Russian Culture Through Film

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours

or equivalent

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject offers an introduction to Russian culture through film from the 1920s and the films of Eisenstein up to the present. The subject will cover representations of social change and the interpretation of cultural identities in Russian film through the main historical periods including: the Russian Revolution of 1917, the years of Stalin and the ‘thaw’ in the 1960s, the Second World War, the years of stagnation (1970s in the USSR), the era of glasnost, perestroika and the breakdown of the USSR, and the post-Soviet era.
On completion of the subject students should be able to analyse the social and cultural processes represented in selected films from the periods studied, demonstrate an awareness of critical approaches to Russian film, and communicate the results of their research and analysis in both oral and written forms.

The subject will be taught and assessed in Russian. Prior experience in Film Studies is neither assumed nor required.

At this end of this subject, students will:

• Have gained an appreciation of academic Russian through the confident use of sophisticated oral and written Russian at level B2/C1 of the Common European Framework for Languages;
• Have gained a broad understanding of critical approaches to Russian film as well as of general research and analytical skills;
• Be able to reflect on their identity as a developing multicultural person and as a global citizen through the analysis of the social and cultural processes represented in selected films from the period studied;
• Have learned to do self-directed small research projects in the field of Russian Studies and to locate pertinent research literature in both Russian and English;
• Have made wide use of learning and research technologies in Russian and English.

• A 1000 word essay, due in week 6 (25%)
• A 10 minute oral presentation, equivalent to 1000 words (25%)
• A 2000 word essay, due by the end of semester (50%)

Hurdle requirement:

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

• Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
• All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day and in-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

Birgit Beumers, A History of Russian Cinema, Oxford, 2009. Other materials will be provided by the department.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• Communicating knowledge intelligibly and economically: through essay and assignment writing, tutorial discussion and class presentations.
• Written communication: through essay and assignment preparation and writing.
• Public speaking and confidence in self-expression: through tutorial participation and class presentations.
• Attention to detail: through close reading and textual analysis, essay preparation and writing.
• Time management and planning: through managing and organizing workloads for essay and assignment completion.