MEVIT4529 – Media Temporalities: Films, Series, Games, Social Media, Music and Books
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
What do we know and what do we not know about time and temporality?
The course Media Temporalities: Films, Series, Games, Social Media, Music and Books is a theoretical and analytical inquiry into different media temporalities.
"What is time?", Saint Augustine asked in his Confessions. "Who can explain this easily and briefly? Who can comprehend this even in thought so as to articulate the answer in words? Yet what do we speak of, in our familiar everyday conversation, more than of time? We surely know what we mean when we speak of it. We also know what is meant when we hear someone else talking about it. What then is time? Provided that no one asks me, I know. If I want to explain it to an inquirer, I do not know."??????????
These questions and observations made about 1600 years ago are seemingly timeless, still of relevance to our contemporary understanding of time and temporality. In this course, we ask ourselves what kinds of times and temporalities are found in films, series, games, social media, music and books, and explore particular media texts through theoretically informed close analyses.
In order to suggest answers to such questions, we will look at and listen attentively and analytically to media texts, such as a football match, Bob Dylan’s "Brownsville Girl", the standup of Steven Wright, The Simpsons, Joachim Trier’s "Oslo Trilogy", James Benning’s Stemple Pass, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return, the music of Susanne Sundf?r, Taylor Swift’s All Too Well,Jon Fosse’s novels, and Solvej Balle’s book septology On the Calculation of Volume.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- Describe different temporalities of films, series, games, social media, music and books, using proper terminology
- Know and use temporal concepts, such as memory, nostalgia, past, present, future, repetition, reprise, return, and still
- Read, look at and listen attentively and analytically to media texts
Skills
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- Analyse and interpret temporalities in and around particular media texts, such as a football match, "Brownsville Girl", the standup of Steven Wright,?The Simpsons, Joachim Trier’s "Oslo Trilogy",?Stemple Pass,?Twin Peaks: The Return,?All Too Well, Jon Fosse’ novels, and?On the Calculation of Volume
- Write a theoretical and/or analytical essay on media temporalities
General competence
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- Read, look at and listen attentively
- Conduct a close textual analysis
- Understand more about what we know and what we do not know about (mediated) time and temporality
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with MEVIT3529 – Audiovisual Media Temporalities: Temporality in Films, Series, Games and Social Media.
Teaching
The course is organized as block teaching, 4 hours x 7.
Examination
Three day take-home exam.
The exam paper should consist of 10 pages, +/- 10%. The front page, bibliography, any appendices and pictures (if any) will not be counted. Each page should be about 2300 characters without spaces.
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.