ENGL 420 Spring 2016 Syllabus

Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 to 10:45 TLC 041

Instructor: Anna Banks Office: Brink Hall, Room 123 Phone: 885-6156 (department office) E-mail: [email protected] Office hours: Tues 1:30 – 2:30 pm; Thurs 1:00 – 2:00 pm, and by appointment

Course Description:

Engl 420 explores what George Bluestone called “the mysterious alchemy” of adapting works of literature to film. The course will look at key issues surrounding adaption studies and examine the textual transformations that occur when the story-telling form shifts from written to cinematic language. In so doing, we will consider questions such as the importance of fidelity to the original source, whether storytelling structures are dependent on or independent of medium, and what distinctions can be made between two artistic systems – the literary and the cinematic? This semester an underlying theme for the course will be how animals are depicted in literary and cinematic works. We will explore the role of imagery and representation in constituting contemporary and historical conceptions of animality, and consider “the question of the animal.” To do so, we will explore the following questions: What role does the animal gaze play in film and literature? How do we narrate across species lines? How is animal subjectivity achieved and maintained in literature and film? Is anthropomorphism necessarily a bad thing? In addition to a selection of critical writings, primary texts will include: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, and the animated adaptation by Aleksandr Petrov; War Horse, the novel by Michael Morpurgo and the film directed by Steven Spielberg; Martin Marten by Brian Doyle; Nenette directed by Nicolas Philibert; “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe; and Grizzly Man directed by Werner Hertzog.

Required texts:  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (available on-line as PDF)  The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe (available on-line as PDF)  War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (1982)  Martin Marten by Brian Doyle (2015)

Additional readings will be available through the library’s E-reserve system, as PDF files, or on Bb Learn. DVDs will be available for review in the UI library, on reserve for ENGL 420.

Learning Objectives:  To examine a diversity of literatures which form the basis of cinematic adaptations  To understand the process of literary adaptation  To examine the socio-cultural and political contexts that shape a diversity of literature, films, and literary adaptations  To develop an understanding of how to evaluate the effectiveness of literary adaptations and to write critically about those criteria  To explore the differences and similarities between literary and cinematic languages  To evaluate the aesthetic and formal aspects of both literature and cinema  To conduct research into the process of literary adaptions and write a formal research paper which effectively uses that methodology

Assignments and Grading

Grading scheme and assignments: Grades will be assigned on the basis of total accumulated points. The University grading scheme will be used to determine the final grade, i.e. A = 90 – 100%, B = 80-89% etc.

Grades will be based on successful completion of the following: **Additional details will be provided for each individual assignment.

Sequence analysis assignment:

After reading the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, and viewing the short animated film of the same title, select a specific passage in the story (e.g. a scene or an exchange of dialogue) and locate that same passage in the film. Compare this single, isolated moment in the literature and in the film, making any observations about how the film managed its translation of the literature to the screen. Your response should include answers to the following questions: What was lost, if anything? What was gained? What unique slant, if any, did the film assume? Papers should be ~ four pages in length. (20%)

Fundamental concepts assignment:

When filmmakers translate a novel to the screen, they cannot include every detail of the book, since that would make the film prohibitively long. So, they must decide what are the fundamental concepts of the novel and how to maintain and present them to the movie-going audience. The novel War Horse was first adapted to a play and that adaptation provided a foundation for the film translation. Engage the text of War Horse in an interpretive manner and determine what, for you, are the essential ideas the novel conveys. Likewise, identify the essential ideas the film conveys. Then, write a four page essay in which you address whether the filmmaker’s understanding of the novel’s integral themes correspond to yours, and discuss whether or not the film does an adequate job of translating the novel’s fundamental concepts. Your essay should also consider whether or not the conventions of the stage have an obvious influence on the form of the cinematic adaptation. (20%)

Weekly Response Papers:

Response papers are due each week and should respond to the reading(s) assigned that week. These weekly exercises are a means of digesting and remembering the reading; they also lay the groundwork for fruitful class discussions and the conference presentation and final paper. In preparing your responses, here are some prompts you may consider:

 Explore your personal, spontaneous response to the text via free writing. Use this exercise to loosen up and generate ideas in an uninhabited manner. What questions are offered up by this free writing? How would you go about answering those questions?  Identify the argument of the text(s), as well as explore the relationship between the writer and the text. Also consider the intended audience.  Think about the text from the perspective of some of the main ideas of this course: anthropomorphism, animal narrativity, agency, post-humanism, animality, literary adaptations…  Perform close readings by focusing on one key passage to analyse literary elements such as style, tone, point of view, figurative language, etc. Discuss the significance, connotations and even etymology of particular word choices and think about the connections between form and the argument of the text. In your close reading explain why this passage is important to your interpretation of the work as a whole.

