COURSE ACCREDITATION FORM
Institute of English and American Studies, University of Debrecen
Name of Instructor(s): Bülgözdi Imola
Course title: Reading Novels and Film Adaptations
BTAN 33006BA
Year: BA 3rd year
Track: American Studies
Type of course:
Seminar
Individually taught
Course synopsis (aims of the course, rationale for the course, types of knowledge/skills to be acquired;
main subject areas covered; theoretical background; description of main topics to be covered, and of
methods/strategies to be used; please note that this synopsis is not a course description intended for
students but meant for the perusal of the Institute’s Academic Committee)
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the reading of film texts and give an introduction
to adaptation theory through the analysis of classic American novels and their film adaptations. The
course will investigate the possible definitions of adaptation, the various strategies used in page-toscreen adapting, the question of censorship, and the influence of Hollywood. The critical background
will not be restricted to fidelity criticism, but will also highlight the author/auteur debate, discuss
genres, audiences, mise-en-scene, etc. By revisiting classics through their film adaptations I believe
students will be better able to focus on controversial issues in literature and how social expectations
concerning gender, class, race etc. have changed. The legitimacy of divergent interpretations will be
also highlighted.
Method: Class discussions will focus on a comparative analysis of literary works and their adaptations
based on the criteria outlined above. Students will receive a viewing diary to complete while watching
the films at home. Theoretical texts will be summarized by presenters and put into practice during
class.
Proposed schedule (themes/problems addressed in the individual classes – reading assignments for all
participants, with an indication of the nature and quantity of assignments, other assignments for
individual participants (for presentations, etc.) NB. The schedule may be submitted on a separate sheet,
but please remember always to indicate the quantity of the reading assignments):
Schedule
1- Registration week: orientation
2 – What is adaptation? Genres and authorship
3 – Reading texts and films
Ernst Hemingway, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and Henry King, The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
4 – The challenges of adaptation…
William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
5 – …and techniques to overcome them
comparative analysis of Martin Ritt, The Sound and the Fury (1959) and James Franco, The Sound and
the Fury (2014)
6 – The influence of Hollywood
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby and Jack Clayton, The Great Gatsby (1974)
7 - Mise-en-scene and fidelity criticism
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men and Gary Sinise, Of Mice and Men (1992)
8 – Women in cinema – stereotyping and the male gaze
9 – Analyzing TV adaptations
Henry James, The Turn of the Screw
Dan Curtis, The Turn of the Screw (1974) and Tim Fywell, The Turn of the Screw (BBC 2009)
Take-home essay topics due
10 – consultation week
11 – Feminist approaches to film
Kate Chopin, The Awakening and Mary Lambert, Grand Isle (1991)
Essay draft due
12 – Group work: mini-project: in-depth analysis of an adaptation based on discussed criteria
Discussion of essay drafts
13 – Overview of main topics
Primary reading
Henry James, The Turn of the Screw
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
Ernst Hemingway, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”
Viewing
Dan Curtis, The Turn of the Screw (1974)
Tim Fywell, The Turn of the Screw (BBC 2009)
Mary Lambert, Grand Isle (1991)
Jack Clayton, The Great Gatsby (1974)
Martin Ritt, The Sound and the Fury (1959)
James Franco, The Sound and the Fury (2014)
Gary Sinise, Of Mice and Men (1992)
Henry King, The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
Theoretical background set texts
Rowe, Allan, and Paul Wells. “Film Form and Narrative” in An Introduction to Film Studies (3rd ed),
ed. Jill Nelmes. London and New York: Routledge, 2003:53-88.
Watson, Paul. “Critical Approaches to Hollywood Cinema: Authorship, Genre and Stars” in An
Introduction to Film Studies (3rd ed), ed. Jill Nelmes. London and New York: Routledge, 2003:129180.
Barsam, Richard, and Dave Monahan. “Chapter 4: Elements of Narrative,” Looking at Movies: An
Introduction to Film. 3rd ed. New York, London: Norton, 2010:113-42.
Barsam, Richard, and Dave Monahan. “Chapter 5: Mise-en-scene,” Looking at Movies: An
Introduction to Film. 3rd ed. New York, London: Norton, 2010:156-204.
Barsam, Richard, and Dave Monahan. “Chapter 7: Acting,” Looking at Movies: An Introduction to
Film. 3rd ed. New York, London: Norton, 2010:270-317.
