:

The module examines some of the fundamental issues in recent and current documentary film-making for film and television. The module does so by exploring a number of case studies that, individually and collectively, consider documentary in terms of the aesthetic diversity and complexity of existing practice, and particular attention will be paid to the relationship between production process and aesthetics as well as politics of representation. The case studies are drawn from both Anglophone and non-Anglophone contexts, and may include: animated documentary, Chinese documentary, docudrama, documentary and authorship, documentary and poetry, ethnographic documentary, mockumentary, and observational documentary.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Creative Research Project

Code:

FT3CRP

Convenor:

DR David Foster

Summary:

A major piece of independent research with a creative component (realised individually or in pairs), which builds on practical work in any of the disciplines of film, theatre and television in earlier Parts of the degree. The written work will be carried out individually. Projects can include, for example: 

• a script (any medium) 
• desktop documentary 
• video essay 
• filmed demonstration/experiments (max. 2 minutes) 
• storyboard 
• a theatre design project with one realised element  
• performed fragments/experiments (max 15 minutes) 
• performance lecture 

 Each creative research project will need to be approved by the department before commencement and will be allocated a supervisor. Supervisory meetings may be individual or, where appropriate, in groups, where individual work in progress may be shared.  

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Project 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Cinema, Spectacle and Technology

Code:

FT3CST

Convenor:

PROF Lisa Purse

Summary:

Cinema has a long tradition of seeking to guarantee its market share through the spectacular, but the spectacular is also frequently derided as ‘just entertainment,’ unworthy of sustained examination. In this module we will explore the ways in which film style, technology, economics, narrative and culture intersect at key moments in the history of spectacular cinema. We will also study how spectacular cinema has been understood and responded to, looking at key debates in film scholarship, film criticism, and in mainstream and trade press.  

This module is taught twice to two different cohorts of students - first in the Autumn term and then repeated in the Spring term.  The 200 contact hours are listed for the first iteration of teaching in the Autumn term, and these same contact hours are repeated for the second iteration of teaching in the Spring term.

Assessment Method:

Project 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Film Programming and Film Festivals

Code:

FT3FF

Convenor:

PROF Lucia Nagib

Summary:

This is a team-taught module, drawing both on representatives from the industry and on strength across the university. Through a dynamic combination of seminars, workshops and group projects, the module will equip students with advanced knowledge of modes of programming arthouse, alternative and experimental venues, as well as organising film festivals. Film festivals work as an effective (and sometimes unfair) filter of the kind of world cinema distributed to commercial and alternative venues around the world. Winners of Cannes, Venice and Berlin will almost certainly find worldwide distribution, as opposed to thousands of other films, which will run through minor festival circuits in the hope of accessing smaller or niche venues and audiences. Film festivals (such as Sundance, Rotterdam and others) are also closely connected with funding systems for independent filmmakers, who will format their projects with a view to satisfying their requirements. Understanding how both film festivals and film programming work is hence key to understanding the kind of world cinema we watch.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Identity, Agency, Advocacy: Diversity and Representation in Film, Television and Theatre

Code:

FT3IAA

Convenor:

DR Simone Knox

Summary:

In this module, we explore questions concerning diversity and inclusion that are currently receiving much high-profile attention and debates in a number of different contexts, within and across film, television and theatre. We undertake close analysis of screen and stage representations that pertain to the complex interconnection of issues such as class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexuality. We combine our intersectional approach with an examination of relevant industrial, political and socio-cultural contexts and debates, and we explore how diversity and inclusion work intersects with the process of making. We pay particular attention to different kinds of minority and/or marginalized identities, as well as the efforts made by campaigners and advocates to push for equitable and meaningful representation. Films, programmes and plays to feature on the module may include: Fresh Off the Boat; Get Out; Goodbye CP; Jubilee; Kiss, Marry, Kill; The Slave; Transparent.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Dissertation (Art and Film & Theatre)

Code:

FT3JDFA

Convenor:

DR David Foster

Summary:

This module represents the student's major piece of independent critical work, and aims to integrate and develop some of the critical methodologies and topics of study included in taught modules in the Film & Theatre component of the programme. As such the module aims to test the student's ability to apply accumulated skills and knowledge to an area of individual interest in an extended essay on a topic not directly taught on the course, and which is initiated and developed independently but under supervision. Students will give a short presentation on their research-in-progress during Autumn term.

