HR270-5-SP-CO:
Sex, War and Class at the Movies: 1930-1960
2025/26
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Monday 12 January 2026
Friday 20 March 2026
15
14 April 2025
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
This module explores the relationship between cinema and society in Britain from the interwar depression, through the Second World War and the onset of affluence and mass-consumerism in the 1950s and 60s.
More specifically, cinematic representations of classes and cultures will be examined in relation to the lived history of the period, in order to track what they both reveal and conceal about the historical processes which transformed Britain during the mid-twentieth century.
The main sources will be feature films but other primary sources will be employed when appropriate in order to situate the texts more firmly in their contexts.
The module is interdisciplinary in design and content: texts will be read in conjunction with a wide range of secondary sources taken from the fields of film studies, social, economic and political history and sociology. A variety of genres and styles will be considered including comedy and musical comedy, historical melodrama, the crime thriller, social documentary and social realism.
Major themes to be studied include images of class, race, community and nation; gender division and gender identity; ideology and hegemony; social mobility and alienation; citizenship and race relations; affluence and class-consciousness.
The aims of this module are:
- To familiarise students with the major developments in British cinema from the 1930s to the end of the twentieth century.
- To introduce students to the methods and approaches involved in the study of film history.
- To gain a critical understanding of the history of the cinema as an economic and cultural form, constitutive and not merely reflective of wider social processes.
- To refine the key skills necessary for critically reading films and develop an awareness of both the uses and limitations of cinematic representation as a major source for historians of modern British society.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to have:
- Gained an understanding of some of the key themes in British history during the period 1930-60.
- Developed a better understanding of the potential of film as a historical source.
For introductory reading, see:
- Murphy, Robert (ed.), The British Cinema Book (2009).
This module will be delivered via:
- Two-hour screening, one-hour lecture and one-hour seminar per week.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Film Analysis (1000 words) |
06/03/2026 |
35% |
| Coursework |
Essay (2000 words) |
20/03/2026 |
65% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Peter Gurney, email: pjgurney@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Peter Gurney
History UG Administrators: hrugadmin@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Ingeborg Dornan
Brunel University London
Reader in History
Available via Moodle
Of 38 hours, 20 (52.6%) hours available to students:
18 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.