Course Catalogue

German Film: Expressionist and New German Cinema GERMAN4063

  • Academic Session: 2026-27
  • School: School of Modern Languages and Cultures
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2 (Alternate Years)
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course provides an introduction to a range of seminal films produced in two of the most productive and influential periods in German cinema: the Expressionist Films of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) and the New German Films made between 1962 and 1982. Seminar discussions will focus on the major technical and aesthetic contributions of the crime and horror stories which reflected the German psyche after WW1, and the provocative rejection of the highly commercialised post WW2 cinema in favour of experimental techniques and socially critical, personal expressions of the alienation and anxiety of everyday life in the 60s and 70s. 

Timetable

1 x 2-hour seminars per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the Honours options in SMLC and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Requirements of Entry

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into SMLC, and by arrangement to visiting students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Type of Assessment

Main Assessment In: April/May

Course Aims

The course aims are as follows:

■ introduce German films produced in the Weimar Republic (Expressionist Film) and the 1960s and 1970s (New German Film) 

■ place each film in its historical and socio-cultural context in order to examine the presentation of these contexts through the medium of film 

■ study the genres, styles, themes and aesthetics of Expressionist Film and New German Film 

■ apply an appropriate range of methodological and theoretical approaches to film study 

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

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

■ engage critically with the historical and socio-cultural contexts in which Expressionist and New German Films were produced 

■ analyse the cinematic and broader artistic techniques developed in Expressionist and New German Films 

■ carry out independent research on assigned essay topics 

■ present an informative piece of writing for a general audience on an aspect of Expressionist or New German Film 

■ present a critical interpretation of Expressionist and New German Films in the form of a written academic argument which engages with primary and secondary literature and with appropriate theoretical writing on film studies 

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

No exceptions