4.6
stars
268 ratings

Dr Emmett Sullivan +1 more instructor

34,374 already enrolled

Offered By

University of London

Royal Holloway, University of London

Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies

University of London

About this Course

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This course is a short taster on the topic of the use of Images, Film, and their use in historical interpretation in the 20th century.  It is primarily provided for those who have a general interest in history that draws on photojournalism as primary evidence, and films based on historical events.
Once you have completed this course we hope you will be equipped to: 

Appreciate the significance of photographs as historical evidence in the twentieth century.
Understand the limitations of the medium, and how we can attribute meaning to these individual records of 'one moment in time' while taking into account the circumstances in which any particular image was taken.
Understand how individuals and institutions have looked to manipulate images to their own ends – through alteration and/or censorship – and what that meant to contemporary interpretation, as well as subsequent historical interpretation.
Put individual images into a wider context, and in particular with reference to history written, or portrayed, beyond academia: public history. 


Do be aware that part of the contents of this course regard images and depiction of war.  Real wars and real images.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Beginner Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.76/5 (95 Ratings)

Dr Emmett Sullivan

Senior Tutor

History Department, Royal Holloway, University of London

37,960 Learners

2 Courses

Dilara Scholz

Tutor

Department of History

34,374 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

University of London

The University of London is a federal University which includes 18 world leading Colleges. Our distance learning programmes were founded in 1858 and have enriched the lives of thousands of students, delivering high quality University of London degrees wherever our students are across the globe. Our alumni include 7 Nobel Prize winners. Today, we are a global leader in distance and flexible study, offering degree programmes to over 50,000 students in over 180 countries. To find out more about studying for one of our degrees where you are, visit www.london.ac.uk

Royal Holloway, University of London

Royal Holloway, University of London, is ranked in the top 30 universities in the UK (Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2018) and the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2017-18).

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(8,506 ratings)

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Introduction

We will explore the issues associated with the use of images as a source for historical research and consider a number of examples where image manipulation has been uncovered

3 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 40 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz

7 videos

Introduction42s

Use of Images7m

Manipulation2m

The Image in Politics5m

Advertising5m

Reportage (Reporting the News)4m

Optional Extra Material - other forms of images - Guernica14m

8 readings

The Camera Never Lies - Course Information10m

Aims and Objectives10m

The Use of Images10m

Manipulation10m

The Image in Politics10m

Advertising10m

Reportage10m

Optional Extra Information - Guernica10m

1 practice exercise

Week 1 Quiz30m

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Images and History in the Twentieth Century

We will review a number of cases studies where images have either shaped our opinion of events or have been suppressed from the public at the time, to avoid adverse or negative reaction.

3 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 54 min), 6 readings, 1 quiz

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

The Air-Brushing of History: Stalin and Falsification

The cause célèbre' of historical manipulation - Joseph Stalin. The 'air brushing' of historical records, and in this case the literal airbrushing of Soviet images in the 1930s and 1940s

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 104 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz

10 videos

Introduction7m

The Soviet Union13m

Soviet Union under Stalin7m

The Image as Propaganda16m

Falsification13m

Conclusion4m

Optional Extra Material - Films with historical themes8m

Optional Extra Material: Film - The Damned United11m

Optional Extra Material: Film - In the Name of the Father9m

Optional Extra Material: Final Thoughts11m

4 readings

Introduction10m

The Soviet and Stalin Lectures10m

Falsification10m

Optional Extra Material: Films with historical themes10m

1 practice exercise

Week 3 Quiz30m

Week

Week 4

6 hours to complete

Photojournalism, Authenticity and Matters of Public Acceptability: The Battle of Mogadishu

With respect to Reportage and the use of images as a evidential record, should we condemn Stalin in the last 20th and early 21th century? We use an example from 1993 to illustrate this point.

6 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 105 min), 11 readings, 2 quizzes

12 videos

Introduction5m

Death of Margaret Thatcher7m

Black Hawk Down7m

The Day of the Ranger: Aftermath7m

Black Hawk Down and 9/11 Media Reportage4m

Black Hawk Down - The Website7m

The Image17m

Interview10m

UN and the USA in Somalia: Historical Context7m

The Somalian Civil War: Historical Context8m

Optional Extra Material - Interview with Niko: Real-Time Editorial Decision – The Boston Marathon Bombing12m

Optional Extra Material - Image in the Context of Gender Studies8m

11 readings

Introduction Information - Photojournalism, Authenticity and Matters of Public Acceptability: The Battle of Mogadishu10m

Death of Margaret Thatcher - Information10m

Black Hawk Down – Information10m

The Day of the Ranger: Aftermath - Information10m

Media Reportage - Images and information10m

Black Hawk Down: The Website - Information10m

The Image - Information10m

Interview - Information10m

The UN and the USA in Somalia: Historical Context10m

The Somalian Civil War: Historical Context - Information10m

Optional Extra Reading: Interview with Niko: Real-Time Editorial Decision: The Boston Marathon Bombing - Information10m

1 practice exercise

Week 4 Quiz30m

Reviews

4.6

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TOP REVIEWS FROM FILM, IMAGES & HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION IN THE 20TH CENTURY: THE CAMERA NEVER LIES

by JMOct 18, 2020

My only concern is that some reading materials are not accessible, but other than that, everything is great.

by DDMay 18, 2021

It is a very informative course for history enthusiasts. It encourages critical thinking and interpretation of history in a unique way. I enjoyed and learned a lot in the 6 weeks.

by ERAug 23, 2020

Interesting subject and enjoyable time learning. I just realized how much I love learning. Thank you for this wonderful experience.

by AGJun 16, 2017

This course is very informative and structural in learning the relation of films and history.

View all reviews

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Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies

Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies

About this Course