Universität Wien

124185 VK BEd 08b.3: VK Cultural Studies for Language Teachers (2020W)

Ecocinema

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Friday 02.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Digital
  • Friday 02.10. 12:00 - 14:00 Digital
  • Saturday 03.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Digital
  • Saturday 03.10. 12:00 - 14:00 Digital
  • Saturday 03.10. 14:30 - 15:30 Digital
  • Friday 16.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Digital
  • Friday 16.10. 12:00 - 14:00 Digital
  • Saturday 17.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Digital
  • Saturday 17.10. 12:00 - 14:00 Digital
  • Saturday 17.10. 14:30 - 15:30 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course examines film as a powerful medium through which to explore the current environmental crisis. Promoting eco-awareness and environmental ethics or, on the contrary, distorting reality via different misrepresentations, film shapes the meanings of the environment, climate change, the human, and our relationship with the nonhuman world. We will examine documentaries, Hollywood blockbusters, and animation films to uncover the ways in which capitalism, racism, and neocolonialism perpetually generate anti-environmentalism; analyze various techniques these films use to communicate the problem of environmental degradation; and focus on ecocinema as an educational resource. Some of the issues that this course primarily zeroes in include bioethics, veganism, pollution, car culture, resource extraction, and climate change.

Please note: This course will take place online.

Assessment and permitted materials

Requirements:
Active participation in course discussions; oral presentation; at least 2 contributions to each forum discussion; essay/thesis.

Presentation:
A presentation should last 45 minutes. Students need to get in touch with the instructor at least one week before their presentation and discuss the topic that they would like to deal with in their presentation. Your presentation should include an analysis of assigned readings, your own interpretation of the chosen film, a detailed examination of at least one scene from the film, and a question/task for the audience. The audience should be ready to ask questions and/or provide comments at the end of each presentation.

Contributions to Forum Discussions:
2 Forum discussions will be open on Moodle. Students will be asked to contribute to each discussion. One contribution should be between 70 and 120 words.

Essay/Thesis:
The final essay should be 1500-2000 words long. Essay topics will be provided by the instructor. Thesis: all necessary information will be provided in the first session.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

• Active participation in class discussions (including responses to presentations): 20%
• Oral Presentation: 30%
• Forum contributions: 20%
• Essay: 30%

To pass the course, students must attain at least 60%

Examination topics

There will be no written exam at the end of the course.

Reading list

Students need to watch the following films:

• Babe (1995), dir. Chris Noonan
• The Fast and the Furious (2001), dir. Rob Cohen
• Finding Nemo (2003), dir. Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• Blood Diamond (2006), dir. Edward Zwick
• An Inconvenient Truth (2006), dir. Davis Guggenheim
• The Happening (2008), dir. M. Night Shyamalan

Secondary source materials will be available via Moodle.

Association in the course directory

Studium: BEd 046/407
Code/Modul: BEd 08b.3
Lehrinhalt: 12-4686

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:16