In addition to these prompts, each response paper must include at least two questions that are raised by your reading that you would like to address in class. (25%)

Research paper:

This paper asks you to choose a place-based work of literature (novel, creative nonfiction, poem, or short story), which has been adapted for the screen. You will conduct a close reading of both the written and cinematic texts and conduct a critical analysis of the adaptation itself. Then write a ten to twelve page paper which demonstrates that you have researched the socio-political and cultural contexts in which each piece of art was created; considered the aesthetic and formal qualities of each text, and identified how the fundamental concept of the original source material was translated from page to screen. In addition to the paper, you will be asked to give a short, informal, presentation. (35%) General Course Policies

Attendance and Participation In courses like this one, which use collaboration and creative exchange as one of the principal methods of inquiry, students are expected to not only attend classes, but to actively and vigorously participate in discussions of assigned readings, research, etc. You should be prepared to give feedback to your peers and contribute to the conversations and critical tangents generated from the work. Please exercise reasonable courtesy and decorum in our workspace, so that we can maximize the learning opportunities we create. This means, among other things, listen actively to others, appreciate others’ contributions before criticizing them, criticize the ideas and not the speakers, and practice tolerance and open-mindedness.

Firearms on UI property and in the classroom: The University of Idaho bans firearms from its property with only limited exceptions. One exception applies to persons who hold a valid Idaho enhanced concealed carry license, provided those firearms remain concealed at all times. If an enhanced concealed carry license holder’s firearm is displayed, other than in necessary self-defense, it is a violation of University policy. Please contact local law enforcement (call 911) to report firearms on University property.

Responsibility for Missed Work Due to Absence If you miss class for any reason, you must: a) find out from a classmate what work or assignments you missed; b) understand and agree that being absent from a class does not excuse you from meeting deadlines for assignments; c) understand that you must make a written request to complete a make-up assignment (if eligible); d) make-up assignments will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the instructor.

Written Assignments Unless otherwise instructed, I expect all written assignments for this course to either be typed/written on a computer, with one inch margins and a reasonably sized font (comparable to Times New Roman 12 or Arial 10). You are expected to proofread your work before submitting it. Spelling, grammar and proper syntax are integral to effective written communication, and will be considered part of the grading criteria. Please do not E-mail me assignments unless illness or injury prevents you from coming to campus.

All assignments must adhere to standards of academic honesty. Do not turn in work prepared for other classes. Document ALL sources consulted in preparing your work, including websites and other material obtained on the Internet. If in doubt, document.

Late Assignments All assignments will be collected during the designated class period in which they are due, beyond which time they will be considered late and 25% of the total points possible for that assignment will be automatically deducted. After two days, the assignment will no longer be accepted, and you will forfeit any remaining points for that assignment. Course Calendar & Due Dates A preliminary calendar will be established for the course at the outset of the semester; however, it is subject to change. The instructor will make every reasonable effort to remind you in class or via email of any assignments due for the next class period, but it remains the student’s sole responsibility to keep up to date with readings and due dates for assignments. Changes to the calendar will be announced in class. Please revise your calendar and syllabus accordingly.

Cell Phones etc. Please turn cell phones off during class time and no texting during film screenings. Thanks!

Accommodations Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have documented temporary or permanent disabilities. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Room 306 in order to notify your instructor(s) as soon as possible regarding accommodation(s) needed for the course. (208) 885‐ 6307 email at [email protected] website at www.uidaho.edu/dss

Academic Integrity As senior students, you are part of an academic community of readers, writers and critical thinkers. As such, you are responsible for contributing your own thoughts and words, but also for crediting others for their thoughts and words. According to University and departmental policy, plagiarism is claiming someone else’s work (either ideas or words) as your own. Plagiarism is a serious offense; it incurs a range of consequences that include failure of the assignment in question, possible failure of the course, or suspension from the University. The writing you do in this course must be yours and yours alone. This means you must not hand in writing by someone else as if it is your own. The writing you do must also be work written exclusively for this particular course.