American Studies and Film Studies BA (Hons)

This module will introduce you to American Studies as an interdisciplinary academic subject. We will give you an overview of American literature and culture from the nineteenth century to the present day. You will investigate how American identity has been constructed in relation to the broad social, technological and economic changes which have taken place in this period. The themes we explore will include colonial politics, independence, the myth of the Frontier, issues of race and gender, consumerism and popular culture.

On this module you will explore how Britain has been represented on screen, both internationally and within the British film industry. We will start at a regional level, looking at portrayals of Yorkshire on film, moving towards a wider view of the national film industry. You will consider historical and industrial developments in film history and explore how different eras, ideologies and identities have been represented through this medium.

This module introduces you to film history, theory and analysis, as well as some of the technical and commercial aspects of film. You will explore these themes with a focus on key moments in the evolution of film, through the words of filmmakers past and present. We will also introduce you to some of the major approaches used to study and analyse film, such as:

• Auteur theory
• Genre
• Subject positioning
• Psychoanalysis
• The gaze
• Montage.

This module will give you a broad understanding of the history of the USA, from both a domestic and an international point of view. You will learn about America’s gradual emergence as a leading international power, economically, militarily and politically. We will explore historical developments in the American experience, including political, social and economic changes. You will consider the continuing tension between unity and diversity in American history, exploring topics such as the Civil War, industrialisation, consumer culture, foreign policy and immigration.

This module explores the use of film as a source of historical evidence for cultural, social and political change. American Studies is always interdisciplinary in its approach, and film is one of the many mediums we use to explore American history, identity and culture. On this module you will learn the skills of cinematic analysis, which will allow you to make the best use of this important medium. We will also discuss the importance of cinema within American society.

Drawing on relevant debates and scholarship, we will introduce you different films and their audiences, such as popular Hollywood film, independent film and world cinema. You will explore issues surrounding reception, taste and consumption, considering the social and cultural contexts in which film consumption takes place. You will also investigate different methods of studying audiences to consider how audiences engage with film.

On this module you will explore the idea of cult cinema in the context of its history, the film industry and contemporary culture. You will consider how historic examples of legislation around films have affected the status of cultism and cult cinema. This includes investigating how screen and entertainment developments have played a part in enhancing certain filmic cult movements. You will also explore ideas about genre and authorship, subcultures and subversion.

On this module you will consider the relationship between American literature and the physical and symbolic spaces of its settings. In American culture concepts of space and setting have a particular relevance that dates back to events such as the declaration of independence, the founding of civic spaces, and the Californian gold rush. You will be challenged to think creatively, critically, and innovatively about physical space and literature. In doing so we will explore the relationship between American socio-economic history and the development of a specifically American literary tradition.

This module is a great opportunity to improve your employability and start thinking about your career. You will consider how history, and the skills you have developed by studying it, relate to potential career paths. As part of this module you will participate in a 75 hour work placement. You will need to secure this placement yourself, but you can take advantage of the many connections we have established with heritage organisations in York and the wider region.

This module is an opportunity to engage with the more vocational elements of working with media, and explore your entrepreneurial potential. You will work in groups to produce a creative portfolio and will eventually pitch your idea to a panel. This could be, for example, a magazine, a film festival, or an exhibition. You must take into account:

• Marketing and advertising
• Business cases
• Product development
• Effective communication of ideas

On this module you will explore how America has imagined itself through film, identifying historical patterns, trends and continuities. We examine how American myths and ideologies have dominated attempts to define the national imagination. This could include:

• The mythology of the frontier
• The myth of the open road in the countercultural 1960s
• Regional identities of the south, California, the midwest or New York

On this module you will engage in debates about the production, reception and contexts of media and cultural products that have caused controversy. This includes debates about taste and the reception of text in different traditional, new and emergent media. We will introduce you to the terminology of aesthetic discussion and dispute, defining and discussing terms such as:

• Propaganda
• Artistic licence
• Canonical status
• Acceptability
• Pornography
• Censorship

On this module you will develop your research skills in preparation for the more extensive independent research project you will complete in your final year. You will focus on selected science fiction primary texts as well as related theoretical, philosophical, inter-textual and historical secondary material. You will also develop important academic skills through research. Our focus on science fiction includes major discussions within the genre, including:

• Race
• The environment
• The relationship between human and machine
• What it is to be human.

On this module you will focus on the experience of African Americans both as enslaved people and in the years following the abolition of slavery. You will learn about the origins, development and abolition of slavery in the USA, assessing the impact and nature of the American slave system. We will discuss contemporary responses of both African Americans and white Americans to slavery, relationships between races after slavery ended, and the emergence of cultural expression among African Americans.

