Universität Wien

124220 SE Cultural and Media Studies Seminar (2017S)

Classic Western Movies, part 3

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 09.03. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 16.03. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 23.03. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 30.03. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 06.04. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 27.04. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 04.05. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 11.05. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 18.05. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 01.06. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 08.06. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 22.06. 14:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Thursday 29.06. 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, visual 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:

- Hang 'em High (Ted Post, 1968)
- The Missouri Breaks (Arthur Penn, 1976)
- Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
- Appaloosa (Ed Harris, 2008)

and perhaps
- Wyatt Earp (Lawrence Kasdan, 1994)
- Open Range (Kevin Costner, 2003)

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, and a final written test.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Examination topics

all the material covered in class

Reading list

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