TYBA Philosophy and Film 1 Syllabus Mumbai University by munotes
Page 2
Copy to : -
1. The Director of Board of Student Development.,
2. The Deputy Registrar (Eligibility and Migration Section)
3. The Director of Students Welfare,
4. The Executive Secretary to the to the Vice -Chancellor,
5. The Pro -Vice-Chancellor
6. The Registrar and
7 The Assistant Registrar, Administrative sub -centers, Ratnagiri,
Thane & Kalyan, for information.
1. The Director of Board of Examinations and Evaluation
2. The Finance and Accounts Officers
3. Record Sectio n
4. Publications Section
5. The Deputy Registrar, Enrolment, Eligibility and Migration Section
6. The Deputy Registrar (Accounts Section), Vidyanagari
7. The Deputy Registrar, Affiliation Section
8. The Professor -cum- Director, Institute of Distance and Open Learning
Education,
9. The Director University Computer Center (IDE Building), Vidyanagari,
10. The Deputy Registrar (Special Cell),
11. The Deputy Registrar, (PRO)
12. The Deputy Registrar, Academic Authorities Unit (1 copies) and
13. The Assistant Registrar, Executive Authorities Unit
They are requested to treat this as action taken report on the
concerned resolution adopted by the Academic Council referred to in the
above circular and that on separate Action Taken Report will be sent in this
connection.
1. The Assistant Registrar Constituent Colleges Unit
2. BUCTU
3. The Deputy Accountant, Unit V
4. The In -charge Director, Centralize Computing Facility
5. The Receptionist
6. The Telephone Operator
7. The Secretary MUASA
8. The Superintendent, Post -Graduate Section
9. The Superintendent, Thesis Section
for information.
Page 3
Page 4
TYBA Philosophy (2020 -21)
Paper Title: Philosophy and Film
Paper No. 9 B
Credits: 4
No. of lectures: 45
Marks: 100
Semester V
Philosophy and Film: Dialogues
Aims:
1. To acquaint students with a new intriguing area in Philosophy, i.e. Philosophy of
Film.
2. To acquaint students with Film as an independent art form.
3. To acquaint students that the most powerful mass media of communication i.e. film
has its pragmatic aspect an d its own axiology.
4. To acquaint students with different aspects of Film philosophically.
5. To acquaint students with intertextual modes of thought that take both written and
cinematic texts into consideration.
Unit I
The Academic Study of Philosophy and Film
(A) Academic Engagements with film: Sociological, Political, Historical and Philosophical
Perspectives
(B) Philosophy and Film: Affinities and Ruptures
(C) Learning from Films
Readings
The following essays from Nőel Carroll and Jinhee Choi (ed.). Philosophy of Film and
Motion Pictures – An Anthology. Blackwell Publishing, 2006:
(i) Karen Hanson “Minerva in the Movies”
(ii) Lester Hunt “Motion Pictures as a Philosophical Resource”
(iii)Bruce Russell “The Philosophical Limits of Film”
Film -text:
The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (Sophie Fiennes 2006, 2 hours 30 minutes) This film is an
exposition of Žižek’s analysis of films and their relation to philosophy.
Page 5
(A) Akira Kurosawa
Reading Unit II
Film -makers on Philosophy
Akira Kurosawa 1983 Some thing Like An Autobiography New York: Vintage
Film Text
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa 1950, 1 hour 28 minutes)
(B) Ingmar Bergman
Reading
Ingmar Bergman 2008 The Magic Lantern Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Film Text
Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman 1957, 1 hour 33mins)
(C) Satyajit Ray
Reading
Satyajit Ray 2013 Deep Focus: Reflections on Cinema New York: Harper
Film Text:
Charulata (Satyajit Ray 1964, 1 hour 57 mins)
Unit III
Philosophers on Film
(A). Merleau Ponty: Film Perception
Readi ng
Maurice Ponty - Merleau. 1958. “The Perceived world” Phenomenology of Perception.
London: Routledge. (Specifically pages 281 -347 on space)
Film text
Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron 2013, 1hour 31 mins)
(B) Andrew Sarris: Film Authorship
Reading:
The following reading from Thomas Wartenberg and Angela Curran (ed) The Philosophy of
Film: Introductory Text and Readings , Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2005
Andrew Harris “ Auteur Theory and Film Evaluation”
Film Text
Shoot the Piano Player (François Truffaut 1960, 1hour 32mins)
(C) Deleuze: Brains as Screens
Reading
Gilles Deleuze & Melissa McMuhan 1998 “The Brain is the Screen: Interview with Gilles
Deleuze on the Time -Image” Discourse 20(3): 47 -55
Film Text
Ivan’s Childhood (Andrei Tarkovsky 1 962, 1hr 37mins
Unit IV
Viewing Films: Political, Social and Psychological Contexts
(A) Class and film : Adorno’s critique of film as a commodity (culture industry) and
Benjamin on film as art
Page 6
Readings
Adorno’s The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture , ed. J. M. Bernstein,
London: Routledge, 1991.
