POST-1865.

The practice of adapting literary works to the silver screen has been in place since the beginning of motion pictures. Indeed, early filmmakers often turned to classic literature as a way of not only appealing to audiences but also seeking to legitimize the fledgling art form. As the tradition of adaptation has evolved over the past century, however, cinema has developed a much more complex relation to literature, at times exceeding the limits of the page with an audio-visual spectacle barely resembling its literary source.

This course will explore adaptation as a concept and theoretical practice, as a radical rewriting, challenging the conventional treatment of adaptation that often privileges literature over film. Yet, in the selected literature and its filmic versions in the course, we will pose the question of how intertextuality plays out in the two mediums, and how each medium tells a story in different ways. By examining a range of films both classic and current, in conjunction with the literary works that function as their source material, this version of ENG 4114 will open up the idea of adaptation as a form of representation and rewriting, moving beyond the relation between film and literature to include the cinematic adaptation of significant historical events, ruptures, postcolonial relations and their impacts on our present moment. 

This course will be useful to anyone who has an interest in learning about films, literature and history, and how the written word is adapted to the screen, and cultural and historical aspects of adaptation. or those who have an interest in literature, film, history, and culture. We will think about films in their relation to the original text and view the films from a variety of perspectives.