Universität Wien

123251 AR Literature Course - Literature 1/2 (MA) British/Irish/New English (2012S)

‘Now a Major Motion Picture’: Authorship, Accuracy, and Modification in Film Adaptations of Literary Texts

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 24 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Friday 09.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 16.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 23.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 30.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 20.04. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 27.04. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 04.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 11.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 18.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 25.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 01.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 08.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 15.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 22.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13
  • Friday 29.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 3 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-13

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

What happens when a literary text is turned into a motion picture? Can a film reflect the gist of a novel, short story, drama, or comic book accurately? And, more importantly: Does it necessarily aspire to do so? The rift between literary and cinematic productions seems huge (given the fact that, due to the nature of the medium, a film is required to conduct a number of changes, elisions, and interpolations). Nevertheless, film adaptations often stress the proximity to the original and capitalize upon the ‘magic’ power of literary works. “Well over half of all commercial films have come from literary originals – though by no means all of these originals are revered or respected” (D. Andrew). This course deals with the challenges that cinematic adaptations of literary texts usually face – in terms of their usage of compositional features, the cultural background of film and original, and the uncontrollable dynamics of reception. We will discuss numerous works of British, Irish, and American origin, the filmic result often being a truly ‘transnational’ product. Emphasis will also be placed on a subgenre called “meta-adaptation,” in which “the adaptive processes between media, texts and genres” are foregrounded (Voigts-Virchow). Films to be analyzed in class include Carol Reed’s The Third Man (1949), Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind (1939), Spike Jonze’s Adaptation (2002), and Michael Winterbottom’s A Cock and Bull Story (2005).

Assessment and permitted materials

Regular attendance; active in-class participation; presentation as part of an expert session with 6-page handout to be distributed in class; reading assignments; occasional quizzes; at least 9 elaborate entries in the discussion forum.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The course aims at a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between literary works and their cinematic adaptations. We will focus on the structural mechanisms as well as the aesthetic patterns that lie at the heart of film versions of literature.

Examination topics

Presentations by students in the form of expert sessions (based on PowerPoint and handouts, focusing on five discussion questions and two or three relevant passages/sequences from movies or literary texts to be selected by the experts and discussed in class); forum discussions on Moodle.

Reading list

Deborah Cartmell and Imelda Whelehan, eds. Cambridge Companion to Literature on Screen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

All basic texts will be made available on Moodle.

Association in the course directory

Studium: Diplom 343, UF 344, MA 844;
Code/Modul: Diplom 325, 326/328, 336/338, 721-723, UF 4.2.4-323, MA4, MA7;
Lehrinhalt: 12-3251

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33