Short course
Film Studies: An Introduction
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates and time:
18/01/2027 - 22/03/202714:00 - 16:00
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
This beginners' course is aimed at students with little or no experience of critical film theory. The course will introduce students to a range of concepts and theoretical approaches common to film studies and develop their skill and knowledge of deep analysis of film texts.
Classes will take the form of a mini-lecture and presentation leading onto group discussions in pairs and as a class, feeding back ideas and arguments and cementing knowledge laid out in the opening of the session. Each week will introduce a new concept, making use of set readings and pertinent scenes and sequences from a selection of films in order to mobilise the topic. Students will be encouraged to conduct their own analysis and practise putting their arguments and observations in writing in order to reinforce their understanding of the different topics, build up a broad understanding week-on-week, and think about how to mount arguments of their own.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Course starts Monday 18 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Mondays, 2.00-4.00pm.
Week 1: Getting started with Film Studies: the film theorist’s toolkit
Week 2: Sequence analysis – how to deconstruct scenes and film texts
Week 3: The origins of film
Week 4: Classical Hollywood narration
Week 5: Unconventional narration
Week 6: Memory in film: the viewer as detective
Week 7: Cognition and emotion
Week 8: Genre & Auteur theories: pros and cons
Week 9: Written assignments
Week 10: Conclusion and review.
Course aims
This course aims to enable participants to develop an understanding of key concepts in critical film theory and to explore a range of theoretical approaches to the analysis and interpretation of film.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will have been given the opportunity to:
- develop an understanding of selected key principles, concepts and debates in film theory
- explore and discuss critical critical perspectives on the moving image, encouraging independent and analytical thinking
- develop skills in the close analysis and interpretation of film texts and in articulating critical observations and insights
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- have a good understanding of the necessary language and critical thinking and observational skills needed to carry out a detailed sequence analysis;
- gain an understanding of how critical film theory has evolved and be able to contextualise particular films when studying them;
- participate in worthwhile discussion within the class so that ideas are shared and so that a piece of written criticism can be produced.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Teaching methods
Lecture presentation followed by seminar-style discussion and group analysis. Classes will involve pair and group discussions based around set texts (potentially to be viewed in advance of each class), and key sequences relating to the weekly topic viewed together during the class.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Neil McCartney
Dr Neil McCartney is currently based in Oxford as an independent researcher and has taught courses at the Department since 2011. In addition to this course, previous courses have covered The Films of Orson Welles, Self-identity in Cinema and Reading the Screen. He obtained his PhD in Film Studies from the University of Kent He is particularly interested the relationship between real-world selves and fiction film characters, and specifically the cognitive dissonance generated by films which display a disruption to conventional cinematic norms. His research is broadly aligned with the cognitivist approach and his other areas of interest include film-as-philosophy, the portrayal of memory and subjectivity in fiction film, and avant-garde deviations from conventional narrative trajectories and continuity of characters.
Academic credit
Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS Points)
Please note, students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you wish to gain credit from completing this course you must register to do so before the course starts.
Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
Learn more about the Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee for assessment and accreditation.
Digital certificate of completion
Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Recommended reading
Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course.
Library facilities
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are also welcome to use the Library for reference.
- More information about the Library can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website.
- This guide for Weekly Class students also provides further information.
Preparatory reading
- Film Art: An Introduction / Bordwell, David, Thompson, Kristen, Smith, Jeff
- The Routledge Encyclopedia of Film Theory / Branigan, Edward and Buckland, Warren
- Film Theory: An Introduction / Stam, Robert
Module code: O26P425FIW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.