Assessment Method:

Dissertation 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Musical Theatre

Code:

FT3MUS

Convenor:

DR Lisa Woynarski

Summary:

This module explores both the theory and practice of contemporary musical theatre. The focus is on the research and development (R&D) of musical theatre, its dramaturgy, political context, modes of production, representation and reception. You will have a chance to undertake group practical experiments in musical theatre, although this does not include practical training in singing and dancing and no singing and dancing training is required! Instead, your collaborative practical experiments will explore a range of performance strategies deployed in contemporary musical theatre production.  

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Performance & Design: Site, Scenography and Installation

Code:

FT3PD

Convenor:

DR Matt McFrederick

Summary:

Performance & Design will explore the scope and potential of theatre and performance design by investigating historical and contemporary approaches to scenography. In a mixture of practical and critical workshops, you will study the creative application of the visual, aural and spatial elements of design through a rich array of performance environments and a dynamic range of innovative and international performance practices, from digital experiments to site-specific performances. The module will support you in analysing the practice of pioneering designers (such as Jocelyn Herbert and Josef Svoboda), facilitate collaborations with the National Theatre Archive, and enable masterclasses on contemporary approaches to design with visiting designers and/or scholars. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Portfolio 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Scriptwriting for Stage and Screen

Code:

FT3SSS

Convenor:

DR Lucy Tyler

Summary:

No creative practitioner can make an outstanding screen or stage production without advanced knowledge of storytelling. This is a practice module in which you will create original scripts.  Learning in this module develops your critical understanding of key storytelling issues such as narrative, character, dialogue, and place.  Scriptwriting practice will include both individual and collaborative forms of writing and rewriting. You will engage with discourses around scriptwriting emerging from both theatre pedagogy and screenwriting studies, including projects for decolonising stage and screen writing traditions.    

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Television: Exploring Fictional Worlds

Code:

FT3TFW

Convenor:

DR Tonia Kazakopoulou

Summary:

This module explores the immersive nature of television fiction storytelling in both long-form and limited construction. Television’s fictional worlds can span years, shifting and changing across their lifetimes or be told in their entirety over a short serial. They are constructed and explored through creative decisions pertaining to the use of camera, performance, post-production, etc. Through a set of case studies we will explore a selection of programme in depth, each covered in two to three weeks of teaching. Looking at a selection of episodes (or a whole run for short serials) we will explore these fictional worlds from different angles, which can include aesthetics, storytelling, social and cultural contexts, marketing and distribution, audiences and fandom, production and industry contexts. Genres may include but are not limited to telefantasy, soap, melodrama, crime drama, period drama (these are subject to change based on staffing availability). 

This module is taught twice to two different cohorts of students - first in the Autumn term and then repeated in the Spring term.  The 200 contact hours are listed for the first iteration of teaching in the Autumn term, and these same contact hours are repeated for the second iteration of teaching in the Spring term

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

World Cinema: Creative Peaks

Code:

FT3WCC

Convenor:

PROF Lucia Nagib

Summary:

‘World Cinema: Creative Peaks’ looks at film history and geography through a democratic and inclusive approach. Rather than separating Hollywood from the rest of the world, it frames World Cinema as a polycentric phenomenon with peaks of creation in different places and periods. Instead of establishing primacies and hierarchies, it identifies common tropes and cross-pollinations beyond national and cultural borders. Focusing on new realist movements and new waves from around the world, the module will analyse productions from France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Iran, as well as from the Inuit and other indigenous populations, demonstrating how they compare and inter-relate.  

Assessment Method:

Exam 80%, Oral 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.