M.St. in Film Aesthetics
| At a glance | M.St. |
|---|---|
| Length | 9 months, late-September to June, full-time |
| Course structure | Term 1: 3 areas of thought in film aesthetics Term 2: 4 units, each covering topics on types of filmmaking or film theory topics Term 3: dissertation |
| Assessment | 2 essays, a dissertation and an examination |
What the course offers
Course components
Academic staff profiles
Handbook
Apply online
For the following documents, go to:
https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/hierarchy/humdiv/modlang/graduates/film_aesthetStatement of provision for graduate teaching
Programme Specification
What the course offers
The degree equips students with the skills and knowledge necessary for analysing film as an art form. It concentrates on film criticism, detailed film analysis, film theory, and film-philosophy and teaches the history and the contemporary developments in the scholarly literature relating to these aspects. It encourages thoughtful and imaginative engagement with film as a medium and with individual films. Teaching is delivered primarily through classes, but also through individual supervision, and assessment is by means of two long essays, a dissertation and a timed examination. The degree may include the following courses taught by specialists from a variety of disciplines: Film Style, Interpretation and Criticism; Classic and Contemporary Film Theory; Concepts in Film History; Study of a Single Director; Film and Phenomenology; Film Music; Film and Modernism; Contemporary Theories of Spectatorship - Embodiment, Ethics and Politics; The Film-Philosophy of Stanley Cavell. [A practical one-week course takes place at the beginning of the first term; this is introductory and applicants should note that thereafter the degree is not a practical one]
Course components
The first term looks at the language and style of film criticism and important methods of film analysis and theory.
The second term’s work consists of four units, each covering a particular type of film-making or a topic in film theory. This provides you with the opportunity to engage with four different areas of specialisation within contemporary film studies.
After each of the first two terms you write an essay on a topic that you choose in consultation with one of your tutors. The essays will give you the chance to go more in depth with an area of particular interest. The
aim of these essays is to develop your skills both in film analysis and in the discussion of arguments in film theory.
In the third term you write a dissertation under the guidance of a supervisor. The essays and dissertation are the main basis on which the course is assessed; there is also a written examination in June.
Academic staff profiles