Overview

This course examines how American History has been represented on film from the 1960s to the present as well as how film can be used to understand and study American History. It is taught by weekly 2 hour seminars, and the module will cover topics and themes in the history of America, including Vietnam, Watergate, Reaganism, Clintonism and the Bush Era. Screenings will be shown as appropriate and may include The Green Berets, All the President's Men, Rambo, Terminator, Independence Day, Hostel and Munich.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -(D-): To achieve this level a student will have completed all the Learning Outcomes to a level of competence. Written work will be of a basic professional standard displaying qualities of motivation, and the ability to pursue ideas through to a conclusion, accompanied by evidence of critical reflection. It should be clear also that the student has developed the range of intellectual, practical and transferable skills implicit in the aims of the course. -good -(C) : Good : This grade indicates competence throughout, with evidence of good levels of achievement in most, if not all Learning Outcomes. There will be coherence between finished written works, working processes and research activity. (B) : Very Good : To achieve this grade a student will have exercised competence in most, if not all Learning Outcomes, and will have demonstrated excellence in at least one. Written work should be distinctive, approaching publishable quality and supported by related further study. There should be ample evidence of independent thought, good levels of motivation and the acquisition of a wide range of subject-specific and transferable skills. There should be a clear indication of the potential to pursue studies to a higher research level. -excellent -(A): To achieve this grade a student will have demonstrated a high level of achievement throughout and excellence in a substantial proportion of the Learning Outcomes. The written work will be distinctive and professional. There will be ample evidence of related research, a thorough exploration of ideas, working processes and the inventive use of appropriate genres and forms. It should be readily apparent that the student has the ability to pursue higher levels of study and the potential to operate successfully in a professional context.

Learning Outcomes

• Able to analyse historical film clips, paying attention to context

• Able to assimilate visual information and use that information to construct an oral and written argument

• Consider how American film can be used to study history and how history has been represented in American film by deploying a technical and critical vocabulary relevant to the discussion of audio-visual imagery;

• Read and analyse American films paying attention to historical context

• Understand the debates surrounding the nature of historical representation on film