Literary Adaptation: International and Comparative Perspectives

Catalog description

A comparative, international study of adapations between literature and other media (film, theater, photography, music). CMLIT 491 Literary Adaptations: International and Comparative Perspectives (3 per semester/maximum of 6) (IL) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.From the very first expressions of literary impulses in prehistoric times, and continuing through the present, literary material has been re-used and creatively recycled through processes of adaptation and appropriation, often involving translations not only between languages, but also between media. This course uses a global perspective to explore the processes and aesthetics of adaptations of literary works, including adaptations into other genres or media, such as the visual arts, a film, opera, stage play (or vice versa adaptations from other media into literature). Drawing upon a broadly international selection of materials, we will explore multiple discourses surrounding adaptation; address the importance of translation and the dynamics between languages, audiences, and texts; study how adaptations address common themes such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation; discuss international taxonomies of literary genres; and critically assess different cultural notions of authorship, intellectual property, and communal vs. individual ownership. From year to year the works and authors studied in this course may change. Course objectives include (1) to encourage students to think critically about adaptations within and between cultures and media, in different parts of the world (2) to critically evaluate several of the often conflicting analytical paradigms which characterize the study of literary adaptations; (3) to assess varied approaches to genre in adapted works in different cultural settings; (4) to understand different perspectives on the concept of the author, such as the literary author and the 'author' in theatre studies; (5) to question assumptions about the world, re-examine personal points of view, and understand an expanded international range of ethical and value systems as expressed in literature. For methods of student evaluation, see the syllabus for each section; options include class presentations, response papers, research projects, and exams. This course may form part of the Comparative Literature major, the World Literature minor, and other majors.