On this module you will use different academic subject areas to approach to the Gothic such as film, art and literature. Topics covered will include:

• The origins and influence of the Gothic
• Dopplegangers
• Nightmares of science
• Normality and abnormality
• Metamorphosis
• Gender in horror and the overlap of romance and horror

On this module we will consider the significance of various European cinemas, and explore the histories and evolutions of these national cinema traditions as indicators of wider cultural change. You will consider cinema’s potential for social, political and cultural critique, and contextualise film within counter cultural production, innovation, reception and distribution. This will include discussions about high culture vs low culture, and an investigation of the different audiences, institutions and practices that occur within different cultures.

On this module you will discuss independent cinema from historical, social, national and international perspectives. We approach independent cinema as an anti establishment voice that stands in opposition to mainstream studio productions. You will explore the wider cultural context of independent cinema, for example:

• The festival circuit
• Film preservation
• Fandom
• Web communities
• Cult cinema.

On this module you will examine the history of the United States since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. You will explore a range of issues that have impacted American politics, culture and society in the years since these events. Your learning will be informed by the wider ideological, cultural and political history of the United States.

Topics may include:

• The War on Terror
• Fake news
• LGBTQ+ rights
• American conspiracies such as the birther movement and Q-Anon
• Response to crises such as 2008 recession and the Covid 19 pandemic

On this module you will examine, confront and evaluate the historical debates surrounding the American Civil War. You will learn about the campaigns and strategies of the war itself, as well as its social and political impact and its lasting cultural legacy. You will also consider the social and political forces that have shaped how this period has been retold in historical and pop culture representations. This will open wider discussion about how wars are remembered and commemorated.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate your abilities as an independent learner through an extended piece of research. You will produce an extended critical and analytical examination of your chosen topic, engaging with the existing literature surrounding it and offering your own original take on the subject. Through this you will apply many of the analytical and research skills you have developed over the course of your degree. A dedicated academic tutor will support you through throughout the research process.

On this module you will examine how transnational film can articulate themes of displacement, nomadism, cosmopolitanism, border-crossing, homelessness, diaspora, and hybridity. This includes exploring how transnational cinema, both as a cultural form and a mode of production. We will consider cinematic representations of marginalised groups such as immigrants, exiles and asylum seekers, as well as considering  a diverse range of film makers as case studies. This module will also include a field trip relevant to the study of transnational cinema.

Credits: 20

This module will examine a selection of texts from 20th century American literature, and relate these works to their cultural, social and political backgrounds. We will focus on texts that demonstrate formal innovation and experimentation, and the selection will reflect the variety of twentieth century American experience. You will read Native American, African American and Chinese-American texts alongside literature produced in the wake of radical social change such as Beat writing, Vietnam narratives, and responses to 9/11.

This is an opportunity to study a specialist area relating to American Studies, in this case focusing on detective fiction in literature and film. The topics chosen for Special Subject modules are closely related to staff research interest, meaning your work will be aligned with current research. 

On this module we will explore and analyse different forms of animated film and video games. This will include analysis of the different visual styles and genres in animation. You will examine the production, distribution and consumption of animated films and video games in contemporary culture. Our discussions will include both large media companies like Disney and Studio Ghibli and smaller, independent studios, as we engage in debates about realism, hybridity and ideology in animation.

On our Special Subject modules you will investigate an area which our team has a particular specialism in, contributing to research and developing specialist research skills. This Special Subject will focus on the politics, policies and developments related to the office and holders of the American presidency. 

This module will deepen your understanding of the history, theory and practice of documentary film. You will learn about the production and consumption of documentary film through various cultural and historical contexts. Discussions will explore how ideas about reality, realism and representation can be expressed through documentary film, as well as considering the impact of new and emergent communications technologies.

Credits: 20

On this module you will explore American history, culture and politics as you consider the ideas and values behind the USA’s military past. We will investigate how Americans have experienced war, and how this experience has been represented in film, literature, music and more. Some of the topics you will encounter include:

• War and American national identity
• Early American war and colonisation
• American military strategy and leadership
• War and rhetoric in American political culture
• The Traumatic impact of war on American soldiers and veterans

On this module we will explore issues surrounding gender and sexuality. We will debate whether various elements of gender are natural or cultural, as well as how different genders and sexualities are presented in film and literature. We will investigate how do different cultural groups use popular culture and literature to reinforce, challenge, transgress or disrupt traditional gender expectations. This module challenges you to draw on all of the skills, theories and approaches encountered throughout your degree to interrogate the representation of gender roles and sexuality in popular culture.