Syllabus

Topics in Literature: 19^th Century Literature and Film Adaptation

ENGL 2002-006

Spring 2014

Required Reading:

Books:

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

                         Through the Looking Glass

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles

PDFs (I will provide these):

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan, “The Man with the Twisted Lip” and “A Scandal in Bohemia”

More TBA

Course Description:

Frankenstein has inspired dozens of adaptations. Pride and Prejudice has spawned an entire industry of film and television adaptations. Jane Eyre has been adapted to big screen or television more than twenty times, plus a number of stage and radio productions. Sherlock Holmes is one of the most recognizable characters in literature and pop culture, and the Sherlock stories are currently enjoying a renewed visibility by way of major Hollywood films and three television series.

What is it about the 19^th century that appeals to filmmakers and audiences? To explore this issue, we will read a selection of 19^th century literature and analyze their film counterparts. Why would a director choose to adapt a novel that has already been adapted numerous times? Does a filmmaker have an obligation to the “original” text? If a novel provides insight to the era in which it was written, might the adaptation provide insight to the era in which it was produced? Although it is likely that there is no single correct answer to these questions, this course will do its best to consider as many theories as possible.      

Course Requirements:

*You are required to read each novel and view each film prior to class. We will not view movies in their entirety during class time (other than clips that pertain to and enhance class discussion), so you are responsible for viewing each film outside of class on your own time, as you would with any other homework. Most, if not all, of these movies are available on Netflix, instant video rental (to stream) on Amazon, or at the UC or public library. I will direct you to resources. However, I will show each film on Mondays at 4, in a classroom in McMicken, for anyone who wants to watch it on a larger screen. It’s not class time and isn’t mandatory, but it could be a fun way to see each movie on a large screen with a small “audience.” It’ll be a good time. I encourage everyone to try to attend. (Snacks not included—ok, maybe I’ll provide movie nourishment once in a while!)

*All of these novels have been adapted to film several times. We will view in their entireties two versions of each one. 

*You are expected to participate in class discussion regularly. This is not a lecture-based course; my aim is for a robust daily discussion as we analyze each text and its film interpretation. Additionally, I will often require in-class informal writing in order to kick-start discussion. Informal writing at the start of each class will serve as a sort of mental warm-up exercise.

*There will be a number of unannounced (but probably anticipated for the keen observer of patterns) quizzes, at least one per book, possibly more.

*We have a class blog! You will contribute one post for each unit. Posts should be approximately 300 words, preferable closer to 350. I will provide a prompt for each one.

*You will have a take-home midterm consisting of two essay questions, and a take-home final in the same format.

Grade Breakdown:

Quizzes:          15%

Blogs:              20%

Participation: 10%

Midterm:        25%

Final:               30%

Schedule

Week 1

Tues 1/7                    CLOSED

Thurs 1/9                  Introductions. Discuss the period and the film industry’s attraction to 19^th century stories.  Introduce Frankenstein and Mary Shelley.

HW for Tuesday:

Read: Frankenstein, Volumes 1 and 2

                       

Week 2 FRANKENSTEIN

[Monday]                   [Screening of Whale/Karloff, 1931]

Tues 1/14                  Discuss V1 and V2 of Frankenstein; preview Karloff.

                                    HW for Thursday:

Read: Finish Frankenstein

                                                View: Karloff             

Thurs 1/16                Discuss ending of the novel, Karloff, and genre.

                                    HW for Tuesday:

Read: “Grammar of the Shot” pdf on Bb. Also make this a catch-up-on-the-book day.

Week 3 FRANKENSTEIN

[Monday]                   [Screening of Branagh, 1994]

Tues 1/21                  Who is the monster? Nineteenth-century anxiety about science and

mortality. Our anxiety about science and mortality.   

                                    HW for Thursday:

View: Branagh

Read: Nothing new required, but make sure you have finished Frankenstein.

Thurs 1/23                Cultural reception and pop culture

                                    HW for Tuesday:

Write: blog post #1

Read: Pride and Prejudice chs 1-13 

Week 4 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

[NO MOVIE FOR THIS WEEK]

Tues 1/28                  Introduction to Pride and Prejudice, Regency era, and the “cult of

Austen”

Discuss P&P chs 1-14

                                    HW for Thursday:

Read: P&P chs 15-23

                                   

Thurs 1/30                Discuss P&P Volume 2; marriage, entailment, and the horrors of

unmarried women.

