Module manager: Professor Kamal Salhi
Email: k.salhi@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module explores the politics, poetics, and aesthetics of Arab cinemas from across the Arab world, engaging with a diverse range of regional filmmaking traditions, from North Africa to the Middle East, from the Maghreb to Palestine. Moving beyond stereotypes and monolithic readings of ‘Arab film’, the course examines how filmmakers have negotiated issues of colonial memory, identity, gender, faith, exile, and resistance through distinct yet interrelated cinematic languages. Students will engage critically with a range of stylistic approaches and new emerging visual cultures. The module considers how cinema serves as both a mirror and a mediator of political and cultural transformation across the Arab world, offering insight into the dynamic relationship between aesthetics and activism. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The aim of this module is to enable students to understand and apply critical approaches from film studies within a formal analytical framework. It does so by engaging students in the discussion of past and contemporary Arab responses to key historical moments in the Middle East and North Africa. Through this, students learn to identify and interpret specific cultural, political, and historical contexts and to evaluate their influence on films produced across the region. By combining these objectives, the module encourages students to connect and critically assess the poetics, politics, and aesthetics of selected Arab films, deepening their understanding of how these dimensions shape both filmmaking practices and audience reception.
The module is delivered through a combination of interactive lectures and student-led seminars. The lectures introduce students to the historical development of Arab cinemas, the anthropological dimensions of film, and key theoretical and methodological frameworks in film studies. Seminars then build on this foundation by allowing students to apply these ideas through individual presentations based on representative case studies. These student-led sessions promote collaborative learning, as students receive feedback from peers and the tutor, refining their analytical and presentation skills. The progressive structure of the seminars supports the development of independent research and critical argumentation. enabling students to synthesise the theoretical frameworks, contextual knowledge, and analytical practices introduced throughout the module.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Critically analyse key films from different regions of the Arab world in relation to their political, cultural, and historical contexts
2. Critically evaluate and compare how aesthetic and narrative strategies define the distinctive traditions within Arab cinemas
3. Appraise the intersections between cinema, ideology, and the representation of gender, religious, and national identities in postcolonial and contemporary Arab societies
4. Apply critically a range of theoretical frameworks drawn from multiple disciplines to the analysis of film texts
5. Communicate complex arguments clearly and persuasively
6. Critically evaluate a range of materials to produce a well-structured, evidence-based, and compelling argument
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| Seminar | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Feedback is provided to students during seminars. While the presentation itself is summatively assessed, the pre-presentation feedback that accompanies the process includes a formative component: a short written commentary. For this exercise, students select a reflective prompt from a list provided at the end of each lecture. Written feedback is returned to guide improvement. This structure is designed to help students practise analytical and critical skills, consolidate knowledge gained from lectures, and prepare effectively for the assessed presentation and subsequent research essay, a logical progression towards a more substantial and refined piece of academic work.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation | Oral Presentation | 30 |
| Coursework | Essay | 70 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The resit for the oral presentation follows exactly the same format as the in-class presentation. The only difference is that it is conducted online, with the student presenting remotely to the tutor or a designated representative. All expectations regarding content, structure, and length remain unchanged.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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