FAVBKa030 History of Film Theories after 1945

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2020
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Pavel Skopal, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Pavel Skopal, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Patrycja Astrid Twardowska
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Sat 22. 2. 9:00–12:40 C34, Sat 14. 3. 9:00–12:40 C34
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
After the WWII, the theoretical reflection of cinema gradually shifts from film magazines and solitary theories to a more systematic, methodologically specific approach. Instead of a union between film critique (Kracauer, Balázs, etc.) and film practice (Epstein, Ejzenštejn, etc.) film reflection is cultivated at universities and research institutes and draws on a variety of disciplines and approaches (sociology, semiotics, psychology...).
Following concepts that are still embedded in interwar and war period film criticism and practice (neorealism, socialist realism) we will focus on the dominant movements of film theory and historiography from the 1960s to the beginning of the 21st century. We will become acquainted with some typical texts of given approaches.
The aim is to acquaint students with specific manifestations of the changes the discourse on cinema passed through in the post-war decades. We will get familiar with contemporary arguments and learn to interpret period texts not only in the context of the given field, but also in a wider cultural, social and political context.
Learning outcomes
After finishing this course, students will have been able to formulate the main changes in the theoretical, critical and methodological reflection of cinema, as well as to understand them in the relevant historical context. The knowledge provided by the lectures will give the students the capacity to understand how the history of discourses on cinema can be analysed. Besides, they will be able to understand the contemporary research perspectives from the historical context.
Syllabus
  • - Neorealism
    - Socialist realism
    - Auteur theory
    - Frankfurt School
    - Filmology
    - Semiotics and Post-semiotics
    - Screen Theory
    - Cultural Studies
    - New Film History
    - New Cinema History
    - Czech Film Theory
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Giovacchini, Saverio - Sklar, Robert (eds.). Global Neorealism. The Transnational History of a Film Style. Jacskon: University Press of Mississippi, 2012.
  • Maltby, Richard – Biltereyst, Daniel – Meers, Philippe (eds.): Explorations in New Cinema History: Approaches and Case Studies. Malden-Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011
  • Lowry, Edward. The filmology movement and film studies in France. Ann Arbor: UMI Research press, 1985.
  • CASETTI, Francesco. Filmové teorie 1945-1990. Translated by Helena Giordanová. 1. vyd. V Praze: Akademie múzických umění, 2008, 406 s. ISBN 9788073311438. info
  • SZCZEPANIK, Petr. (ed.) Nová filmová historie. Antologie současného myšlení o dějinách kinematografie a audiovizuální kultury. Praha: Herrmann a synové, 2004, 528 pp. info
  • CLARK, Katerina. The Soviet novel : history as ritual. 3. ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000, xv, 320. ISBN 0253213673. info
Teaching methods
Lecture. Contact lectures will be devoted to the introduction to the topic and selected topics that are not supported by the obligatory and recommended literature. An online textbook is available for the students.
Assessment methods
Exam: a written test. Partial tests - 45%, final test - 55%.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2022, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2020, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2020/FAVBKa030