In the final unit of the semester, we will practice the research, reading, writing, and thinking skills fundamental to the study of the humanities. We will work on developing arguments through the interpretation of artistic creations, namely literature and film. You will read a novel, short story, poem, or dramatic work and watch its corresponding film adaptation; the goal for the unit project is to formulate an argument based on your interpretation of these texts and outside sources.
Research will add complexity to your original argument, as outside sources will challenge and expand your interpretation of the selected text and film.
Feeder 3.1: Close Reading Text and Film
Due: Wednesday 11/14
Draft Workshop: Monday 11/12
First, set up the context of the selected scene in your literary text and film by providing the following information: WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE?
No need for complete sentences. You can provide as much information as needed for someone to understand what is going on in the passage and its corresponding film scene.
Perform a close reading (500 words) of a passage from the literary text you have chosen for this unit (please provide your passage on a separate page so that I am clear about what part of the text you are analyzing). Though this is a short assignment, you should have an argument that presents YOUR interpretation of the text. It should NOT be a mere summary. Focus on the language and/or rhetorical device(s) the text deploys. In addition to a thesis that argues for a specific interpretation, you should use the text as evidence for your interpretation. Remember to properly cite and document your response in MLA format. No outside research is allowed for this assignment.
Now, perform a close reading (500 words) of the corresponding scene in your selected film adaptation. You should argue for a specific interpretation of the scene. Again, this will NOT be a summary of what happens on-screen. Instead of analyzing the language and/or rhetorical devices, focus on 1-2 film elements (i.e., mise-en-scene, lighting, camera angle and movement, mise-enscène, etc.). You should use the film elements as evidence for your interpretation.
Remember to cite and document in MLA style. No outside research is allowed for this assignment.
Here are some questions that you might consider for Feeder 3.1:
● What kind of language and/or rhetorical device(s) appear in the literary text? Why is this important?
● What is you does the language of this passage contribute to your original interpretation of the text? (i.e. rhetorical devices)

Feeder 3.2: Interview with the Critic
Due: Monday 11/19
Draft Workshop: N/A
The NYTimes has approached you (the critic) with a series of questions designed to gauge whether or not your critical work is worthy of inclusion in their newly expanded “Anatomy of a
Scene” archive for film adaptations. In order to be selected for inclusion, your analysis of your selected film adaptation must move beyond simple compare and contrast.
Select at least 5 questions from the list provided; write a one-paragraph response to each question ( ~500 words total) . Include at least one outside source in your answers. You must give these questions some real thought and provide concrete evidence for each answer (i.e., specific scenes, lines, relevant outside sources, etc.). General descriptions of “what happened” will not be accepted. These questions will help you start to conceptualize your thesis that you will continue to explore in the written component of your Unit Project. Note how now you are not focusing on one particular scene but are now thinking about the film adaptation as a whole.
● How does the film change your reading of the source text? How does it ask you to reinterpret the source text?
● Are there any historical or social conditions that influence the adaptation? How or in what ways does the filmmaker make these conditions apparent?
● In 1926, Virginia Woolf commented that film had the potential to develop its own
“independent idiom” when she said: “cinema has within its grasp innumerable symbols for emotions that have so far failed to find expression” in words.”
● What does your film “say”--what does the film express in metaphor, theme, visualization, analogy, etc.--that the literary text does not?
● How does the filmmaker translate themes of the source text to the screen?
● Exploring the modes of storytelling across text and film, how does the mode of telling shift to the mode of showing? Explore narration, dialogue, plot, point of view, etc., across your film and source text.
● Critic Julie Sanders says “adaptation is frequently involved in offering commentary on a source text. This is achieved most often by offering a revised point of view from the
‘original.’” Does the film adaptation highlight or emphasize a void in the source text?
Why is that important to the adaptation as a whole?
● In what ways does your film depart from the original text? Why and how are these departures important to the film as a whole?
● Critic Robert Stam claims that the for an adaptation, “complete originality is neither possible nor even desirable.” In what ways would you argue that this is true or not true for your adaptation?
● Consider ways in which your adaptation creates a “center” and a “periphery.” Are there certain themes, characters, or plot elements that become emphasized and deemphasized in your adaptation (versus how they appear in the original text)? Analyze these changes in terms of the film as a whole.

Unit 3 Final Project: “Anatomy of a Scene” video and blog post
Due: Wednesday 12/5
Draft Workshop: Friday 11/28
In class, we will be working extensively with The New York Times’ “Anatomy of a Scene” archive. The New York Times would like to feature you in its newly expanded archive of
“Anatomy of a Scene” which now includes literary film adaptations. You will create a 2-3-minute
“Anatomy of a scene” video that should focus on an individual scene from your adaptation (we will develop the requisite skills in class and through the MRC). Choose your scene carefully, as you will need to offer a verbal critical and analytical commentary about the scene that may include film techniques, theme(s), characters, etc.
To supplement your “Anatomy of a Scene” video, you will also compose a 1000-word blog post in which you will develop a written critical and analytical commentary that examines how the medium of film is used to adapt the text’s “story” in a unique way. Your commentary will focus on the relationship, interaction, and/or communication between the literary and cinematic genres.
As the director, you will analyze the adaptation on its own artistic merits (recall our class discussions using Hutcheon’s text). The video and blog post will need to be published on a web site (WordPress is recommended).
In order to strengthen and add complexity to your written commentary, you must use at least 3 secondary sources for support. This approach will allow you to dig deeper into your ideas. We will go over how to locate and evaluate sources in the humanities during class. Only sources from the UNC libraries will be allowed, but scholarly sources ARE NOT required for this unit project. A successful blog post will:
● Move beyond a simple compare and contrast exercise between the written and cinematic versions; treat the adaptation of the film on its own vision
● Write from a critic’s point of view
● Present a thorough analysis that focuses on the relationship between the literary and cinematic genre
● Determine how the film presents narrative elements as distinct from the written format
● Persuasively analyze the textual and visual evidence presented
●
Have a logical organization
● Adhere to the humanities discourse community (style and tone) and conventions of the blog genre discussed in class
● Present flawless documentation in MLA style.
Genre Author Audience Purpose Context