Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL1112: Philosophy of Film

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

This module is intended as an alternative introduction to philosophical thinking, adding an audio-visual dimension to more text based modules such as Introduction to Philosophical Analysis. The module prepares students for further studies at stages 2 and 3 by introducing them to various ways in which philosophical thinking can be applied productively to hypothetical and real life problems in a wide variety of contexts. The module also provides important analytical and interpretative skills essential in an increasingly visual social world.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate familiarity with a representative selection of philosophically important films and the issues they address; 2. extract abstract philosophical content from concrete narrative structures;
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. analyze images and narratives with respect to their rational content; 4. talk and write about images and narratives intelligently;
Personal and Key Skills	5. construct and evaluate abstract ideas; and 6. assess and criticize the views of others.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Each week will be devoted to a different film, which will then be discussed in weekly tutorials together with selected philosophical literature. Films to be discussed are likely to be chosen from the following list:

Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956)
A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
The Truman Show (Peter Wier, 1989)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989).
The Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925).
The Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935).
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)
The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (Slavoj Zizek, 2006)
Deconstructing Harry (Woody Allen, 1997)

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
42	108	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	20	Weekly film screenings
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	22	Weekly two hour lectures and seminars. Each lecture consists of an introduction and the viewing of a film, which will then, supported by relevant literature, be discussed in the seminars. Students are required to give at least one assessed presentation on an aspect of the scheduled topic.
Guided Independent Study	108	Directed reading, viewing and private study.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Allen, Richard (ed.), Film Theory and Philosophy (Oxford: Clarendon, 1997).

Carroll, Noël (ed.), Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures: an Anthology (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006).

Mullhall, Stephen, On Film (London: Routledge, 2002).

Shaw, Daniel, Film and Philosophy: Taking Movies Seriously (New York: Wallflower, 2008).

Wartenberg, Thomas E. (ed.), The Philosophy of Film: Introductory Text and Readings (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005).