GM4097 Post-Wall Cinema: The Berlin School and beyond

Academic year

2023 to 2024 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

15

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

You must have permission from the German Honours Adviser.

Planned timetable

To be arranged

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr D E Osborne

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Dora Osborne

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module introduces students to the cinema of the Berlin School, the most significant body of German films to emerge since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It will familiarize students with the film-historical and socio-political context in which the Berlin School emerged as a kind of 'counter-cinema' (Abel), focusing emphatically on the here and now and eschewing the preoccupation with Germany's recent past that brought box office success to films like Der Untergang and Das Leben der Anderen. Through close engagement with a range of examples, the module will consider how and why these low-budget, low-grossing arthouse productions have gained international recognition while remaining committed to a sustained analysis of German identity post-Unification. And, as the major directors associated with the Berlin School make films that no longer fit the parameters established to understand this strand of post-Wall cinema, the module will also consider new directions in German filmmaking.

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Take-Home Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 seminar (x 10 weeks); 30 minute recorded introductory lecture (X 10 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

40

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

110

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.