Modern Languages and Cultures
The information contained in this module specification was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change, either during the session because of unforeseen circumstances, or following review of the module at the end of the session. Queries about the module should be directed to the member of staff with responsibility for the module.
Title THE GERMAN CINEMA SINCE 1990
Code GRMN330
Coordinator Dr AF Plowman
Modern Languages and Cultures
Afp0001@liverpool.ac.uk
Year CATS Level Semester CATS Value
Session 2018-19 Level 6 FHEQ First Semester 15

Pre-requisites before taking this module (other modules and/or general educational/academic requirements):
 

Modules for which this module is a pre-requisite:
 

Co-requisite modules:
 

Teaching Schedule
  Lectures Seminars Tutorials Lab Practicals Fieldwork Placement Other TOTAL
Study Hours   22
The purpose of seminars is to introduce students to key concepts and to provide them with the opportunity to apply these in practical analysis of films extracts and texts.
        22
Timetable (if known)   The format of seminars will vary - there is a lecture component to introduce films and in some sessions students will lead the discussion on films by selecting clips from them and preparing discussion
  		         
Private Study 128
TOTAL HOURS 150

Assessment
EXAM Duration Timing
(Semester)		 % of
final
mark		 Resit/resubmission
opportunity		 Penalty for late
submission		 Notes
             
CONTINUOUS Duration Timing
(Semester)		 % of
final
mark		 Resit/resubmission
opportunity		 Penalty for late
submission		 Notes
Coursework  2500 words  Semester 1  40  Yes  Standard UoL penalty applies  Essay1 
Coursework  2500 words  Semester 1  60  Yes  Standard UoL penalty applies  Essay 2 Notes (applying to all assessments) First essay due start of week eight. Questions require an answer based on a single film. Second essay is due in week 14 (second week of Assessment Period). Questions require an answer based on two or more films. Reassessment, where required, will take the form of the original assessment.  

Aims

          To provide students with a detailed knowledge of the German cinema since 1990 and its social and institutional context; 

       To sensitise students to debates about the re turn of popular-genre and star-led cinema in the German film industry since 1990 and the rise of so-called ''heritage'' cinema;

          To sensitise students to films as historical texts which emerge from and engage with the context of their production;

         To sensitise students to film as an aesthetic artefact determined on the one hand by particular conditions of production (i.e. the studio system) and produced on the other according to cinematic conventions of film language, genre etc.


Learning Outcomes

Students will gain an understanding of the ongoing development of film within the social, institutional and commercial context of the German film industry of the 1990s.

Students will demonstrate a good understanding of the critical debates surrounding the return of genre cinema and popular film-making in the German film industry in the 1990s and they will be able to relate these to debates about German film-making before 1990.

Students will demonstrate a critical understanding of the work of some of the most important film directors to have emerged in since 1990 and the relation of their work to traditions of German film-making and international trends

Students will demonstrate a critical grasp of a range of visual, textual and other historical material, an ability to extract and synthesise information and to express arguments cogently in writing.


Teaching and Learning Strategies

Seminar - The purpose of seminars is to introduce students to key concepts and to provide them with the opportunity to apply these in practical analysis of films extracts and texts.

The format of seminars will vary - there is a lecture component to introduce films and in some sessions students will lead the discussion on films by selecting clips from them and preparing discussion points for the class.

Syllabus
1 
Topics covered during the module may include:
The film industry in East and West Germany before 1990; debates about the representation of German history in film, heritage cinema etc;
The treatment of German division and unification in contemporary film: films will include von Trotta Das Ve rsprechen (The Promise, 1995) and Haussman Herr Lehmann (Berlin Blues, 2003);
Memories of National Socialism and the rise of heritage film: films will include Faerberboeck, Aimee und Jaguar (Aimee and Jaguar, 1999), Der Untergang (Downfall, 2004) and Link, Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Afrika, 2001);
Baader-Meinhof legacies: films will include Schloendorff, Die Stille nach dem Schuss (The Legends of Rita, 2000) and Petzold, Die innere Sicherheit (The State I am in, 2000);
Towards a new realism? Films will include Koehler, Bungalow (2002), Dresen, Halbe Treppe (Grill Point, 2002);
There is an opportunity in the closing weeks of the module to cover films from a list provided by the tutor.

Recommended Texts
Reading lists are managed at readinglists.liverpool.ac.uk. Click here to access the reading lists for this module.
Explanation of Reading List:

A comprehensive reading list is provided in the module handbook,