Antony Keen
The ancient Greek and Romans have been represented in cinema since movie-making began. This ten week-course aims to introduce students to how cinema has made use of Greco-Roman antiquity. Each week a particular genre will be discussed, and an example of that genre studied in depth.
At the beginning of each week, students will be sent a 15-minute audio-visual introduction to the genre being studied and a c. 4,000-word essay on the movie under discussion. You’ll also be sent links to some online further reading. At the end of the week, there will be a synchronous online discussion, where you will be able to ask the course tutor questions about the material you’ve been sent.
Course Schedule
16 July 2020 An introduction to studying cinema and a brief overview of ancient Greece and Rome on Screen before 1950
23 July 2020 Roman movies I: The 1950s and 1960s Hollywood epic
Case study movie: Ben-Hur (1959)
30 July 2020 Roman movies II: The twenty-first century technological Hollywood epic
Case study movie: Gladiator (2000)
6 August 2020 Roman movies III: British comedy movies using Rome, and the subversion of Hollywood epic
Case study movie: Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1981)
13 August 2020 Roman movies IV: Shakespeare’s Roman plays on screen
Case study movie: Julius Caesar (1954)
27 August 2020 Greek movies I: Mythology
Case study movie: Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
3 September 2020 Greek movies II: History, ‘history’, and Hollywood
Case study movie: 300 (2007)
10 September 2020 Greek movies III: The Odyssey, myth and contemporary Hollywood
Case study movie: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
17 September 2020 Greek movies IV: Athenian tragedy and European art cinema
Case study movie: Medea (1969)
24 September 2020 Lecture: The ancient world movie since 2010
Case study movie: Chi-Raq (2015)
Required materials: Students will need to source the movies themselves. However, all the movies to be discussed are easily available to rent online. The course materials will assume that students have watched them.
Day: Thursdays, starting Start date, 16 July 2020 Time: 11.00-13.00 with a one week break in the middle.
Pricing:
£8/session or £70 for the ten-week course.
Virtual Learning Environment:
Zoom
| Price | Concessions | Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
| £8/session or £70/course | * | 8 | 50 |
Pay via the following Eventbrite links:
To pay for the full course: please use this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cinema-and-ancient-greece-and-rome-full-course-tickets-110529031308
And for the individual lectures: please, use this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cinema-and-ancient-greece-and-rome-individual-sessions-tickets-110526152698
To book, complete the MANCENT booking form and send to the email address below. Payment can be made via the following eventbrite links. If you would like to pay via BACS or Paypal please contact Tony Keen for details.
email: agk044@gmail.com