HR370-6-AU-CO:
The Tudors and Stuarts on Film
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
Inactive
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
15
20 August 2019
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
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This module will examine and analyse popular films (as opposed to documentaries or non-fiction programmes such as those of David Starkey) dealing with England from the reigns of Henry VIII to Charles II, which were made from 1933 until the present.
This module is NOT an exercise in film criticism; the aesthetic quality of the films shown and the calibre of the acting in them are, at best, secondary considerations. Nor is it a study of filmmaking. Instead it will seek to study the films as representations of the past, in the same way that historical novels, historical dramas and historical paintings are representations of the past. For each film the module will attempt to: examine the general accuracy of the film, in the light of historical knowledge at the time that it was made and since. It will also explore the reasons behind deliberate inaccuracies and distortions; examine the context within which the film was made and, in particular examine the particular political, social and financial circumstances that shaped the contents of the film; discuss the effectiveness of the film in both representing and interpreting past events and people.
In addition to the particular films under consideration in the course, we will be examining both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources will consist of books upon which particular films were based, published versions of the scripts for the films, memoirs or autobiographies of those involved with the making of a particular film and interviews with them. Secondary sources will include critical analyses of the films, biographies of the filmmakers and historical and biographical works on the subjects of the films.
1. To familiarise students with the ongoing debate as to the historiographical role of historical films.
2. To enable students to assess historical films as historical sources relating to both the period in which they were made and the period that they depict.
3. To assess how film has shaped popular and academic views of the English past.
4. To understand the roles different media have played in shaping overall perceptions of English identity and heritage.
Upon completing the module, students will:
1. Have an awareness of key debates in early modern British history.
2. Be able to ‘read’ historical films critically.
3. Have a more sophisticated awareness of how understanding of the past is shaped.
4. Be able to analyse the strengths and limitations of film and of the written word in depicting history.
5. Have gained skills in researching and analysing historical films and historical texts.
6. Have demonstrated the ability to present their research as a group and to participate in seminar discussion.
General reading list:
Doran, Susan and Thomas S. Freeman, Tudors and Stuarts on Film (Basingstoke, 2009).
Latham, Bethany, Elizabeth I in Film and Television (Jefferson, NC and London, 2011).
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
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Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Thomas Freeman, email: tfreeman@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Thomas Freeman
Belinda Waterman, Department of History, 01206 872313
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Mark Williams
Cardiff University
Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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