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” In:
Illuminations , edited by Hannah Arendt, translated by Harry Zohn, from the 19 35 essay New
York: Schocken Books, 1969
Film Texts:
Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936 1 hour 29min)
(B) Caste and Film: Mainstream film’s neglect of caste, Dalit film
Reading Suraj Yengde (2018) “Dalit Cinema” South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies
DOI: 10.1080/00856401.2018.1471848
Film Text
Masaan ( Neeraj Ghaywan 2015, 2 hours)
(C) Gender and Film: Male gaze in mainstream film, women’s film
Readings
From Sue Thornham’s Feminist Film Theory: A Reader . Edinburgh University Press, 1999.
(i)Laura Mulvey “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”
(ii) ”Women and Film: A Discussion of Feminist Aesthetics” Michelle Citron, Julia Lesage,
Judith Mayne, B. Ruby Rich, Anna Marie Taylor, and the editors of New German Cri tique
Film Text
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi 2007, 1 hour 36mins)
Extra Readings (For Semester V and Semester VI)
Mary. M. Litch. Philosophy Through Film , 2002, New York : Routledge.
Paisley Livingstone and Carl Plantinga (ed) The Routledge Companion of Fi lm and
Philosophy . 2009 New York: Routledge
Toby Miller and Robert Stam (ed) A Companion of Film Theory. 1999. Blackwell
Publishing
Nőel Carroll and Jinhee Choi (ed.). Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures – An
Anthology . Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Ian Buchanan A Dictionary of Critical Theory . Oxford University Press, 2010.
Conrad, Mark T .The Philosophy of Film Noir . American University Press (The
University Press of Kentucky) 2007.
Shohini Chaudhuri Feminist Film Theorists: Laura Mulvey, Kaja Silverm an, Teresa
de Lauretis, Barbara Creed. London : Routledge, 2006
Relevant essays from Encyclopedia Britannica and Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (online).
Page 7
Semester End Exam Paper Pattern [ 80 marks]
1. There shall be four compulsory question s.
2. The four questions shall correspond to the four units.
3. All questions shall contain internal choice.
4. Each question shall carry a maximum of 20 marks.
Project Based Component [20 marks]
Suggested list of titles for semester 5 project:
1. History of World Cinema
2. History of Indian Cinema
3. Parallel Cinema: Movement in Indian Cinema
4. History of Marathi Cinema
5. History of Censorship in India
6. Films of Ritwik Ghatak/ Mrinal Sen/ Shyam Benegal/Mani Kaul/ Basu Chatterjee/
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
7. Films of Aparna Sen/ Sai Paranjpye
Project Guidelines:
1. Students will select a project title from the list of topics for the semester specified in
the course or any topic (within the scope of the paper) under guidance of faculty and
indicate the same to the faculty member.
2. The list of students along with the topics chosen will be displayed by the College in the
beginning of the Semester
3. Students can begin to work on their project only after the faculty member has approved
the topic.
4. Each student will meet with the faculty to discuss the outline of his/her topic and
discuss the list of relevant reading materials to be referred.
5. The student will write the project under the guidance of only the faculty member in
charge of the course
6. Students will submit their research project as per guidelines specified by the faculty
member.
7. The project must be submitted by the student to the college before appearing for the
University examination
Page 8
TYBA Philosophy (2020 -21)
Paper Title: Philosophy and Film
Paper No. 9 B
Credits: 4
No. of lectures: 45
Marks: 100
Aims Semester VI
Philosophy Through Films
1. To introduce philosophical inquiry through films
2. View and discuss films in conjunction with important philosophical texts.
3. To understand films as philosophical statements
4. To acquaint students with content and form of significant philosophical texts through
important films.
5. To acquaint students with inter -textual modes of thought that take both written and
cinematic texts into consideration.
Unit I
Knowledge and Scepticism
Readings
John Pollock’s “Brain in a Vat” and David Chalmers ““The Matrix as Metaphysics” in
Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence edited by Susan
Schneider. 2009. Wiley - Blackwell.
