Debates in Screen Documentary (P4125)

30 credits, Level 5

Autumn teaching

Documentary Studies is a burgeoning sub-field of Film Studies. You’ll explore some of the major questions in the study of documentary film as a way of introducing non-fiction forms in the cinema and beyond.

Topics include:

• documentary realisms
• authorship and documentary authority
• objectivity and subjectivity
• documentary re-enactment
• essayistic and experimental documentary modes
• documentary and the internet.

You’ll explore key documentary movements and trends, including:

• the mockumentary
• the interactive documentary
• documentary’s move into the art gallery.

Case studies will be international and may include:

• Citizenfour
• The Gleaners and I
• Behemoth
• Fahrenheit 911
• The Act of Killing
• Close-Up.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 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:

• Film Studies BA