This course will explore the work of the Turner prize winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. Awarded an Oscar in2014 for his film, 12 Years a Slave, McQueen has been producing politically and racially committed artworks and films sincethe early 1990s. One of his more recent projects, the five film Small Axe (2020) was broadcast on the BBC amid increasingrecognition that racial prejudice for Britain’s ethnic minorities rem...
Learning modes and locations may be different depending on the course start date. Please check the location of your chosen course and read our guide to learning modes and locations to help you choose the right course for you.
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
This one-day film course will introduce you to the work of the celebrated artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. It will explore his origins as a fine artist and the importance that film played in his artistic practice. As his career developed, he moved increasingly towards mainstream film, directing his first feature, Hunger, in 2008. This powerful, award-winning film explored the IRA hunger strikes in the Maze prison in the early 1980s, focussing on the individual experience of Bobby Sands. Subsequent films have built on this success with 1 2 Years a Slave (2014) winning an Oscar for Best Picture. McQueen has continued to make culturally resonant films that engage with issues around race, gender, identity and politics. The course will explore a series of representative films in depth, and it will use a selection of clips to illustrate McQueen’s visual artistry alongside his commitment to a racially, politically and gender inflected cinema.
What will we cover?
After introducing you to some of the issues at stake in McQueen’s work - questions of nationhood, postcolonialism, cultural identity, gender and history - this course will look at films from the earliest period of his career through to the present day. You will look at some of his gallery films, including the Turner Prize winning Bear (1993) before moving on to consider his key feature films, Hunger (2008), Shame (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2014), Widows (2018), Occupied City (2023) and Blitz (2024). You will also look at McQueen’s series of five films, screened on British television under the collective title Small Axe (2020). This immensely powerful collection has resonated with UK viewers in the Black Lives Matter era, and it has made a significant intervention in debates around race and cultural identity.
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
appreciate formally McQueen’s artist films.
understand McQueen’s films (shorts and features) in their historical, political and cultural context.
make connections between aesthetics, textual analysis and political and cultural context.
explore and understand matters of race, culture, gender and identity as they relate to the work of Steve McQueen
and beyond.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is an introductory course and as such does not presuppose any prior expertise in film history or film analysis. The skills required to explore the topics and the films will be discussed in class.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
The course will be delivered by the tutor with small and large group discussions. Short film extracts will be screened throughout. Reading relevant to the course will be made available in Google Classroom. All PowerPoint presentations will be placed into Google Classroom after each class so that you can follow up afterwards. Where possible links to films online will be provided.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Bring a notepad and paper or a digital equivalent. Clips will be shown extensively throughout the course. Where possible links to online sources will be made available.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Please look also for other Film Studies courses under History Culture and Writing/Film Studies at www.citylit.ac.uk.
Dr. Paul Sutton is an independent film scholar who has taught Film Studies in UK higher education for over 25 years. His research covers psychoanalytic and film theory as well as Italian and French cinema and critical theory. He has published articles in journals such as Screen, French Studies and the Journal for Cultural Research. He has developed a psychoanalytic theory of film spectatorship, Afterwardsness in Film, and published work on television as a form of palliative care, as well as an assessment of the films of the Italian experimental filmmaker Ugo Nespolo. In 2025 he published the ‘comprehensive and highly readable’ In the Scene: Agnès Varda, a book on the celebrated and much-loved French film director Agnès Varda. Paul is a Film Studies tutor and the co-ordinator for Film, TV and Media Studies at City Lit.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
product
