Analysing Film: Authorship and Genre B (P3071)

15 credits, Level 4

Spring teaching

On this module, you’ll explore:

• questions regarding authorship and genre in academic and everyday discourses
• the importance of addressing these critical frameworks early on in your degree.

You’ll begin with an introduction to film authorship. You’ll explore and test the validity and scope of its initial theoretical conception through the study of one film director. You’ll then complicate this more ‘traditional view’ of the director as the film’s author by considering the concept of ‘corporate authorship’. You’ll examine this through the study of a studio, thinking first of the studio as an auteur, and subsequently of the co-existence of the studio’s and the individual director’s authorship.

In the second half of the module you’ll study a film genre. You’ll explore:

• genre definition and film categorisation
• genre’s historical and industrial evolution.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 52 hours of contact time and about 98 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses:

• American Studies and Film Studies (with a study abroad year) BA
• Art History and Film Studies BA
• Drama and Film Studies BA
• English and Film Studies BA