General entry requirements + English 6.

The course is not part of any main field and can normally be included in a general bachelor's degree.

The aim of the course is for the students to acquire a basic understanding of how war is represented in the visual arts (photography and film) and how this contributes to the viewers’ understanding of war and individuals’ experiences of conflict. In addition, the students will gain insights into how meanings of war are created, sustained, and challenged. Furthermore, by exploring historical and contemporary wars through visual images and visual narratives, the students will obtain an understanding of how visual interpretations are conditioned.

The course consists of two modules:

Civilians in War Photography and Film (7.5 hp)

This module introduces the potentials and predicaments of visual images to communicate the civilians’ experiences of war. The module explores the interaction between realism and subjectivity as it manifests itself in the relationship between the producer, the image/visual narrative, and the viewer. Furthermore, the module explores how the representations of civilians in war photography and film can contribute to the understanding of war.

Representations of War in Photography and Film (7.5 hp)

This module introduces the role of visual images and visual narratives in the portrayal of war (historical and contemporary). The module explores the ways in which visual images and visual narratives are used to justify, remember, condemn, or sustain war by the power of visual images to communicate immediacy and a perceived truth of the visual image. Furthermore, the module investigates how these representations contribute to the comprehension of different types of war such as for example total wars, limited wars, internal conflicts, and genocide.

The course consists of 2 modules with the following learning outcomes:

Civilians in War Photography and Film (7.5 hp)

After completing the module, the student will

1. have knowledge about the manifestations of civilians’ experiences of war in photography and film

2. have basic knowledge of how to interpret visual images and visual narratives of civilians’ experiences of war.

3. have knowledge of the interaction between realism and the subjective experiences of war and its different consequences for the understanding of war

Representations of War in Photography and Films (7.5 hp)

After completing the module, the student will

1. have knowledge about the main themes of war photography and war films

2. have basic knowledge of how to interpret visual images and narratives of war and conflict and relate them to the understanding that they create

3. have knowledge of how war films and war photography can contribute to the overall understanding of war and conflicts and its contributions to sustain or discard violence.

The course is designed for half-time study. The course is an off-campus course that is taught digitally in real time according to the schedule. The teaching in each module is mainly in the form of lectures and seminars. The majority of the student’s workload consists of independent study.

Students are responsible for keeping up with the reading and for coming prepared to each class.

The course is based on the students’ active participation in discussions.

Civilians in War Photography and Film (7.5 hp)

Learning outcome 1, 2, and 3 are assessed by means of an individual exam (5.0 hp). Learning outcome 1 and 2 are also assessed by the means of seminar presentations (2.5 hp).

Representations of War in Photography and Film (7.5 hp)

Learning outcome 1, 2, and 3 are assessed by means of an individual exam (5.0 hp). Learning outcome 1 and 2 are also assessed by the means of seminar presentations (2.5 hp).

Modul 1

• Allbeson, Tom and Pippa Oldfield (2016), War, Photography, Business: New Critical Histories, Journal of War & Culture Studies 9(2): 94-114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17526272.2016.1190203
• Brothers, Caroline (1997), War and Photography: A Cultural History. London: Routledge. (selected chapters)
• Donald, Ralph and Karen MacDonald (2014), Women in War Films: From Helpless Heroine to G.I. Jane. Lanham, MA & London: Rowman & Littlefield. (selected chapters)
• Hutchison, Margaret & Emily Robertson (2015), Introduction: Art, War, and Truth – Images of Conflict, Journal of War & Culture Studies, 8(2): 103-108. DOI: 10.1179/1752627215Z.00000000065
• Kelly, Debra (2014), Introduction: Ambiguities and Ambivalences in the Representation of War and the Work of War and Culture Studies. Journal of War & Culture Studies 7(2): 97–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/1752627214Z.00000000037
• Martínez, Victoria Van Orden (2023). Witnessing the Suffering of Others in Watercolor and Pencil: Jadwiga Simon-Pietkiewicz’s Holocaust Art Exhibited in Sweden, 1945–46, Holocaust and Genocide Studies 37(2): 273–293. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/hgs/dcad020
• Matila, Tuuli and Timo Yimaunu (2023), Empathy for the ‘Other’: Neglected Finnish Ethnographic War Photography from Occupied Soviet Territory, Journal of War & Culture Studies, 16(3): 293-311. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17526272.2021.2009656
• Rose, Gillian (2001 or any later edition), Visual Methodologies. Los Angeles: SAGE. (selected chapters)
• Sontag, Susan (2008 or any edition/translation), On Photography. London: Penguin Books.
• Sontag, Susan (2004 or any edition/translation) Regarding the Pain of Others, London: Penguin Books.
• Artiklar (upp till 300 sidor) tillkommer
• Filmer, serier och annat visuellt material tillgängligt online

Modul 2

• Berger, John, (1972) Ways of Seeing, London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin books
• Bourke, Joanna, (2017) War and Art, London: Reaktion Books (selected parts)
• Culbert, David & Chambers, John W. (1996) World War II, Film and History, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Donald, Ralph and Karen MacDonald (2014), Women in War Films: From Helpless Heroine to G.I. Jane. Lanham, MA & London: Rowman & Littlefield. (selected chapters)
• LaRocca, David (ed.), (2014) The Philosophy of War Films, Lexington, Univ. of Kentucky Press
• Ritzenhoff, Karen A., (2014), Heroism and Gender in War Films, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US - E-BOOK available in MAU library
• Rose, Gillian (2001 or any later edition). Visual Methodologies. Los Angeles: SAGE. (selected chapters)
• Sontag, Susan (2008 or any edition/translation). On Photography. London: Penguin Books.
• Sontag, Susan (2004 or any edition/translation) Regarding the Pain of Others. London: Penguin Books.
• Artiklar (upp till 300 sidor) tillkommer
• Filmer, serier och annat visuellt material tillgängligt online

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.