MA Seminar: American Audiovisual Culture and Media

General data

Course ID:	4219-ZS128-AM
Erasmus code / ISCED:	08.9 The subject classification code consists of three to five digits, where the first three represent the classification of the discipline according to the Discipline code list applicable to the Socrates/Erasmus program, the fourth (usually 0) - possible further specification of discipline information, the fifth - the degree of subject determined based on the year of study for which the subject is intended. / (0229) Humanities (except languages), not elsewhere classified The ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education) code has been designed by UNESCO.
Course title:	MA Seminar: American Audiovisual Culture and Media
Name in Polish:	MA Seminar: American Audiovisual Culture and Media (Seminarium magisterskie: Kultura audiowizualna i media w Stanach Zjednoczonych)
Organizational unit:	American Studies Center
Course groups:	All classes - weekday programme - 2nd cycle MA Seminars
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores):	(not available) Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles: the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS; the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h; 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes; weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS; work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load. view allocation of credits
Language:	English
Type of course:	Master's seminars obligatory courses
Prerequisites (description):	N/A
Short description:	The seminar will focus on broadly understood audiovisual texts, including such media as film, narrative television series, videogames, music video, digital works, and broadly understood trans- and intermedia texts. Using them as primary texts, possible MA projects will investigate a variety of their aspects: narrative, material, political, and aesthetic.
Full description:	The seminar will focus on broadly understood audiovisual texts produced in the United States in the last several decades (although older texts can also be considered). These include (but are not limited to): * film (particularly post-1945 American cinema) and short film * narrative television series (but NOT talk shows, reality television etc.) * video games and other contemporary forms of gaming * comics and graphic novels * music video and music narratives * digital works (cybertexts, online projects and narratives) * trans- and intermedia texts Possible MA projects using such texts as primary sources can analyze their narrative (themes, figures, motifs), material (medium-related and adaptations), political (social, economic, gender, and political contexts), and aesthetic (visual and aural) aspects.
Bibliography:	Selected secondary sources: * Alice Bell, Astrid Ensslin & Hans Kristian Rustad Analyzing Digital Fiction * Andrew Darley Visual Digital Culture * Katherine Hayles How We Think * Linda Hutcheon A Theory of Adaptation * Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture * Jesper Juul Half-real. Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds * Stephen Keane Cinetech: Film, Convergence, and New Media * Brooks Landon The Aesthetics of Ambivalence. Rethinking Science Fiction Film in the Age of Electronic (Re)production * Lev Manovich The Language of New Media * John Richardson, Claudia Gorbman & Carol Vernallis The Oxford Handbook of New Audiovisual Aesthetics * Robert C. Sickels American Film in the Digital Age * Ethan Thompson and Jason Mittell How To Watch Television
Learning outcomes:	Upon completing this course the student: 1. KNOWLEDGE * has a knowledge of contemporary audiovisual culture in USA * distinguishes a range of media and forms of American audiovisual culture, including the latest developments * is aware of differences between various audiovisual media and analytical methods used in their analyses 2. SKILLS * is able to use critical tools * is able to formulate critical arguments about American audiovisual culture * is able to use theoretical knowledge in analyses of individual manifestations of contemporary audiovisual culture in the USA * is able to research sources, formulate theses, and demonstrate them on the basis of secondary sources 3. SOCIAL COMPETENCES * is aware of cultural differences between the U.S. and Europe * is open to new phenomena and ideas in audiovisual culture in the U.S. * understands and appreciates the role of audiovisuality in the United States as well as the transformations of the culture under the influence of digital technologies
Assessment methods and assessment criteria:	Students will receive a grade for their performance during the seminar, which encompasses engagement in discussions, in-class presentations, presentation of one's research project, and the required assignments. More advanced students will be graded on the basis of their chapters: submitted, reviewed, and completed.
Internships:	N/A

This course is not currently offered.

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