FAO CAA Yr 2: Critical Perspectives Teaching Materials Available Now @ myUCA

In a few week's time, you'll be embarking on your year 2 theory unit entitled 'Critical Perspectives'.

The lectures and film screenings are with me on Wednesdays at 2pm.  The specific topic of your lectures is 'Postmodernism' - a notoriously knotty subject and it's wise to get your head on early and break the seal.  If you visit myUCA now and access the 'Critical Perspectives 16/17' module, you'll find the brief, timetable, lecture slides, film programme and importantly, the 'readers' - which are short excerpts from useful books on the subject.  The expectation is that your written assignments will reference these as part of your range of published sources.  It would be a good idea to download them and begin - however provisionally - to familiarise yourself with them in preparation for what is to come.  

Please note - while I'm showing you a bunch of films, you need not review them as per your year one film programmes.  However, I'm showing you this selection with good reason - principally they are experiences of 'Postmodern Cinema' and as such will prove invaluable to your soak-up of the subject.  I suggest you spend some time to do some background reading on the films I'm showing you, so that you get the very most of them when we watch them together. Not all of them are comfortable or straightforward experiences, so a bit of preparation is advised!  Can I suggest you first try twinning the films' titles with the search terms 'postmodern' and 'postmodernism' - these should very quickly lead you to pertinent reviews/essays/analysis - all of which may form part of your written assignment, as writing about the films you've watched as part of the lecture series is fine.

Short version - visit myUCA, access the materials I've made available and start the process of familiarising yourself with the vocabulary, images, artists, films and references that will inform the lecture series.  Don't worry if it all seems a bit abstracted and daunting at first - things will soon come more keenly into focus.

You'll note you're being asked to write a 2500 - 3000 word written assignment; that's a big jump, and for some of you I know this will be a source of some concern.  My advice to you is very simple - start early!