This module will discuss the processes involved in the transfer of literary texts into a cinematic form, and the ensuing dialogue between the genres, in a variety of cross-cultural contexts with a European dimension. Theoretical and practical issues surrounding film adaptations of literature, with an emphasis on applying the detailed analysis of such issues to the syllabus texts and films, are an important part of the module which will also explore changing aesthetics, ideologies and historical contexts in relation to film and textual techniques. The module will also engage with the intriguing shifts of narrative form and content that occur across differing media, examining the boundaries implied and erased by narratives that cross from one genre to another, from one historical location to another, and from one cultural context to another.

On successful completion of the module a student will be able to:

·                Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and arguments surrounding film adaptations and adaptation theory

·                Critically analyse and evaluate filmic and written texts and their social and political contexts

·                Formulate and synthesise the narrative and aesthetic choices of the authors and filmmakers studied and apply these to wider debates on the notions of boundary and identity in text, context and culture

·                Apply theoretical and conceptual models of analysis to individual items of written and visual culture

The module is delivered via two-hour seminars in which students prepare questions and discuss topics which have sent to them by the module tutor in advance, and via feedback on written essays.

1.    Intellectual Skills

·         Analyse verbal and visual texts independently, using a range of theoretical framework appropriate for PG level

·         Engage critically with major intellectual debates within the field of historical, social, cultural, literary and visual studies related to any of the cultures considered on the module and put them to productive use in seminars discussions and assessed essays

·         Relate the texts under study to the historical and political context in which they have been produced

·         Be able to write essays where the theoretical and textual issues discussed in the seminars are taken into account to produce specific analytical explorations of the text(s) in question 

2.    Discipline-specific Skills

·         Understand literary and visual production regarding adaptation as it has emerged and appreciate the processes through which its manifestations have come into being with reference to social and cultural change in all the cultures considered on the module

·         Analyse and discuss the core texts studied in depth on the module by establishing the theoretical and thematic connections necessary for an informed interdisciplinary and intertextual approach

3.    Transferable Skills

·         Learn to process information through lectures and seminars, note-taking and interactive discussion

·         Learn to apply lecture and reading material independently and present it in academically-sophisticated essay form

·         Demonstrate an appropriate level of communication skills in written and oral contexts

                                   Demonstrate the ability to write essays at the appropriate PG level

The opportunity for reassessment in this module

Students who fail the assessment in June may resubmit another assessed essay in August.

This is an indicative syllabus content. It may vary from one year to the next.

Introduction to Adaptation Theory:(M L)

Thérèse Raquin (K G)

Thérèse Raquin(K G)

                                The Tin Drum (G-J B)

                                The Tin Drum (G-J B)

                                Carmen (M L

                                Carmen (M L) 

                                Live Flesh/Carne Trémula(R P)

                               Live Flesh/Carne Trémula(R P)

                               Gomorrah(E W-O)

                               Gomorrah(E W-O)

Indicative Reading and Resource List:

Please find below a select bibliography of secondary reading relating to film adaptation. Full reading lists for each text will be provided by individual tutors:

Beja, M. (1979). Film and Literature: An Introduction. New York: Longman.

Bluestone, G. (1973). Novels into Film: The Metamorphosis of Fiction into Cinema. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Braudy, L., and M. Cohen (eds) (1999). Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. New York: Oxford University Press.

Brewster, B., and L. Jacobs (1977). Theatre to Cinema: Stage Pictorialism and the Early Feature Film. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cartmell, D., and I. Whelehan (eds) (1999). Adaptations: From Text to Screen, Screen to Text. London: Routledge.

Leitch, T, (2009) Film Adaptation and its Discontents. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

McFarlane, B. (1996). Novel to Film: An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Naremore, J. (ed.) (2000). Film Adaptation. London: Athlone Press.