Module manager: Adina Stroia
Email: a.stroia@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
Minimum of French language skills equivalent to A2 of the CEFR.
This module is not approved as a discovery module
The module introduces students to the history and the specific character and qualities of French cinema, from its origins at the end of the 19th century to the present. Film, the ‘seventh art’, has played an important role in French culture – both 'high' and popular – since the medium was invented in France by French engineers (the Lumière brothers). Experience suggests that current generations of students already possess a high (if not always conscious) degree of visual literacy, which can rapidly be 'operationalised'. The module provides a grounding in film studies as a discipline, by familiarizing students with its modes of analysis and key concepts in order to enable to articulate and put into practice their existing visual literacy. Cinema will also be studied within the wider context of French society and history, contributing to students' overall knowledge of French national culture. Through the use of seminar presentations and debate, as well as 'interactive' lectures, students will be encouraged to play an active role in analysis and discussion from early in the module. 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.
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of key aspects of the history of French cinema from its origins to the present.
- Critically analyse a film or film extract demonstrating awareness of the contribution of formal components to meaning.
- Identify, apply and discuss some key concepts on French film studies (eg. auteurism, poetic realism).
- Understand and analyse critically relevant aspects of French cultural history.
- Show ability to gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of secondary and primary sources.
For students on the post-A-Level route (or equivalent), enhance fluency within a particular linguistic context by taking part in discussion and exchange of ideas in French. Students who began their programme as French beginners discuss and exchange ideas using appropriate terminology in English.
On successful completion of this module, students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes specific to the subject:
LO1. Discuss critically the history and specificities of French cinema, both from a cinematic and cultural point of view, and of its impact on world cinemas.
LO2. Identify and evaluate the historical, social, and political contexts from which French cinema emerges and to which it responds.
LO3. Analyse films critically and with a view to comparing them productively.
LO4. Develop research questions and select the most suitable corpus of films to address them.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
LO5. Present a structured and nuanced argument, using terminology and concepts appropriate to the field(s) of study.
LO6. Make connections across differing critical perspectives to explore ideas and select the most appropriate approaches.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Regular seminar presentations (mainly involving group presentations, although individual presentations will also be possible) and seminar contributions with full discussion and formative feedback.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resit is by the same method of assessment.
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 01/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team