https://www.citylit.ac.uk/masters-of-cinema-steve-mcqueen259769Masters of cinema: Steve McQueenhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/p/j/pjimage_-_2022-02-25t150925.260_1.jpg7979GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Film studies/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Film studies/Masters of Cinema/Courses/vm/World culture/Courses/vm/Contemporary Culture Courses in London228511771580209113408171712285117715801653<p>This course will explore the work of the Turner prize winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. Awarded an Oscar in<br>2014 for his film, <em>12 Years a Slave</em>, McQueen has been producing politically and racially committed artworks and films since<br>the early 1990s. One of his more recent projects, the five film <em>Small Axe</em> (2020) was broadcast on the BBC amid increasing<br>recognition that racial prejudice for Britain’s ethnic minorities remains as prevalent today as it was half a century ago. This<br>course will examine McQueen’s work as a response to and an engagement with these experiences.</p>003071410Masters of cinema: Steve McQueen7979https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/p/j/pjimage_-_2022-02-25t150925.260_1_2.jpgInStockDaytimeTueKeeley StreetAvailable coursesOne-off onlyWeekday2027-03-30T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allMar 2027Culture, history & humanitiesHF2397979Masters of cinema: Steve McQueen635179Paul Suttonmasters-of-cinema-steve-mcqueen/hf239-2627<p>This course will explore the work of the Turner prize winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. Awarded an Oscar in<br>2014 for his film, <em>12 Years a Slave</em>, McQueen has been producing politically and racially committed artworks and films since<br>the early 1990s. One of his more recent projects, the five film <em>Small Axe</em> (2020) was broadcast on the BBC amid increasing<br>recognition that racial prejudice for Britain’s ethnic minorities remains as prevalent today as it was half a century ago. This<br>course will examine McQueen’s work as a response to and an engagement with these experiences.</p>0000-Available|2027-03-30 00:00:00<p>This one-day film course will introduce you to the work of the celebrated artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. It will explore<br>his origins as a fine artist and the importance that film played in his artistic practice. As his career developed, he moved<br>increasingly towards mainstream film, directing his first feature, <em>Hunger</em>, in 2008. This powerful, award-winning film explored<br>the IRA hunger strikes in the Maze prison in the early 1980s, focussing on the individual experience of Bobby Sands.<br>Subsequent films have built on this success with 1 <em>2 Years a Slave</em> (2014) winning an Oscar for Best Picture. McQueen has<br>continued to make culturally resonant films that engage with issues around race, gender, identity and politics. The course<br>will explore a series of representative films in depth, and it will use a selection of clips to illustrate McQueen’s visual artistry<br>alongside his commitment to a racially, politically and gender inflected cinema.</p><p>This course will explore the work of the Turner prize winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. Awarded an Oscar in<br>2014 for his film, <em>12 Years a Slave</em>, McQueen has been producing politically and racially committed artworks and films since<br>the early 1990s. One of his more recent projects, the five film <em>Small Axe</em> (2020) was broadcast on the BBC amid increasing<br>recognition that racial prejudice for Britain’s ethnic minorities remains as prevalent today as it was half a century ago. This<br>course will examine McQueen’s work as a response to and an engagement with these experiences.</p><p>After introducing you to some of the issues at stake in McQueen’s work - questions of nationhood, postcolonialism, cultural<br>identity, gender and history - this course will look at films from the earliest period of his career through to the present day.<br>You will look at some of his gallery films, including the Turner Prize winning <em>Bear</em> (1993) before moving on to consider his<br>key feature films, <em>Hunger</em> (2008), <em>Shame</em> (2011), <em>12 Years a Slave</em> (2014), <em>Widows</em> (2018), <em>Occupied City</em> (2023) and <em>Blitz</em> (2024). You will also look at McQueen’s series of five films, screened on British television under the collective title <em>Small Axe</em><br>(2020). This immensely powerful collection has resonated with UK viewers in the Black Lives Matter era, and it has made a<br>significant intervention in debates around race and cultural identity.</p><ul><li>appreciate formally McQueen’s artist films.</li><li>understand McQueen’s films (shorts and features) in their historical, political and cultural context.</li><li>make connections between aesthetics, textual analysis and political and cultural context.</li><li>explore and understand matters of race, culture, gender and identity as they relate to the work of Steve McQueen</li><li>and beyond.</li></ul><p>This course is an introductory course and as such does not presuppose any prior expertise in film history or film analysis.<br>The skills required to explore the topics and the films will be discussed in class.</p><p> </p><p>The course will be delivered by the tutor with small and large group discussions. Short film extracts will be screened<br>throughout. Reading relevant to the course will be made available in Google Classroom. All PowerPoint presentations will<br>be placed into Google Classroom after each class so that you can follow up afterwards. Where possible links to films online<br>will be provided.</p><p>Bring a notepad and paper or a digital equivalent. Clips will be shown extensively throughout the course. Where possible links to online sources will be made available.