#HI-04-01 Heroism: Through Art and Film
About Course
University of LeedsDescription
Why join the course?
The centenary of the First World War is a time for reflection and exploration. In this short course you will discover just some of the ways that heroism is portrayed through art and film.
You will explore recruitment posters and the messages they portrayed for both those going to war and those staying at home, as well as researching WW1 art and reflecting upon a painting you have chosen. You will then move on to explore contemporary German film, consolidating your learning by reviewing a recent book, film, or TV programme about the First World War.
What topics will you cover?
- Analysis of recruitment posters and the messages they portrayed for both those going to war and those staying at home
- Researching posters: use of words and images to invoke emotions about heroism
- World War 1: how ideas about heroism changed from 1914 onwards
- Heroism and film: exploring the differences between current images of World War 1 heroes in Germany, France, and Britain
- Film reviews: contrasting ways in which the meaning of World War 1 is constructed and debated in Germany today
Who will you learn with?
A Professor of French Cultural History, my research focuses on French and British women and WW1. I lead a WW1 Centenary project called Legacies of War: arts.leeds.ac.uk/legaciesofwar
Who developed the course?
As one of the UK’s largest research-based universities, the University of Leeds is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a centre of excellence for teaching.
What Will I Learn?
- Reflect on how the First World War affected the heroic ideals of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Assess WW1 posters and interpret the message that each poster would have given to those signing up during the war years.
- Explore art from WW1 and discuss thoughts with other students.
- Curate an exhibition of paintings of WW1 heroes and heroines to help reflect on the way ideas about heroism has changed from 1914 onward.
- Explore how heroism is represented in post-WW2 German culture.
- Discuss how WW1 and heroism are represented in films produced or co-produced in Germany in the last few years.
- Evaluate a film, book or TV programme which focuses on the men and women who lived through WW1 and consider how they are portrayed in contemporary culture.
- Research and discuss thoughts with fellow learners.
Topics for this course
Heroism: portrayed through art
Welcome to the course
British recruitment posters
WW1 paintings
Summary
Heroism and film
Contemporary German films
Film reviews
The course points out a great subject in this epic era, this is a difficult year for all of us.
Doing this course was not like sitting in front of a lecturer who was reading off of cue cards, this was more like an apprenticeship with an experienced expert, it was like being in the studio with him on a one-to-one basis.
Really helpful course. I will recommend this to anyone starting out as Ms.Fell is very explanatory and to the point. Certainly helped me to get to the next step of Cinematography.
I loved the way she explained it slowly and steadily and completed all the topics peerfectly.
I really took away a lot of knowledge from this course, and especially from someone that has a short attention span, it was super easy to follow along with the videos and very well organized. I can definitely see myself applying the knowledge I learned from this course to a real-life scenario and I'm excited to see it happen!