Universität Wien

124220 SE Cultural and Media Studies Seminar (2016W)

Classic Western Movies. Part 2.

11.00 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. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 06.10. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 13.10. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 20.10. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 27.10. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 03.11. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 10.11. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 17.11. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 24.11. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 01.12. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 15.12. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 12.01. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 19.01. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 26.01. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Aims: The aim of the course is to familiarize students with some famous Western movies and with how this genre has, over time, developed its own imaginary, film language, ethos (good, bad, ugly?), and configuration of (often stereotyped) characters (the cowboy, the gunman, the rustler, the sheriff, the prostitute ...).

Content: In this seminar we will watch and discuss a "fistful" of "classic" (= trendsetting, paradigmatic, but also revisionist) Western movies (some in full, some only in brief extracts):
- Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
- The Virginian (Stuart Gilmore, 1946)
- Shane (George Stevens, 1953)
- The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
- Hang 'em High (Ted Post, 1968)
- Butch Cassidy und the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)
- McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
- The Missouri Breaks (Arthur Penn, 1976)
- True Grit (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2010)

While we will discuss the filmic language(s) of these works, the main focus of the seminar will be on typical Cultural Studies questions, such as:
- how are the political and social realities of the (post-Civil War) Western territories depicted?
- how are "non-white" ethnic populations (esp. Native Americans and Mexicans) portrayed?
- how is masculinity (all that gunslinging!) constructed?
- how are the female characters presented?

Methods: Multidisciplinary discussion of movies (and, in some cases, the literary texts they are based on) and presentations of students' papers in class.

Assessment and permitted materials

Regular attendance, participation in class discussions, oral presentation of an 'academic' essay (on one of the movies) of 6,000 - 7,000 words, a 4 min. oral presentation of a specific Western topic, such as Native American 'tribes', history of places and territories, development of firearms, etc., and a final written test.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Examination topics

all the material covered in class

Reading list

t.b.a

Association in the course directory

Studium: UF 344, BA 612, MA 844;
Code/Modul: UF 4.2.4-322; BA 09.2; MA6, MA7
Lehrinhalt: 12-0405

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33