ENGL2121 Adaptations: Literature on Screen

Popular film has long drawn on literary 'greats' for its subject matter. This topic considers film and literature, looking at the formal qualities and production determinants that shape and inform each medium. In the context of film, the topic will consider aspects of literary readership and the expectations of viewing audiences. We will look at different types of adaptation, as well as at the various debates that surround the process of transmission from text to screen.

This topic aims to complement the current Senior Secondary English curriculum with its growing emphasis on the pairing of texts and film. It will also prove appealing to students wishing to pursue work in the creative industries.

This topic aims to:

• Encourage students to analyse the properties of certain written texts that make them appealing to film-makers
• Encourage students' exploration of the ways that written texts are 'faithfully' (or not) translated to screen
• Consider the complexities inherent in the notion of adapting texts from one medium to another (with regard to both the conventions of narrative and the conventions and regulations governing the film and television industries)
• Further develop students' oral and written communication skills
• Encourage self-directed learning and collaborative learning
• Complement the current Year 12 English curriculum with its growing emphasis on the pairing of texts and film. As such, it should prove appealing to students enrolled in a range of degrees including the Bachelor of Creative Arts, Bachelor of Arts and Education degrees

1. Discuss (in oral and written forms) questions of cultural production and the hegemony of Western literature in English and American film markets
2. Demonstrate a fuller understanding of the implications of the word 'Adaptation' and what it means in terms of transition, appropriation, and authenticity
3. Discuss a range of texts written in English and to aspects of literary technique, in addition to upgrading their strategies for film critique