</p><p>Please look also for other Film Studies courses under History Culture and Writing/Film Studies at www.citylit.ac.uk.</p>Film studiesMasters of Cinemavirtual637951HF239NONETue30/03/2710:30 - 16:3010:3016:301 session1One-off onlyWeekdayKSKeeley StreetPaul SuttonBeginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allAvailable courses2027-03-30T00:00:00+00:00DaytimeMar 2027Culture, history & humanities7979Masters of cinema: Steve McQueenmasters-of-cinema-steve-mcqueen/hf239-2627<p>This course will explore the work of the Turner prize winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. Awarded an Oscar in<br>2014 for his film, <em>12 Years a Slave</em>, McQueen has been producing politically and racially committed artworks and films since<br>the early 1990s. One of his more recent projects, the five film <em>Small Axe</em> (2020) was broadcast on the BBC amid increasing<br>recognition that racial prejudice for Britain’s ethnic minorities remains as prevalent today as it was half a century ago. This<br>course will examine McQueen’s work as a response to and an engagement with these experiences.</p>0000-Available|2027-03-30 00:00:00<p>This one-day film course will introduce you to the work of the celebrated artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. It will explore<br>his origins as a fine artist and the importance that film played in his artistic practice. As his career developed, he moved<br>increasingly towards mainstream film, directing his first feature, <em>Hunger</em>, in 2008. This powerful, award-winning film explored<br>the IRA hunger strikes in the Maze prison in the early 1980s, focussing on the individual experience of Bobby Sands.<br>Subsequent films have built on this success with 1 <em>2 Years a Slave</em> (2014) winning an Oscar for Best Picture. McQueen has<br>continued to make culturally resonant films that engage with issues around race, gender, identity and politics. The course<br>will explore a series of representative films in depth, and it will use a selection of clips to illustrate McQueen’s visual artistry<br>alongside his commitment to a racially, politically and gender inflected cinema.</p><p>This course will explore the work of the Turner prize winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen. Awarded an Oscar in<br>2014 for his film, <em>12 Years a Slave</em>, McQueen has been producing politically and racially committed artworks and films since<br>the early 1990s. One of his more recent projects, the five film <em>Small Axe</em> (2020) was broadcast on the BBC amid increasing<br>recognition that racial prejudice for Britain’s ethnic minorities remains as prevalent today as it was half a century ago. This<br>course will examine McQueen’s work as a response to and an engagement with these experiences.</p><p>After introducing you to some of the issues at stake in McQueen’s work - questions of nationhood, postcolonialism, cultural<br>identity, gender and history - this course will look at films from the earliest period of his career through to the present day.<br>You will look at some of his gallery films, including the Turner Prize winning <em>Bear</em> (1993) before moving on to consider his<br>key feature films, <em>Hunger</em> (2008), <em>Shame</em> (2011), <em>12 Years a Slave</em> (2014), <em>Widows</em> (2018), <em>Occupied City</em> (2023) and <em>Blitz</em> (2024). You will also look at McQueen’s series of five films, screened on British television under the collective title <em>Small Axe</em><br>(2020). This immensely powerful collection has resonated with UK viewers in the Black Lives Matter era, and it has made a<br>significant intervention in debates around race and cultural identity.</p><ul><li>appreciate formally McQueen’s artist films.</li><li>understand McQueen’s films (shorts and features) in their historical, political and cultural context.</li><li>make connections between aesthetics, textual analysis and political and cultural context.</li><li>explore and understand matters of race, culture, gender and identity as they relate to the work of Steve McQueen</li><li>and beyond.</li></ul><p>This course is an introductory course and as such does not presuppose any prior expertise in film history or film analysis.<br>The skills required to explore the topics and the films will be discussed in class.</p><p> </p><p>The course will be delivered by the tutor with small and large group discussions. Short film extracts will be screened<br>throughout. Reading relevant to the course will be made available in Google Classroom. All PowerPoint presentations will<br>be placed into Google Classroom after each class so that you can follow up afterwards. Where possible links to films online<br>will be provided.</p><p>Bring a notepad and paper or a digital equivalent. Clips will be shown extensively throughout the course. Where possible links to online sources will be made available.</p><p>Please look also for other Film Studies courses under History Culture and Writing/Film Studies at www.citylit.ac.uk.</p>Film studiesMasters of Cinemaconfigurable
20911580Masters of Cinemahttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/humanities/film-studies/masters-of-cinema1/2/285/1177/1580/20911/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Film studies/Masters of Cinema
