The notes below are to help you to prepare for your first year modules:

• Introduction to Theatre
• Film Studies: Basic Issues and Methods
• Theories of the Moving Image

In terms of reading, we strongly recommend that you prioritise the book marked with an asterisk.

Introduction to Theatre

This module seeks to provide a basis for students’ studies in Theatre through an exploration of western theatre within its historical contexts, a consideration of the contribution of significant theorists and practitioners to western theatre; as well as an introduction to some non-western theatrical forms and an examination of the place of Applied Theatre in the contemporary theatre context. It will introduce students to historiographical and methodological problems in the study of theatre and to ways of analysing performance texts, performance techniques, spaces and audiences, while developing an awareness of the wide range of topics and approaches that constitute the discipline.

Primary Set Texts:

• W. B. Worthen (ed.): The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama (4th Edition), Wadsworth
• Phillip Zarrilli et alia: Theatre Histories: An Introduction, Routledge
• Christopher Balme: Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Studies, Cambridge
• Robert Leach: Theatre studies – the basics, Routledge

Recommended:

• Edward Braun: The Director and the Stage,  Methuen
• Tim Prentki and Sheila Preston: The Applied Theatre Reader,  Routledge

Film Studies - Basic Issues and Methods

Your first priority should be to extend the range of your film viewing, both in the cinema and on television. Try to see as much as you possibly can of all types of film, particularly musicals since an entire term will be devoted to the genre; it is likely to be useful to seek out films made before you (or your parents!) were born, and in languages other than English. Get into the habit of checking daytime and late night screenings on television and make full use of any ‘ alternative’ cinema you have access to. Joining an internet DVD library is also highly recommended.

Recommended Reading: If you have access to libraries or bookshops well-stocked on film, extensive browsing is recommended. Any of the following will give helpful and, at some point, necessary background

• John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson (eds): Oxford Guide to Film Studies (Oxford University Press, 1998)
• Pam Cook (ed.): The Cinema Book (3^rd. ed.), BFI, 2007
• John Gibbs: Mise-en-scène: Film Style and Interpretation, (Wallflower, 2002)
• Jill Nelmes (ed.): An Introduction to Film Studies, Routledge, 2007
• V.F. Perkins: Film as Film: Understanding and Judging Movies, Da Capo Press, 1993
• Robert Stam: Film Theory: An Introduction, Blackwell, 2000
• Patricia White and Timothy Corrigan The Film Experience, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004
• David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson: Film Art, Mc Graw-Hill Education, 2007

While the latest eighth edition of this last work is very good earlier editions, which you may be able to buy second hand, will be equally useful and will be essential for the critical strand of this module.

The most useful book for the historical section of this module will be Robert C Allen and Douglas Gomery: Film History Theory and Practice, Knopf, 1985. You will also find it helpful to look at Barry Salt: Film Style and Technology: History and Analysis, Starword, 1992; David Bordwell, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson: The Classical Hollywood Cinema, Routledge, 1985; Pierre Sorlin: European Cinemas, European Societies 1939-1990, Routledge, 1991 and Marcia Landy: Italian Film, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

It would also be informative to visit the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford.

Theories of the Moving Image

The aims of this module are to familiarise students with canonical theories concerning the interpretation and reception of moving image media and to give practice in using the conceptual language of film and television criticism. The first term of the module aims to introduce students to ‘transformative’ works of critical theory in the discipline in relation to ‘classic’ films whilst developing students’ analytic and expressive skills. The second term will explore key theories that have influenced Film and Television Studies, tracing their roots in other disciplines e.g. Philosophy and English Literature. Topics will include: structuralist linguistics, Freudian psychoanalysis, deconstruction and postmodernism. Books that you will undoubtedly find useful include Robert Stam’s New Vocabularies in Film Semiotics: structuralism, post-structuralism and beyond, (Routledge, 1992); Leo Braudy’s Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, (Oxford University Press, 2004); André Bazin’s What is Cinema?, (University of California Press, 1967) and Bill Nichols Movies and Methods 1 and 2, (University of California Press, 1976 and 1985 respectively, both have been reprinted several times). You will find them difficult but rewarding and they are the types of book that you can dip in and out of or choose to read just a section or an article. It is unreasonable to expect you to peruse more than one so take your pick but do make the effort as it is very good preparation for your first year.

In addition to the books mentioned under Basic Issues and Methods, consult film guides, dictionaries and encyclopaedias to see which works are considered (and in what terms) as landmarks in film and television history. Survey the range from the weekly listings in Radio Times to substantial dictionaries such as: Nicolet V Elert & A Vasudevan, International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (St James Press, 1997), or David Thomson, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (Little, Brown, 2004). The BFI Film Classics series presents a growing and relevant catalogue.

Enquiries and Further Particulars

The Wednesday Play: Cathy Come Home (BBC, 1966)