Film Text
The Matrix (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski 1999, 2hr 30 min)
Unit II
Identity, Artificial Intelligence, and Super Intelligence
(A) Personal Identity
Reading:
Page 9
John Perry’s “A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality” in Introducing Philosophy
Through Film: Key Texts, Discussion, and Film Selections edited b y Richard Fumerton,
Diane Jeske. 2010. Wiley - Blackwell.
Film Text
Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002 1 hour 59 mins)
(B) Artificial Intelligence
Reading
Daniel Dennett, “Consciousness in Human and Robot Minds” in Science Fiction and
Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence edited by Susan Schneider. 2009. Wiley -
Blackwell.
Film Text
Her (Spike Jonze 2014 2hour 6 min)
(C) Super Intelligence
Reading
John Searle, “Minds, Brains, and Programs” in Introducing Philosophy Through Film: Key
Texts, Discussion, and Film Selections edited by Richard Fumerton, Diane Jeske. 2010.
Wiley - Blackwell.
Film Text
Inception (Christopher Nolan 2010, 2 hour 20 mins)
Unit III
Morality and Ethics
(A) Absurdity Freedom and Bad Faith
Reading
J.P Sartre’s Being and Nothingness 1948 tr. Hazel E. Barnes, New York: Philosophical
Library
Film Text
Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch 1995 2 hours 1 minute)
(B) Nationalism and Morality
Reading
Rabindranath Tagore “Nationalism” in Rabindranath Tagore Omnibus III , New Delhi: Rupa
Publications India Private Limited. 2011
Film Text
Chaar Adhyaya (Kumar Shahani 1997 1 hour 50 mins)
(C ) Ethics of Care and Disability
Reading
Eva Feder Kittay, “Ethics of Care, Dependence and Disability” in An International Journal of
Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law Ratio Juris. 24 (1) March 2011 (49 –58)
Film Text
Margarita with a Straw (Shonali Bose 2015, 2hours 20 minutes)
Page 10
Unit IV
Destiny, Free will and Determinism
(A) God, Destiny, Free Will
Reading
Friedrich Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil
Film text
Apocalypse Now ( Francis Ford Coppolla1979, 2 hour 33 minutes)
(B) Free will and Production of Self
Reading
Michel Foucault (1980) Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings , (Gordon,
G. Ed.) New York: Pantheon.
Film Text
Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick 1971 2 hour 17min)
(C) Determinism and Rebirth
Reading
B. R Ambedkar. 2011 “How the Boddhisatta became a Buddha” in Buddha and His
Dhamma : A Critical Edition . Rathore, Aakash Singh; Verma, Ajay (eds). Oxford Universi ty
Press.
Film text
Kundun (Martin Scorsese 1997, 2hour 15 min)
Extra Readings (For Semester V and Semester VI)
Mary. M. Litch. Philosophy Through Film , 2002, New York : Routledge.
Paisley Livingstone and Carl Plantinga (ed) The Routledge Companion of Film and
Philosophy . 2009 New York: Routledge
Toby Miller and Robert Stam (ed) A Companion of Film Theory. 1999. Blackwell
Publishing
Nőel Carroll and Jinhee Choi (ed.). Philosophy of Film and Motion Pictures – An
Anthology . Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Ian Buchanan A Dictionary of Critical Theory . Oxford University Press, 2010
Relevant essays from the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (online)
Semester End Exam Paper Pattern [ 80 marks]
1. There shall be four compulsory questions.
2. The four questions shall correspond to the four units.
3. All questions shall contain internal choice.
4. Each question shall carry a maximum of 20 marks.
Page 11
Project Based Component [20 marks]
Suggested list of ti tles for semester 6 project:
1. Religion in Indian cinema
2. Mythology/ Saint films and Indian cinema
3. Indian Democracy and Cinema
4. Reformation of Society and Regional Cinema
5. Contemporary Marathi cinema and society
6. Queer Films (Indian and non Indian context)
7. Philosophy of Science Fiction Films
8. Cinema and psychoanalysis
Project Guidelines:
1. Students will select a project title from the list of topics for the semester specified in
the course or any topic (within the scope of the paper) under guidance of faculty and
indicate the same to the faculty member.
2. The list of students along with the topics chosen will be displayed by the College in the
beginning of the Semester
3. Students can begin to work on their project only after the faculty member has approved
the topic.
4. Each student will meet with the faculty to discuss the outline of his/her topic and
discuss the list of relevant reading materials to be referred.
5. The student will write the project under the guidance of only the faculty member in
charge of the course
6. Students will submit their research project as per guidelines specified by the faculty
member.
7. The project must be submitted by the student to the college before appearing for the
University examination