Undergraduate

Module Content

The history of documentary goes right back to the origins of cinema: the first films ever made – those of the Lumiere brothers and of Edison – were documentary in format. Yet, though ever since then the genre has been developing, it has always done so in the shadow of cinema’s main engine, the fiction film. Surprising because when documentaries are successful they are among the most forceful forms of cinema that exist. This, at any rate, is the premise of the course that is being offered here, which aims to sketch an overall history of the subject, paying attention to the varieties of its formal and aesthetic grammar. No prior grounding in anthropology as a discipline is required from participants. Nonetheless, it is a fact that (starting with Flaherty’s Nanook of the North) a number of the classic documentaries of the past have an ethnographic flavour to them and we can scarcely avoid taking account of this datum. The balance, however, will be towards established classics of the genre in the broadest sense.

Learning Outcomes

Having completed the module students will:

be able to recognise and assess a range of documentary films from two or three national traditions according to the style and aesthetic choices of their directors and have acquired a systematic understanding of these fields, thereby demonstrating a conceptual understanding of issues at the forefront of this field;
	know the difference between “showing” and “telling” (otherwise stated: between the “image” and the “voice”) and be able to assess the success of films in balancing these considerations and approaches and so be able to deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry;
	be familiar with lines of enquiry about ethical issues involved in the production of non-fiction films and thereby have acquired an appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge in this field;
	have developed their own powers of appreciation and their critical attitude to material presented and be able to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (the films watched).
	appreciate how learning outcomes connect to assessment through the original, creative research process of watching films and engaging critically in the their appreciation and the formulation of complex responses in the long established form of film-critical writing
Delivery Method

One 2 hour film screening and one 2 hour seminar per week.

Postgraduate

Module Content

The history of documentary goes right back to the origins of cinema: the first films ever made – those of the Lumiere brothers and of Edison – were documentary in format. Yet, though ever since then the genre has been developing, it has always done so in the shadow of cinema’s main engine, the fiction film. Surprising because when documentaries are successful they are among the most forceful forms of cinema that exist. This, at any rate, is the premise of the course that is being offered here, which aims to sketch an overall history of the subject, paying attention to the varieties of its formal and aesthetic grammar. No prior grounding in anthropology as a discipline is required from participants. Nonetheless, it is a fact that (starting with Flaherty’s Nanook of the North) a number of the classic documentaries of the past have an ethnographic flavour to them and we can scarcely avoid taking account of this datum. The balance, however, will be towards established classics of the genre in the broadest sense.

Learning Outcomes

Having completed the course students will

be able to demonstrate a critical awareness of the aesthetic choices of directors in a range of documentary films from across the world and be able to frame these as part of current problems in the field;
	have a comprehensive understanding of techniques of interpretation applicable to this field of scholarship, and in particular understand the difference between “showing” and “telling” (otherwise stated: between the “image” and the “voice”) and be able to assess the success of films in balancing these considerations and approaches;
	be able to demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in this field, through their critical writings and class commentaries on films watched;
	have a comprehensive understanding of ethical issues involved in the production of non-fiction films;
	have developed comprehensive powers of appreciation and a similarly advanced critical approach to material presented and be able to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (the films watched).
	appreciate how learning outcomes connect to assessment in this course through the original, creative research process of watching films and engaging critically in the their appreciation and the formulation of complex responses in the long established form of film-critical writing.
Delivery Method

One 2 hour film screening and one 2 hour seminar per week.