Communication Studies (CMNS) 425
Film and Genre (Revision 2)
Revision 2 is closed for registrations, replaced by current version
View previous syllabus
Delivery Mode: Individualized study online or grouped study with video component.*
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.
Credits: 3
Area of Study: Humanities
Prerequisite: None. CMNS 301 and CMNS 302 are recommended.
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
Communication Studies home page
CMNS 425 has a Challenge for Credit option
Overview
Film and Genre looks at the historical, economic, political and social factors that influence filmmaking, particularly genre films. The course explores the possibilities and the limitations of genres, and looks at some of the criticism that has dealt with the area over the years. Two of the primary questions that recur throughout the course are, “What constitutes a film genre?” and “How do we identify genres, and how does this identification influence what we see on the screen?”. The course concludes by examining specific genres that illustrate the complex issues that arise when we look at so-called escapist films.
Outline
Unit 1: The Usefulness of Genre
Unit 2: Genre History and Literary Precedents
Unit 3: The Effects of Economics and Social Change on Genre
Unit 4: Genre Development and Instability
Note: A short paper is due after Unit 2.
Choose two units from Units 5 through 8
Unit 5: The Role of the Individual Artist in Genres
Unit 6: International Variations in Genre
Unit 7: Transcendence and Failure: Nongenre and Cult Films
Unit 8: Against Grains: Experimental and Cross-genre Films
Note: A major essay is due after completion of the fifth unit.
Choose two units from Units 9 through 12
Unit 9: Possibilities and Parameters in Science Fiction
Unit 10: Possibilities and Parameters in Mystery/Suspense
Unit 11: Possibilities and Parameters in Horror
Unit 12: Possibilities and Parameters in Comedy
Note: A major essay is due after the eighth completed unit.
Evaluation
To receive credit for CMNS 425, you must complete all of the assignments, achieve a minimum mark of 50 percent on assignment number three, and obtain a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent). There is no final examination for this course. The weighting of the composite mark is as follows:
Short Paper (due after Unit 2) | Major Essay (due after fifth completed unit) | Major Essay (due after eighth completed unit) | Total |
---|---|---|---|
20% | 35% | 45% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbook
Grant, Barry K., ed. 1997. Film Genre Reader 11. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Other materials
The course materials package also includes a student manual, study guide, and a reading file. The articles and book chapters in the reading file, together with selections from the course textbook, make up the assigned readings for the course.
Special Course Feature
Students registered in this course may take part in computer conferencing.
Challenge for Credit Course Overview
The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.
Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
- Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
- Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures
Challenge Evaluation
To receive credit for the CMNS 425 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least “D” (50 percent) on the examination.
Part I: Take home essay exam | Part II: Paper exam | Total |
---|---|---|
40% | 60% | 100% |
Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 2, January 8, 2009.
View previous syllabus