SFE21317 Film: adaptation and intertextuality (Autumn 2021)
Facts about the course
- ECTS Credits:
- 10
- Responsible department:
- Faculty of Teacher Education and Languages
- Campus:
- Online based with the possibility of campus instruction and supervision
- Course Leader:
- Britt Wenche Svenhard
- Teaching language:
- English
- Duration:
- ½ year
The course is connected to the following study programs
Obligatory subject within the English Extension Course.
One out of two obligatory subjects for students in the Bachelor's Programme in Languages, English
,
Lecture Semester
English Extension Course: 1st semester (autumn)
Bachelor's Programme in Languages, English Extension Course: 5th semester (autumn)
The student's learning outcomes after completing the course
Knowledge
The student has
- knowledge of film theory, adaptation theory, and different intertextual strategies
- knowledge of how to classify adaptations and their intertextuality
- insight into how film adaptations can help to rework classical texts
Skills
The student is capable of
- applying concepts and theory covered in the course in his or her own comparative analyses of texts
- discussing how specific types of film adaptations problematise attitudes towards topics such as gender, ethnicity, class, history and identity
- selecting relevant specialist literature for an oral presentation on a film adaptation
General competence
The student has
- insight into the various storytelling methods and how film in particular continues or changes narrative traditions and reworks classic texts
- knowledge of the forms of expression used in film and fiction in different cultural and historical contexts
- improved his or her oral proficiency in the English language and in multimodal presentation methods
Content
The course provides an introduction to adaptation theory, adaptation history, and intertextuality. In lectures and seminars, students will examine the relationship between film and fiction, discuss the film medium's influence on the development of new genres and techniques, and show how this contributes to the continued relevance and popularity of literature. The study material is composed of a selection of film adaptations and texts on which they are based, as well as relevant theory. The selection illustrates the development of and different trends in film and fiction.
Forms of teaching and learning
The teaching methods used are lectures, seminars and supervision. Each student is required to keep their webcamera and microphone turned on when participating in online classes.
Workload
Approx. 280 hours
Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam
The student must give an oral presentation based on a self-selected film adaptation of a classic text chosen by the student. In this presentation, the student will use analytical tools and theory learned in the course to elucidate aspects of both the original work and the adaptation. The presentation must be multimodal in accordance with specified criteria. A written bibliography of sources must be submitted.
Required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam.
Examination
Individual written home exam, 5 hours.
All aids are permitted, except communication.
Grading scale: A-F.
Examiners
External and internal examiner or two internal examiners.
Course evaluation
Feedback from our students is vital in order for us to be able to offer the best possible courses and study programmes. The following forms of evaluation are used for this course:
- mid-term evaluation
- continuous/final evaluation
The results are considered by:
- lecturer groups
- the programme coordinator
- the local programme committee
Literature
The reading list is last updated 2nd of March 2020. The reading list may be subject to change until the start of the semester.
Films:
Apocalypse Now (1979) Francis Ford Coppola
Jude (1996) Michael Winterbottom
A Cock and Bull Story (2006) Michael Winterbottom
How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders
Alice in Wonderland (2010) Tim Burton
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) James Bobin
Novels:
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759- 1769) Laurence Sterne (utdrag)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) Lewis Carroll
Jude the Obscure (1895) Thomas Hardy
Heart of Darkness (1899/1902) Joseph Conrad
How to Train Your Dragon (2003) Cressida Cowell
Theoretical texts:
Andrew, Dudley. 'Adaptation' [1984], in Film Theory and Criticism, ed. Gerald Mast, Marshall Cohen and Leo Braudy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 420-28.
Mulvey, Laura. 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' [1975], in Film Theory and Criticism, eds. L. Braudy, M. Cohen and G. Mast. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 746-757.
Material handed out in lectures or posted on the learning platform is also obligatory reading.
Recommended litterature: Lothe, Jakob. Narrative in Fiction and Film: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp.1-101, 157-196.