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 GERMAN CINEMA FROM THE EXPRESSIONISM TO THE PRESENT
Code GRMN225
Coordinator Dr AF Plowman
Modern Languages and Cultures
Afp0001@liverpool.ac.uk
Year CATS Level Semester CATS Value
Session 2018-19 Level 5 FHEQ Second Semester 15

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

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 13
The lecture provides an introduction to key topics.
9
Seminars are based on the thematic and stylistic analysis of key scenes from films. They also provide students with the opportunity to discuss other relevant primary and secondary texts.
      1
Students are invited to consult with the module tutor about essay plans and/or to receive feedback on their work.
23
Timetable (if known)   The purpose of lectures is to put key concepts into practice in the evaluation of texts and film extracts.
  		      Essay plan consultation, feedback consultation.
  		 
Private Study 127
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  2000 words  Semester 2  50  Yes  Standard UoL penalty applies  Coursework Essay 1 
Coursework  2000 words  Semester 2  50  Yes  Standard UoL penalty applies  Coursework essay 2 Notes (applying to all assessments) The first essay covers a topic in German film before 1945. The second essay covers a topic in German cinema after 1945. The deadline for the first essay is Monday Week eight. Reassessment is by means of 2000-word essay in case of re-sit or mitigating circumstances. The deadline for the second essay is start of week 14 (second week of Assessment Period). Reassessment is by means of 2000-word essay in case of re-sit or extenuating circumstances.  

Aims

To introduce students to the history of German national cinema from its origins to the present day with a special focus on Weimar Cinema, the Third Reich, post-war film, the New German Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s;

To introduce students to the work of key German directors including F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Wim Wender;

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/‘Autorenkino’) and produced on the other according to cinematic conventions of film language, genre etc.

Learning Outcomes

Students will understand the emergence and development of German national cinema from its origins until the present.

Students will demonstrate a critical awareness of academic debates about major periods or movements in German film – Weimar film and ‘Expressionism’, the Third Reich, post-war cinema, the New German Cinema and post-unification cinema – and of current academic debates about them.

Students will develop critical and analytical skills enabling them to evaluate a variety of film materials from a range of different periods and styles.

Students will be able to evaluate a range of other varieties of textual and historical evidence, to assess its relative merits and to construct in verbal and written form clearly reasoned arguments on the basis of such evidence.


Teaching and Learning Strategies

Lecture - The lecture provides an introduction to key topics.

Seminar - Seminars are based on the thematic and stylistic analysis of key scenes from films. They also provide students with the opportunity to discuss other relevant primary and secondary texts.

The purpose of lectures is to put key concepts into practice in the evaluation of texts and film extracts.

Other - Students are invited to consult with the module tutor about essay plans and/or to receive feedback on their work.

Essay plan consultation, feedback consultation.

Syllabus
1 

The module provides an introduction to German Cinema from its origins to the present and is suitable both for speakers of German and for students in Honours Select who are not students of German. The module investigates the development of German cinema in its social context, offering a particular focus on Weimar cinema from 1919-1933, the Third Reich, the postwar era and the New German Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. The module introduces students to the work of key German directors including F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders.
Topics may include:
Expressionist/Weimar Cinema (films include The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, 1919; Nosferatu, 1922; Metropolis, 1926);
Fritz Lang and Sound (M, 1931);
Third Reich Cinema;
Postwar Cinema 1945-1960;
New German Cinema in the 1960s and 1970s (films include The Merchant of Four Seasons, 1971; The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, 1974; Alice in the Cities, 1974).
 
All films are available with English subti tles. There is normally an opportunity towards the end of the semester to choose recent to cover 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: