Course Catalogue

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This course explores the rich visual, cultural and political life of food in fiction film and television. Students will analyse the symbolic and narrative roles of food in global cinema and television from a variety of genres, considering how meals on screen can reflect social structures, power dynamics, environmental issues, gender roles, cultural traditions and personal identity. Exploring a range of intersectional issues, the course invites students to interrogate how food shapes and is shaped by cinematic and televisual storytelling.

10 x 1hr lecture

10 x 1hr seminar over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Film and Television Studies or Creative Arts and Industries, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

• Midterm Essay (1500 words) - 40%

• End of term research project (essay, 5-minute audio-visual essay, curatorial pitch) (2500 words) - 60%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

• There are no alternatives to the midterm essay, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions).

• There are no alternatives to the research project, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions).

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

The course aims to:

■ Provide students with the tools to critically explore the cultural, symbolic and narrative significance of food in global film and television.

■ Enable students to analyse the intersection of food, media and politics, including how food imagery in fiction reflects and critiques issues such as colonialism, gender, class, environment and globalisation.

■ Foster students' ability to engage with interdisciplinary scholarship on food, film and visual culture.

■ Develop students' research, analytical and communication skills through written, visual and curatorial forms of assessment.

■ Encourage reflective and ethical awareness of the global politics of consumption and representation.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Analyse how food is represented in film and television and what these representations suggest about identity, power and culture.

2. Apply key theories from film and cultural studies to interpret the role of food in screen narratives.

3. Compare examples of food on screen from different periods, regions and genres, noting their social and political contexts.

4. Carry out an independent research project on an aspect of food in film or television, using appropriate scholarly methods.

5. Communicate clear and well-supported arguments in written, oral or audiovisual formats.