UNDERSTANDING STAGE AND SCREEN - 2020/1

Module Overview

This module is designed to introduce students to the academic study of drama and film. By studying four modern British plays and their adaptations to the screen students will develop an understanding of how drama and film are distinguished from printed forms of literature. Students will be encouraged to think about the relationship between texts and their immediate historical and political contexts. They will be trained in the use of technical terms for drama and films, and will be introduced to the visual and audio analysis appropriate to both forms.

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

POWRIE Philip (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content:
• Weeks 1-3: An introduction to the study of drama and film.
• Weeks 4-10: The study of four modern British plays and their screen adaptations.
• Week 11: Assessment preparation.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

n/a

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the module learning outcomes. The 2000-word critical essay on a play or on its adaptation to the screen assesses
• Subject knowledge relating to the close analysis of form, meaning and language of plays and films.
• Cognitive/analytical skills in critical thinking.
• Professional/practical skills in communicating ideas in writing.
• Transferable skills, namely the ability to conduct research for written work in an organised and critical fashion, to develop and communicate imaginative and rigorous arguments, and to develop digital professional skills evidenced by the use of film frame capture incorporated in the analysis.

The summative assessment for this module consists of a critical essay of 2000 words.

Formative assessment and feedback:
• In-class workshops, for which students will receive informal verbal feedback.
• An optional written version of a film sequence analysis.

Module aims

• • Examine some of the key issues, terminologies, and contexts involved in the academic study of drama and film.
• • Enable students to identify and describe, using the correct technical language, the formal elements that make up cinematography, editing mise en scène and sound (including shots, camera movement, framing, lighting, montage and the relationship between sound and image).
• • Enable students to think critically about differences and similarities between plays as source texts and their adaptation into film.
• • Develop and strengthen skills in close reading and analysis of literary and film texts.
• • Train students to research and evaluate sources, debates, and ideas, and to communicate their conclusions clearly and accurately in writing
• • Improve oral and written communication skills.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to deliver subject knowledge, to develop cognitive/ analytical skills, and to develop in-depth transferable, practical, and professional skills. Weekly lecture/seminars deliver subject knowledge relating to individual plays and films, approaches to them, and their historical contexts. They will provide students with the necessary knowledge and analytical skills to be able to interpret and analyse plays and films, develop students’ abilities and confidence in articulating this knowledge, and develop students’ written and oral skills in terms of writing and talking about plays and films.

This relates to the programme learning and teaching strategy, which, at FHEQ Level 4, is designed to introduce students to subject knowledge through lectures combined with seminars whose emphasis is on student-led involvement, critical analysis and discussion. Further subject knowledge (e.g. web-links, critical reading, podcasts) is made available through SurreyLearn, which enables students to develop IT skills in accessing and utilising resources.
The learning and teaching methods: 2-hour lecture/seminar per week x 11 weeks.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ELI1028

Other information

none

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.