History, Theory, Methods: Perspectives on Audiences and Spaces of Film Exhibition

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Dr Colm McAuliffe
• Assessment: a 3000-word research exercise (50%) and an in-class presentation and Q&A session (50%)

In this module we begin with theories of spectatorship and histories of the audience. Next, structured by a case study of London, we explore the social, spatial and temporal sites of exhibition.

Indicative syllabus

• Early attempts to identify the film spectator 
• The era of the mass audience and classical Hollywood 
• The rise of the European 'New Waves' 
• Studies in the sociology of the film audience: from the 1930s to now 
• Identifying audiences in the multi-platform era 
• Spatially mapping film culture and sites of exhibition 
• London's picture palaces 
• Researching a lost cinema

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand relevant areas of cultural theory and media history of audiences and film exhibition
• understand how film audiences are constituted, in theory, but also in exhibition spaces 
• apply theoretical concepts to particular issues related to audiences and film exhibition.