                                    HW for Tuesday:

Read: P&P Vol 2 (chs 24-42)

Week 5 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

[Monday]                   [Screening of Leonard, 1940]

Tues 2/4                    Discuss conclusion to Pride and Prejudice and preview Leonard

HW for Thursday:

Read: P&P Vol 3 (chs 43-end)

View: Leonard

Thurs 2/6                  Satire and Irony; Austen in Hollywood

                                    HW for Tuesday:

Read: pdf and catch-up

 Week 6 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

[Monday]                   [Screening of Wright, 2005]

Tues 2/11                  Darcy Mania! The wet shirt: gender, sexuality, and the female gaze.

                                    HW for Thursday:

Write: Blog Post #2

Read: Catch-up! And consider starting Jane Eyre.

                                                View: Wright

                                               

Thurs 2/13                Two centuries of Pride and Prejudice                                

HW for Tuesday:

Read: Jane Eyre, chapters 1-10

Week 7   JANE EYRE

Tues 2/18                  Introduce Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, and the Victorian era

Discuss Jane Eyre 1-10

                                    HW for Thursday:

                                                Read: Chapters 11-17

                                                 

Thurs 2/20                The Gothic genre

                                    HW for Tuesday:

Read: Chs. 18-28

Week 8   JANE EYRE

[Monday]                   [Screening of Stevenson, 1943]

Tues 2/25                  The Mother of All Plot Twists

HW for Thursday:

Read: Finish JE

View: Stevenson

Thurs 2/27                The conclusion: How did it happen? Are we cool with it? Discuss Stevenson.

HW for Tuesday:

Read: catch up! Also read pdf on Bb and article from The Guardian, also posted to Bb.

View: If possible, watch Masterpiece Theatre mini-series from 2006   

Week 9  JANE EYRE

[Monday]                   [Screening of Fukunaga, 2011]

Tues 3/4                    The culture of adaptation—why so many?! Negative space and what

they intentionally don’t show us; preview Fukunaga.

                                    HW for Tuesday:

Read: pdfs of brief selections from The Eyre Affair and Wide

Sargasso Sea, posted to Bb

View: Fukunaga  

                                               

           

Thurs 3/6                  Wrap-up Jane Eyre; discuss Fukunaga

HW for Tuesday:

Write: blog post #3

Week 10  Midterm

Tues 3/11                  In-class review

                                                           

Thurs 3/13                Midterm—take at home during regular class time. Submit

to me as email attachent by 4pm.  

For Tuesday after spring break:

            Read: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Week 11                               SPRING BREAK

Week 12  ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND/THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS

[Monday]                   [Screening of Burton, 2010]

Tues 3/25                  Introduce Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

                                    HW for Thursday:

Read: Through the Looking-Glass 

                                                View: Burton

Thurs 3/27                Discuss Through the Looking-Glass, the fantastical, Disney and

“Disney-fication,” and Burton

                                    HW for Tuesday:

Read: Opening segment of A Study in Scarlet and “The Man

With the Twisted Lip” (both are pdfs on Bb)

Week 13  SHERLOCK

[Monday]                   [Screening of Ritchie, 2009]

Tues 4/1                    Introduce Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock, and the late Victorian era

                                    HW for Thursday:

Read: “A Scandal in Bohemia”

View: Ritchie

Thurs 4/3                  Sherlock as action hero? Discuss Ritchie.  

                                    HW for Tuesday:

            Read: Begin Hound of the Baskervilles

Week 14  SHERLOCK

[Monday]                   [Screening of BBC’s SHERLOCK—“A Scandal in Belgravia” episode]

Tues 4/8                    Discuss Hound and “Scandal” episode                   

                                    HW for Thursday:

Read: Finish Hound of the Baskervilles

View: “Scandal in Belgravia” episode of Sherlock

Thurs 4/10                What kind of relationships do Watson and Irene Adler have with

Sherlock? What kind do we want them to have?             

                                    HW for Tuesday: 

Read: catch-up!

Week 15 SHERLOCK AND WRAP UP

[Monday]                   [Screening of BBC SHERLOCK “Hound” episode]

Tues 4/15                  Discuss Hound and Sherlock episode

                                    HW for Thursday

                                                Write: blog post #5

                                                View: “Hounds” episode of BBC Sherlock

Thurs 4/17                Wrap-up discussions of the course

Go over final exam and review

Finals Week

Essay Exam emailed to me by 8 pm, Wednesday, April 23^rd.