Expand+Academic Year 2021/2022

This module offers an in-depth study of Irish cinema and television from historical, cultural, social and economic perspectives. Spanning different cinematic and televisual genres from documentary to political thriller, and...

Hide-Academic Year 2021/2022

This module offers an in-depth study of Irish cinema and television from historical, cultural, social and economic perspectives. Spanning different cinematic and televisual genres from documentary to political thriller, and from the sitcom to reality television, students will develop an understanding of how Irish people and society both shape and are shaped by screen culture through an analysis of key texts. Eschewing unhelpfully narrow definitions of Irishness, this module offers an examination of the Irish experience both at home and abroad, examining how these films and television programmes shape our conception of national identity at a time of increased cultural and migrational flows both into and out of Ireland (both North and South).

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module, students should be able to identify the key phases and filmmakers in the history of Irish Cinema; analyse the relationship between socio-economic change and Irish screen culture; appreciate the impact of non-Irish film and television on notions of Irish screen culture; demonstrate an awareness of aesthetic and formal patterns across global and local productions; discuss cinematic discourse on national identity using the vocabulary and theory of Film and Media Studies; and compose an essay specific to the module’s content which demonstrates a firm grasp of the assigned readings and an ability to interpret the texts of the module.