Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
History of Film
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
By appointment. In order to make an appointment, please request one by writing an email: rpardo@uic.es
Introduction
'History of Cinema' is a 3-ECTS-credit compulsory module that is taught throughout the first semester of the Audiovisual Communication academic degree's third course.
The goal of this module is to provide the student with the necessary tools to learn about the history, the evolution and the main technical and artistic transformations that the world of cinema has suffered from its outset and up to this day. The syllabus is structured as a set of broad conceptual segments that draw a chronological and aesthetic itinerary through the main modes of representation, schools, periods and expressive trends of the History of cinema. In addition, the student will be asked to reflect on each one of these forms of expression, connecting and comparing authors and films, and to do so by means of collective debates in class, the analysis of fragments of films and the writing of an essay at the end of the term. This module's endeavour focuses on providing the student with a solid theoretical basis that may contribute to the development of their profession by incorporating valuable references and stimulating the formulation of new ideas.
Pre-course requirements
No pre-course requirements are needed to enrol in this subject.
Objectives
The main goals of this module are:
-Providing with a wide, well-documented vision of the main episodes of the History of cinema.
-Stimulating the student's interest in watching and examining films from previous times and encouraging critical thinking and analytical exercise so as to analyze different ways of understanding cinema.
-Strengthen the student's theoretical knowledge of cinema and of its connections with other areas of culture as well as other forms of artistic expression.
-Encouraging the practice of debating and analyzing films and fragments from different perspectives: cinematographic language, history, and artistic and technical expression.
-Contributing to the development of the student's reflective aptitudes as well as their capacity of abstraction, conceptualization and expression by means of the writing of an academic essay and their participation in class.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 01 - The ability to adapt to varying circumstances
- 02 - The ability to understand, accept criticism and correct errors
- 03 - The ability to administer and manage human and technical resources
- 04 - The ability to work in a team and autonomously
- 05 - The ability to organise time and workspace
- 06 - The ability to develop academic rigour, responsibility, ethics and professionalism
- 07 - The ability to apply the deontology and respect for the audiovisual sector
- 08 - The ability of critical analysis, synthesis, concretion and abstraction
- 09 - The ability to objectify, quantify and interpret (data, statistics, empirical evidence )
- 10 - The ability to confront difficulties and resolve problems
- 11 - The ability to generate debate and reflection
- 12 - The ability to meet deadlines, develop the ability to be punctual and respect for human, technical and material resources
- 13 - The ability to create spoken and written communication
- 14 - Knowledge and mastery of rhetoric and oratory to communicate own ideas
- 16 - The ability to manage, analysis and reflect on content
- 17 - The ability to contextualize and critically analyze the events of social reality and to represent Contemporary History
- 18 - The capacity and development of general culture and interest in social events
- 19 - The ability of informative documentation
- 20 - Knowledge and mastery of bibliographic media
- 21 - Knowledge and mastery of the digital culture
- 22 - Knowledge and mastery of the distinction between opinion and information / colloquial and cultured register
- 23 - The ability to prioritize newsworthy events and contrast information
- 24 - The ability to plan and organize both short term and long term projects
- 25 - The ability to maximize creative development
- 26 - The ability to develop a sense of taste and perfection in the aesthetics and finalization of projects
- 40 - The ability to defend and respect authorship and intellectual property
- 41 - The ability to know how the distinct elemental agencies of the audio visual sector function
- 50 - The ability to adapt, understand and apply the expressive possibilities of new technologies and future changes
- 53 - Lingustic ability in Catalan, Spanish and English
- 54 - The ability to skillfully manage the literature, terminology and linguistic structures of the English language related to the field of communication.
Learning outcomes of the subject
At the end of the term, the students will be capable of:
-Holding a global and well-documented vision of the History of cinema.
-Identifying the mode of representation, school, movement or period for any possible film.
-Identifying the authors, the aesthetic features and the main films belonging to the different periods of cinema -primitive era, classicism, the avant-garde, modernity and post-modernity.
-Controlling a wide set of references beyond the narrow spectrum of the present time when dealing with creative of professional endeavours.
-Reflecting with critical eye on the information received and formulating hypothesis and comparisons based on films, authors and movements.
Syllabus
Topic 1: Filmed representation types throughout history. The invention of the cinema and the work of the pioneers. From the Primitive cinema to the Narrative Cinema.
Topic 2: The Origins of the American and European narrative cinema.
Topic 3: The Birth of the Vanguards and German Expressionism.
Topic 4: The Soviet Cinema. The eye-cinema. The Serguei M. Eisenstein assembly of attractions.
Topic 5: The directors of the North American Classic Movies. The first generation of talkies.
Topic 6: Neorealism and the great Italian directors.
Topic 7: The Modern Cinema. The Nouvelle Vague.
Topic 8: American Modernity and the Hollywood New filmmakers.
