Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Master's of American Culture and Literature without Thesis

AMER545

AMERICA ON FILM

Course Code
AMER545
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
10
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelMaster's Degree Without Thesis
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS10
Name of Lecturer(s) -
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. will be able to discuss the role of the film industry in the development of contemporary American culture,
  2. will be able to investigate the complex interrelationship between film and American cinema audiences,
  3. will be able to analyze films in terms of both content and the process of production and discuss their significance in the development of American identity.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNone
Course DescriptionThis course is a combination of the study of American film history and of the varied attempts to represent aspects of American culture on film. The course will examine matters such as the role of Hollywood as a culture industry, HUAC and Hollywood, and the role of ethnic and racial groups in American cinema.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction
2nd Week The Silent Era: The Search for an American Identity on Screen
3rd Week The Hollywood Studio System: Mass Production and the Creation of American Dreams
4th Week Hollywood At War - or How America Fought Its Battles on Screen
5th Week Hollywood At War - or How America Fought Its Battles on Screen
6th Week Student Presentations
7th Week Student Presentations
8th Week The Fifties: An Insecure Age
9th Week The Sixties: the Break-up of the Studio System and the Search for Independence
10th Week The Seventies: The New Hollywood Cinema
11th Week The Eighties and Beyond: Hollywood Goes Global
12th Week The Eighties and Beyond: Hollywood Goes Global
13th Week Student Presentations
14th Week Student Presentations
Recommended or Required ReadingDeleuze, Gilles. Cinema I - The Movement-Image. Trans. Hugh Tomlinson and Barbara Habberjam. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1986.

---. Cinema II - The Time-Image. Trans. Hugh Tomlinson and Roberta Galeta. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1989.

Jameson, Fredric. The Geopolitical Aesthetic: Cinema and Space in the World System. London: British Film Institute, 1992.

Morin, Edgar. Stars. London: Calder and Boyars, 1959.

Tomlin, Robert Brent. History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past. Urbana and Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1996.

Wood, Michael. Movie-Made America. New York: Columbia UP, 1982.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Presentation
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Project 1 30
Attendance 1 10
Presentation of Article 2 20
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 5 70
Preparation for Final exam 1 10 10
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 3 3
Homework
Project 1 60 60
Article Presentation 2 25 50
Weekly Articles and Resource Research 14 5 70
Total Work Load305
Total Work Load / 30 (h)10.16
ECTS Credit of the Course10
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3
K1 X X X
K2 X X X
K3 X X X
K4 X X X
K5 X X X
K6 X X X
K7 X X X
K8 X
K9 X
K10 X X X
K11 X X X
K12 X X
K13 X X X