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Chinese Cinema (P4086B)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

This module looks at Chinese-language film from the PRC, Hong Kong, Taiwan and beyond. Since 1949, China has been divided between two competing centres of ideological and cultural legitimation: the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of China on Taiwan. This division, combined with the influence of Hong Kong and diaspora cultural production, means that Chinese-language cinema is an excellent case study through which to explore the limits of the ‘national cinema’ model of Film Studies.

This module does so by considering how Chinese cinemas have responded to social, political and industrial change across and between their three key sites of production, in ways that both intersect with, and often complicate, the concerns of ‘national cinema’ studies. A variety of material will be covered, both historical and contemporary, potentially touching on issues of representation, genre, form and style, and industrial and policy challenges.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 55 hours of contact time and about 95 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.