Topic 11: The Cinema of the Postmodernism. Review of the concept of authorship, visual baroque and digital cinema.
Topic 12: Other film cultures: Asia, Africa, Latin America ...
Teaching and learning activities
In person
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | ECTS CREDITS |
| Seminar. This activity will consist of taking an in-depth look at specific up-to-date topics in a monographic manner-in some cases these topics will have been debated socially-, via active work in small groups. | 0.4 |
| Meeting Point. Meetings will be organised with notable people from the professional and scientific fields or the international field, and students. These sessions will take the form of conferences, work sessions, discussions, or interviews, etc. | 0.4 |
| E-learning. Virtual learning based on ICT. | 0.8 |
| Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. | 1.4 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
- 40%: Final exam. The minimum grade to make an average grade with the rest of the course is 4. With a grade lower than 4 in the final exam, the final grade for the course cannot be higher than 4.
- 30%: Essay (reflection and analysis) around a movement or period of the history of cinema. The subject of the work, the approach and the research methodology of the same must be previously agreed with the professor before November 16.
- 30%: class participation on the texts and debates ... You can participate in groups of up to 4 people. 25% comment on movies in class. Presentation in class of a film (groups of maximum 4 people).
Presentations and comments may also be presented in the form of videos, as if it were a TV program.
Bibliography and resources
Bibliography
Essential bibliography
BURCH, Noel. El tragaluz del infinito. Madrid: Cátedra, 2006.
COUSINS, Mark. Historia del cine. Barcelona: Blume, 2011.
GUBERN, Román. Historia del cine. Barcelona: Lumen, 2006.
ROSS, Edward. Filmish: un viaje gráfico por el cine. Barcelona: RESERVOIR BOOKS. 2017
SÁNCHEZ NORIEGA, José Luis. Historia del cine. Madrid: Alianza editorial, 2002.
Recommended bibliography
AA. DD. El cine americano actual. Madrid: Cahiers du cinéma-Ediciones JC, 1995.
ALLEN, Robert C. - GOMERY, Douglas. Teoría y práctica de la historia del cine. Barcelona: Paidós, 1995.
ARANDA, Daniel – ESQUIROL, Meritxell –SÁNCHEZ-NAVARRO, Jordi (eds.) Puntos de vista. Una mirada poliédrica a la historia del cine. Barcelona: UOC, 2009.
ALTMAN, Rick. Los géneros cinematográficos. Barcelona: Paidós, 2000.
ALTMAN, Rick. Film/Genre. Londres: BFI Publishing, 1999.
AUMONT, J. y Marie, M. Análisis del film. Barcelona: Paidós, 1990.
BAECQUE, Antoine de. (ed.) Avatares de una cinefilia. Barcelona: Paidós, 2005.
BALIO, Tino. (ed) The American Film Industry. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.
BENET, Vicente. Un siglo en sombras. Introducción a la historia y estética del cine. València: Ed. de la Mirada, 1999.
BISKIND, Peter. Moteros tranquilos, toros salvajes. La generación que cambió Hollywood. Barcelona: Anagrama, 1998.
BORDWELL, D.; THOMPSON, K. El arte cinematográfico: una introducción. Barcelona: Paidós, 1995.
BORDWELL, D. On the History of Films Style. Nueva York: Harvard University Press, 1997.
BRESSON, Robert. Notas sobre el cinematógrafo. Madrid: Ardora, 2007.
CASETTI, Francesco. Teorías del cine. Barcelona: Paidós, 2002.
CAVELL, Stanley. Más allá de las lágrimas. Madrid: Antonio Machado Libros, 2009.
COOK, David A. A History of Narrative Film. Nueva York: W. W. Norton & Co. Ltd., 1996.
DELEUZE, Gilles. La imagen-movimiento. Estudios sobre cine 1. Barcelona: Paidós, 1986.
DELEUZE, Gilles. La imagen-tiempo. Estudios sobre cine 1. Barcelona: Paidós, 1986.
FONT, Doménech. Paisajes de la Modernidad. Cine europeo, 1960-1980. Barcelona: Paidós, 2002.
KRAKAUER, Siegfried. De Caligari a Hitler. Una historia psicológica del cine alemán. Barcelona: Paidós, 1985.
RANCIÈRE, Jacques. La fábula cinematográfica. Reflexiones sobre la ficción en el cine. Barcelona: Paidós, 2005.
ROSENBAUM, Jonathan. Essential Cinema. On the Necessity of Film Canons . Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.
ROSENBAUM, Jonathan. Goodbye Cinema, Hello Cinephilia: Film Culture in Transition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
STAM, Robert. Teorías del cine. Una introducción. Barcelona: Paidós, 2000.
Filmography
The professor will propose at each session a number of mandatory viewings that will be part of the contents of the final exam. He will also facilitate an extensive list of viewing recommended movies.