RU4151 The City in Soviet and Russian Cinema

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

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

Not automatically available to General Degree students

Planned timetable

To be arranged.

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

Module coordinator

Prof V S Donovan

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

Module Staff

Prof Victoria Donovan

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

Module description

The history of Soviet cinema and the modern Soviet city are inextricably intertwined. From the very inception of the Communist state, the rapidly changing urban environment became a focus for cinematic reflection. Conversely, cinema played a fundamental role in forming urban identities through both the projection of an ideal of city life to communities and the collective experience of spectatorship. This module engages with representations of the city in Soviet and post-Soviet cinema as a utopian or dystopian space, a place of revolution, social transformation, warfare, invention, criminality, poverty, and memory. It looks at the ways the city has been understood and portrayed in Soviet cinema, from the use of mise-en-scène, montage, and editing, to dialogue, soundtracks and documentary recordings. The syllabus will include works by prominent Soviet and post-Soviet directors including Sergei Eisenstein, Vladimir Menshov, Aleksei Balabanov, and Valeriia Gai Germanika.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS RU2202 OR PASS RU2204

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

3-hour Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1.5-hour seminars and 1 surgery hour, plus film/video viewing.

Scheduled learning hours

28

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

Guided independent study hours

122

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