Academic Year of Degree:
2026/27
27854 - Films in Context II
Teaching Plan Information
Academic year:
2026/27
Subject:
27854 - Films in Context II
Faculty / School:
103 - Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
Tipo de enseñanza:
In person
Ambit:
Philology, classical studies, translation and linguistics
Degree:
416 - Degree in English
680 - Degree in English
ECTS:
6.0
Year:
3 and 4
Semester:
Second semester
Subject type:
Optional
Module:
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1. General information
This course aims to further develop the study initiated in optional module 27847, focusing on the study of 20th and 21st C. US American culture, on its social and artistic movements, by means of the analysis of audiovisual texts produced since 1975.
Minimum recommended English level to take the course: C1. Attendance and active participation in classes, as well as completion of assigned tasks, are recommended.
2. Learning results
CON-4. Know, describe, analyse, and explain literature, culture, and cinema in English
Know, describe, analyse, and explain culture and cinema in English.
CON-9. Know, describe, analyse, and apply critical theories and methodologies of literary and filmic analysis
Know, describe, analyse, and apply critical theories and methodologies of film analysis to the cinema of English-speaking countries.
CON-10. Know, describe, analyse, and apply critical theories and methodologies from cultural and gender studies
Know, describe, analyse, and apply critical theories and methodologies from cultural and gender studies in the field of cinema from English-speaking countries.
HAB-4. Convey and explain knowledge in English
Convey and explain knowledge at a C1.2 level of English to carry out film analysis.
HAB-9. Critically analyse literary and audiovisual texts in English, identifying sociocultural, linguistic, and aesthetic features
Critically analyse audiovisual texts in English, identifying sociocultural, linguistic, and aesthetic features.
HAB-10. Analyse social and cultural realities through their representations
Analyse the social and cultural realities of English-speaking countries through their cinematic representations.
CTR-3. Critical thinking. Reflectively reason about a topic, being able to deliberate on its validity by subjecting one’s own and others’ beliefs to debate
2. Identify the differences and ways of constructing what are considered facts, opinions, interpretations, and value judgments.
CTR-5. Innovation and creativity. Design and carry out a new task or project in a different way using creativity and curiosity to generate value with an entrepreneurial mindset
1. Propose new projects developed through creativity and curiosity.
3. Syllabus
1. Hollywood in transition: the New Hollywood and the blockbuster
2. US independent cinema in the 1990s
3. Cosmopolitanism and contemporary transnational cinemas
4. Contemporary realisms in liquid times
5. New forms of cinema in the age of the self
6. New voices: reframing representation in the 21st century
4. Academic activities
-Theory: instructional sessions prepared by the professor that will be available on the Moodle platform following the subject's schedule.
-Practice: group work focusing on understanding theoretical concepts and film analysis.
-Individual and/or group tutorials: individual guidance and participatory group techniques. Assistance with academic essay writing and review of completed essays.
-Essay preparation: viewing and analysis of mandatory audiovisual texts and writing corresponding essays.
-Individual study: reading/viewing of mandatory bibliography or audiovisual material.
-Assessment.
5. Assessment system
FIRST CALL
Continuous/coursework assessment (100%)
Depending on the number of students per group, a continuous assessment system may be proposed for those who regularly show work and attendance during the course. This will consist of:
a) Three essays (800 words) about the compulsory films (60%)
b) Tasks about the compulsory readings (30%)
c) Oral class activities (10%)
Continuous assessment will require attendance and participation in the sessions.
Final exam (100%)
Part 1: Exam on the compulsory readings (40%).
Part 2: Academic essay (60%), 800-1000 words on one of the compulsory films, which engages with a specific analytical concept.
SECOND CALL (100%)
Assessment is exactly the same as that established for the global assessment exam in the first call.
ASSESSEMENT CRITERIA FOR TASKS AND EXAMS
1. Ability to analyze and understand the formal, cultural and ideological dimension of texts.
2. Argumentative, organizational, and expositional clarity.
3. Maturity and originality in tasks and/or essays.
4. Proficiency in formal academic English at a C1 level.
5.1. Academic fraud prevention
The use of unauthorised electronic materials or devices during the assessment may result in immediate exclusion from the examination and a fail mark (a numerical mark of ‘0’ for the assessment).
Furthermore, the lecturer in charge may complete the grade report and submit it to the General Inspectorate of Services, so that it may, where appropriate, consider initiating disciplinary proceedings against the student for academic fraud.
In the case of a continuous assessment exam [continuous assessment cannot continue, unless otherwise specified in the academic guide.]
In the case of a regular or extraordinary exam session, the initiation of disciplinary proceedings will result in the grade ‘pending resolution’ until the proceedings are concluded.
6. Sustainable Development Goals
4 - Quality Education
10 - Reduced Inequalities
17 - Partnerships for the Goals
7. Bibliography
Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2021.
Bordwell, David. Narration in the Fiction Film. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.
Collins, Jim, Hilary Radner, and Ava Preacher Collins, eds. Film Theory Goes to the Movies. London and New York: Routledge, 1993.
Daly, Kirsten M. “New Mode of Cinema: How Digital Technologies Are Changing Aesthetics and Style.” Kinephanos Journal 1, no. 1 (2009).
Ezra, Elizabeth, and Terry Rowden, eds. Transnational Cinema: The Film Reader. London and New York: Routledge, 2006.
Hill, John, and Pamela Church Gibson, eds. The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Levy, Emanuel. Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. New York: New York University Press, 1999.
Tait, R. Colin. “The HBO-ification of Genre.” Cinephile 4, no. 1 (2008).
Tzioumakis, Yannis. American Independent Cinema: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.