Snyder, Mary H. “Chapter 20: The Conundrum in Practice,” Analyzing Literature-to-Film Adaptations:
A Novelist’s Exploration and Guide. London and New York: Continuum International P, 2011: 201-38.
Snyder, Mary H. “Chapter 22: Literature-to-Film Adaptation Analysis: Charting Some New Territory,”
Analyzing Literature-to-Film Adaptations: A Novelist’s Exploration and Guide. London and New
York: Continuum International P, 2011:243-60.
Method(s) of assessment: (test, in-class essay, take-home essay, presentations, other)
oral presentation (theory applied to a certain aspect of a film adaptation) 15%, take-home essay of
2000-2200 words 30%, viewing journal for each film (8 written assignments containing specific
questions to aid in-class discussion of films) 40% (5% each), active in-class participation 15% (each
class will feature group discussions of specific topics with teacher monitoring)
Academic background of the course (list ten secondary sources that are not part of the assignments
for students, but which you have been using for designing the course):
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 2nd ed. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi:
Sage, 2003.
Cartmell, Deborah, I. Q. Hunter, Heidi Kaye, Imelda Whelehan (eds.). Classics in Film and Fiction.
London and Stirling, VA: Pluto Press, 2000.
Cartmell, Deborah and Imelda Whelehan (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Literature on Screen.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007.
Cartmell, Deborah, and Imelda Whelehan. Screen Adaptation: Impure Cinema. London and New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Cartmell, Deborah (ed.). A Companion to Literature, Film, and Adaptation. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell,
2012.
Green, Philip. Cracks in the Pedestal: Ideology and Gender in Hollywood. Amherst, MA: U of
Massachusetts P, 1998.
Langford, Barry. Film Genre: Hollywood and Beyond. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2005.
Leitch, Thomas. Film Adaptations and Its Discontents. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UF, 2007.
McFarlane, Brian. Novel to Film: An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation. Oxford: Clarendon,
1996.
Meikle, Kyle. “Rematerializing Adaptation Theory.” Literature/Film Quarterly 41.3 (2013). Questia.
Web.
Smelik, Anneke. And the Mirror Cracked: Feminist Cinema and Film Theory. London: Macmillan,
1998.
Nincs fénymásolási költség.
All the required texts are available in the library or in electronic format in course packet (ebooks and scanned copies) to be compiled by instructor.
Költségek
a) Sokszorosítás költségei
1 db sokszorosított kurzusanyag költsége
kért példányszám
sokszorosítás összköltsége
(példányszám x egyedi ár)
b) Alternatív nyomtatott könyvbeszerzés
1 db könyv beszerzési ára
kért példányszám
beszerzés összköltsége
(példányszám x egyedi ár)
Általános megjegyzések
o
o
o
o
A kérvényeket az Intézeti Tudományos Bizottsághoz (ITB) kell benyújtani elektronikusan
(mind már akkreditált, mind új kurzusok esetében).
Beadási határidők: június 15. (a 2012/13-as tanév első félévének anyagaihoz)
A kérvényekről az ITB javaslata alapján az Igazgatói Tanács dönt a megfelelő beadási
határidőktől számított 15 napon belül.
Az Intézeti Könyvtár, a mindenkori személyi lehetőségek függvényében, segítséget nyújt a
sokszorosítás és a beszerzés lebonyolításában. A Könyvtár a szkennelt anyagokat elektronikus
formában tárolja.
Megjegyzések a költségek kiszámításához
o
o
A sokszorosítás költségeit (d) az alábbi adatok alapján kell számolni:
 1db papírlap:
2 Ft
 1 oldal fénymásolás:
3 Ft
 1 példány kötése:
300 Ft
Tehát ezek alapján például egy 500 oldalas könyv kétoldalas, kicsinyített (2 könyvoldal 1
fénymásolt oldal) másolt példánya köttetve 1300 forintba kerül (papír ára: (500/4) x 2 Ft =
250 Ft, másolás ára: (500/2) x 3 Ft = 750 Ft, köttetés = 300 Ft).
A nyomtatott könyvbeszerzés alapesetben akkor elfogadható alternatíva (e), ha a
sokszorosítás költségeinek 150%-át nem haladja meg a könyv ára. Tehát a fenti példánál
maradva, ha az adott 500 oldalas könyv nem kerül többe cc. 2000 forintnál.