The Leeds MA in World Cinemas is the first of its kind in Britain, as it includes the study of films from Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Most MA degree courses specialising in cinema concentrate on English-language films (from the USA and Britain, and occasionally Australia); other courses with a more international scope tend to be limited to the USA and Europe. This new programme will offer the study of ‘non-Hollywood cinemas’, giving students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with some significant national cinemas without requiring knowledge of foreign languages.

The University of Leeds and
the School of Modern Languages
and Cultures

Leeds is one of the largest universities in the United Kingdom, with a long-established international reputation for the standard of its teaching and research. The facilities available to its 4,000 postgraduate students are extensive, and include a research library of national importance, a state-of-the-art computer network, and a high-tech Language Centre.

Students on the MA World Cinemas programme (MAWC) enjoy the use of a fully equipped dedicated teaching and research space within the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC). The Language Centre holds a large collection of subtitled videos which are available to students for viewing. Individual departments within the SMLC also have significant video collections which are available on loan to students of MAWC. The School’s Electronic Resources and Information Centre (ERIC) is equipped with 42 high-grade PCs and provides high-speed Internet access for students of the School, along with useful directories of European, East Asian and North African web resources.

The SMLC, which runs the MAWC programme, includes thriving Departments of French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, East Asian Studies, Russian and Slavonic Studies, and Linguistics and Phonetics. The School’s 100 or so academic staff include many specialists in the study of film (see list overleaf). They run a regular film seminar series during term-time, which is open to postgraduate students.

Both Leeds and neighbouring Bradford have longstanding traditions in the promotion of cinema. Leeds hosts a major international film festival every autumn (http://www.leedsfilm.com) and boasts a historic art-house cinema, the Hyde Park Picture House (http://www.leedscinema.com). Bradford has its own festival in March and is home to the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (http://www.nmsi.ac.uk/nmpft), the only museum of its kind in Britain.

Programme Structure

The MA in World Cinemas is available either as a full-time (one year) or part-time (two year) programme of 180 credits. The breakdown of the scheme for full-time students is as shown; part-time students will need to take up to 90 credits in each academic year.

The 180-credit programme entails three compulsory modules:
Core Module (60 credits)
Research Methods and Critical Approaches (30 credits)
Dissertation (30 credits)
A further 60 credits are then chosen from a list of optional modules.
Students will take the following COMPULSORY modules:

Core Module
(Semesters 1 & 2, 60 credits)

Study of the main movements in non-Hollywood cinemas and their historical contexts and of the relevant theoretical frameworks and how these are applied in the analysis of national cinemas.

This module aims to provide a common grounding for the range of students admitted to the programme by combining an introduction to film analysis with an overview of world cinemas in their specific cultural contexts. Weekly topics of discussion typically include a selection of the following:

Spanish cinema, Italian neo-realism, French nouvelle vague, German expressionism, Japanese cinema, Chinese cinema, Taiwanese cinema, Hong Kong cinema, Brazilian cinema, African/Beur cinema, Arab cinema, New Zealand cinema; Issues in European cinema; Issues in world cinemas; Beyond national cinemas; Introduction to subtitling.

Research Methods and Critical Approaches
(Semesters 1 & 2, 30 credits)

Research skills including the use of library and Internet sources, and theoretical approaches including psychoanalysis, feminist film theory and postcolonialism.

Dissertation (to be submitted by August 31, 30 credits)

15,000-word dissertation, the title to be chosen by the student in consultation with the programme directors.

Students normally choose TWO modules from a range of options, which normally include:
(Note: Not all modules are offered every year, and some modules may have a pre-requisite for knowledge in a foreign language)

MAWC modules:
Dialogues with Hollywood
Gender and Sexuality in World
Cinemas

Other modules:
Arab Cinema
The International Film Industry
Gender and Sexuality in Chinese
Cinema
Cultural Change in the 1960s
Francophone Cinema: Postcolonial
Images
Jean Renoir: The Films of the 1930s
Love Stories? Gender and French Film
Quebec Film
Reading Gender in Modern Italian
Fiction and Film (I)
Film Translation
Film Music
Images of Women in Contemporary
Spanish Cinema
Culture and Society in the Portuguese-
Speaking World
Spanish and Latin American Cinema:
Cuts and Connections
Brazilian Popular Culture (Music and
Film) 1930-1970
Spanish-American Literature: Cross-
currents and Cinematic Reworkings

Admission and Information

You will need to have a good first degree in a related discipline (e.g. Communications or Film Studies, Languages, Area Studies), although other experience and background will of course be considered. Application forms and further details may be obtained from the admissions administrator.
Please contact Ms. Catherine Dickson at 44(0)113 3433234 Or e-mail c.dickson@leeds.ac.uk or write to us at the following address

MA World Cinemas
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Michael Sadler Building
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT

Fees and Scholarships

For information on academic fees, contact the programme administrator, Ken Hargraves at k.l.s.hargraves@leeds.ac.uk. Details of scholarships and bursaries can be found at http://www.leeds.ac.uk/students/. The School of Modern Languages and Cultures also offers a limited number of scholarships.

What our students say…

Recent MAWC students have been granted scholarships from the prestigious Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) and bursaries from the SMLC.

Beyond the MA

The MAWC would be an ideal qualification for anyone seeking employment in the film industry, both nationally and internationally, from reviewing films to working in production and distribution. Graduates would be well-placed to work in the arts in general (organising film festivals, working for Arts Council, etc.). The MAWC could be used as a springboard to a research degree in a national cinema, popular culture or the visual arts, as the programme offers sufficient opportunity for specialisation in one area through optional modules and the dissertation, while ensuring that students have a solid theoretical basis on which to build through its Core Module. The compulsory module in Research Methods and Critical Approaches will also enhance students’ skills in independent research and will feed directly into the preparation of the dissertation, as well as developing useful transferable skills for the job market.

What our graduates say…

Staff

Staff who teach on the MA in World Cinemas include the following:

Professor Lucia Nagib (Chair in World Cinema)
Professor Margaret Atack (Nouvelle Vague)
Professor Diana Holmes (Gender and film, Truffaut, stars and stardom)
Professor Rachel Killick (Quebec cinema)
Dr Paul Cooke (European cinema, especially German)
Dr Stephanie Dennison (Brazilian cinema; Co-Director of MA World Cinemas)
Dr Danielle Hipkins (Italian cinema, gender, neo-realism)
Dr Song Hwee Lim (Transnational Chinese cinemas, gender and sexuality;
Co-Director of MA World Cinemas)
Rob Miles (Spanish cinema)
Dr Thea Pitman (Latin American cinema, especially Mexican)
Dr Graham Roberts (Film history and film industry)
Dr Kamal Salhi (African/Beur cinemas)
Dr Zahia Salhi (Arab cinema)
Dr Lisa Shaw (Brazilian cinema)
Dr Stuart Taberner (German cinema)
Dr Claire Taylor (Latin American cinema, especially Argentina)

For further info:
Please contact Ms. Catherine Dickson
Tel: 44(0)113 3433234
E-mail: c.dickson@leeds.ac.uk