Adapting Nineteenth-Century Classics module (EN42032)
Explore what happens when iconic 19th-century texts move across genres, media, and cultures. Study literary and screen adaptations of classic fiction
This module uses two or three nineteenth-century texts as the starting point for a study of adaptation.
You will examine each source text in its original cultural context alongside literary and screen adaptations spanning from the 1930s to the present.
Texts may include classic Hollywood film adaptations, postcolonial fiction and film, postmodern re-writes, and popular 1990s screen versions.
You will also look at adaptations in other media, including song, television, digital art, and visual art, to support your analysis of the main texts.
The module asks what it means to adapt, translate, or transform a text.
You will engage with theoretical debates about adaptation, genre, gender, race, sexuality, and national identity, as well as the social, cultural, and industrial contexts of film and literary production.
One assessment component gives you a choice between producing your own creative adaptation or a blog post. This will allow you to apply practical knowledge of how texts are transformed across media.
What you will learn
In this module, you will:
- analyse a range of set literary and filmic texts in detail
- engage with theoretical debates about adaptation across genres and media
- understand the social, cultural, and industrial contexts of textual transformation
- apply theoretical knowledge to a variety of literary and filmic texts
- apply practical knowledge of textual transformation through a creative or digital component
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- show detailed knowledge of a range of set literary and filmic texts
- show understanding of the theoretical debates about adapting literary texts across media and genres
- show understanding of the social, cultural, and industrial contexts of textual transformation
- produce a developed analytical response to a variety of literary and filmic texts
- show practical knowledge of the process of textual transformation through a creative assessment component
Assignments / assessments
- Creative adaptation or blog post (40%)
- You choose between producing a creative adaptation or a blog post
- In the creative adaptation, you will apply your knowledge of textual transformation by working in the conventions of your chosen medium
- The blog post develops your analytical and critical voice in a public-facing digital format
- Essay (60%)
- This will consist of a research essay. This will show your close reading, analysis, and critical reflection supported by secondary sources
- This will test your ability to construct a sustained analytical argument about adaptation
This module does not have a final exam.
Teaching methods / timetable
- Weekly one-hour lecture. This will cover key texts, theoretical approaches, and cultural contexts
- Weekly two-hour seminar for close discussion and development of critical perspectives
Staff will also be available during office hours for individual consultation on assessments
Support such as reading lists, seminar materials, and assessment guidance will also be available. These will be found in My Dundee, the University's virtual learning environment
Courses
This module is available on the following courses: