English 4109/5109-01W: Film as Literature

Adapting the Victorians

Dr. Margaret E. Mitchell

Spring 2007 2-3:15 Hum 209

Office: TLC 2235

Email: mmitchel@westga.edu

Website: http: //www.westga.edu/~mmitchel

Phone: 678.839.4852

Office Hours: TR 3:30-5; Wed. 11-1, 2-4 and by appt.

Course Description

The nineteenth-century novel has provided rich and complex material for twentieth-century filmmakers.  This course will consider how the Victorians (loosely defined) have been appropriated and revised through the medium of film.  We will focus on several major British novels and multiple incarnations of those novels in both classic and contemporary films. We will also venture into the twentieth century, looking at the way novelists like Jean Rhys and Daphne Du Maurier continued to resist and reclaim the Victorians and to attract film makers to their visions.  We will examine the strategies and politics of adaptation, exploring what happens when 19th-century representations of gender, class, and social conflict are filtered through a twentieth-century lens. In the case of multiple adaptations (we’ll watch three versions of Oliver Twist, for example), we will consider each adaptation within its own specific historical and cultural context in order to illuminate the ideological underpinnings of each version.

Required Texts

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. (Penguin Classics)

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (Penguin Classics)

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë (Oxford Word’s Classics)

Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys (W. W. Norton)

Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier (Harper)

Films

Pride and Prejudice, dir. Robert Leonard. 1940.

Pride and Prejudice, dir. Joe Wright. 2005.

Oliver Twist, dir. David Lean. 1951.

Twist, dir. Jacob Tierney. 2003.

Oliver Twist, dir. Roman Polanski. 2005.

Jane Eyre, dir. Robert Stevenson. 1940.

Jane Eyre, dir. Zefirelli. 1996.

Wide Sargasso Sea, dir. John Duigan. 1993.

Rebecca, dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1940. (VHS)

It is your responsibility to arrange to see these films outside of class. Although we willoften look closely at specific scenes or frames in class, we will not view entire films in class. These movies are available on reserve at the library, where they can be checked out and viewed; there are also copies in the Writing Center, where you can also sign them out. You are also welcome to obtain them through Netflix, Blockbuster, etc. Sometimes students form groups and arrange to view films together. No matter what options you choose, keep in mind that this is your responsibility, and that you’ll want to watch the films very carefully, taking notes during the process.

Requirements

It will be crucial that you keep up with the reading and viewing for this class. Frequent quizzes (very straightforward and fact-based) will ensure that you come to class prepared. If your cumulative quiz score falls below 65%, you will not pass the class. This policy is designed to reward those who do their work, and to eliminate the temptation to see if you can “get by” with a minimal amount of preparation. You owe it to your fellow students to come to class prepared to contribute informed, thoughtful insights to our discussions. I strongly encourage you to take notes on the reading and viewing: quizzes will be open-note, so any notes you take (NOT, however, the texts themselves) will be available to you as you take quizzes. I’ll also expect you to be ready to bring specific passages or scenes to the attention of the class in order to focus and deepen our discussions. You must bring the text(s) under discussion to each class. Under the assumption that everyone will have done this preparation, I may call upon you at any time. Because participation counts toward your grade, you should make a point of speaking at least once during each class. There will also be short homework assignments and occasional in-class writing assignments; I won’t accept these late. You will give an 8-10 minute oral presentation in which you offer a thesis-driven analysis of a very brief scene from a film alongside the text from which it is adapted. (Detailed guidelines for this project will be provided.) You will be required to write two longer critical essays for which you will receive a list of possible topics in advance (you’ll also have the option of developing your own topics); the first will be 5 pages and the second will be an 8-10 page research-based paper. Drafts are required, not optional, along with any process-based assignments associated with each paper. These will be graded as homework assignments, so failure to complete them (on time) will lower your overall grade. You may elect to revise (substantially) your first essay, in which case I will average the two grades. There will also be a cumulative final exam.

Graduate students

Anyone taking the 5109 version of the class will be expected to fulfill these additional requirements: weekly response papers (guidelines forthcoming), a longer (15+ pages) research paper, and additional critical reading. I’ll also expect you to take a more active role in class discussion. Please come talk to me to work out the details.

Policies and Procedures

Attendance

Your active presence is essential to the success of the class. Quizzes and in-class writings cannot be made up regardless of the reason for your absence. (Exception: if you know in advance that you will need to miss a class, contact me and we can arrange for you to make up the quiz or assignment for that day.) Essays will drop a third of a letter grade for each day they are late (from a B to a B-, for instance)—including weekends. Papers will be accepted only in class; please don’t email them to me or leave them in my mailbox unless you’re specifically instructed to. You may miss three classes without penalty. There is no such thing as an excused absence. I assume that illness or other pressing circumstances may legitimately cause you to miss three classes in the course of the semester; I don’t need to know your reasons. Beyond that, however, absences will affect your grade, regardless of your reasons. I will deduct half a letter grade for your fourth absence, another half for your fifth, and another half for your sixth. If you miss more than six classes you will automatically fail the course. If you do miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and arrange to obtain handouts, notes, or information. (If you have truly extraordinary circumstances documented by the university, please meet with me to discuss your options.)

Please come to class on time. If you are late three times it will count as an absence; lateness will also affect your ability to complete quizzes or in-class writings within the amount of time allowed. If you arrive late, it is your responsibility to speak to me at the end of class so that I can mark you late, rather than absent; I won’t interrupt class to do this, and might otherwise not remember. Please turn off cell phones and other potential sources of electronic disturbance before you enter class and remove them from sight. If such a device does go off during class, or if I see you checking messages, etc., I will mark you late.

 Assignments and information relevant to the class will be posted regularly on my website. It is your responsibility to check this.

I check my email regularly; this is always a good way to contact me. Please note that, for legal and confidentiality reasons, I am not permitted to read or respond to emails from any non-westga accounts. Make sure to use your My Westga account when you write to me.

If you have special needs of which I should be aware, please meet with me as soon as possible to discuss satisfactory arrangements.

I expect you to preserve an atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and intellectual maturity in the classroom, to take your own work and that of the other students seriously. Very little is less respectful than napping: if you fall asleep, you will receive one warning; the second time you will be asked to leave and counted as absent.

If you have special needs of which I should be aware, please meet with me as soon as possible to discuss satisfactory arrangements.

Academic Honesty

Presenting the language or ideas of someone else as your own constitutes plagiarism--whether your source is a friend, a relative, or a critic; whether the uncredited material is a phrase, a paragraph, or an entire paper; whether it is a formal or an informal assignment; whether the language is exact or paraphrased. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the class; will be reported to the English Department, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Student Judicial Officer; and may have consequences at the university level. There will be no exceptions, no negotiations. “Accidental” plagiarism is plagiarism nevertheless. If you are ever concerned about what constitutes plagiarism, please consult me. You may also see the English Department website for more details and resources (see the link on my website).

Grading

15% Quizzes (must maintain 65% score to pass the class)

            Graded on a 10 point scale; bonus points available.

10% Writing assignments (homework, in-class, process-based assignments)

            Graded on a 10-point scale.

5%   Participation

(Based on frequency and thoughtfulness of your contributions to discussion you’ll receive between 0 and 5 points)

10% Oral presentation

(Based on the complexity and originality of your analysis and the effectiveness of your presentation)

20% Essay #1

30% Essay #2 (research paper)

Essay grades will be based upon the strength of your thesis and analysis and the quality of your writing as outlined in the English department’s grading rubric.)

10% Final Exam

            Cumulative.

Reading and Assignment Schedule*

Week One

1/9:   Introduction to Class.

1/11: Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 1-10 (through p. 52)

Week Two

1/16: Austen:Vol. 1 Chapter 11-Vol 2 Chap. 13 (p.203)

1/18: Film: 2005 Pride and Prejudice.

Week Three

1/23: Finish Pride and Prejudice.

1/25: Pride and Prejudice continued.

Week Four

1/30: Film: 1940 Pride and Prejudice. First assignment distributed. Oliver Twist, Chaps. 1-14 (p.152).

2/1: Presentations. Read chaps 15-20 (p. 202).

Week Five

2/6: Oliver Twist, chaps. 21-39 (p.360).

2/8: Rough drafts due: editing workshop.

Week Six

2/13: Finish Oliver Twist.

2/15: Film: 2005 Oliver Twist. Essay #1 due.

Week Seven

2/20: Film: 1951 Oliver Twist.

2/22: Film: Twist.

Week Eight

2/27: Presentations. (You should be reading Jane Eyre).

3/1:  Presentations. (Keep reading Jane Eyre). Last Day to Withdraw with a "W."

Week Nine

3/6: Volumes I and II of Jane Eyre (296).

3/8: Film: 1996 Jane Eyre.

Week Ten 

3/13: Finish Jane Eyre. Research paper guidelines distributed.

3/15: Film: 1940 Jane Eyre. Optional revisions of Essay #1 due.

Week Eleven

3/20: Spring Break

3/22: Spring Break

Week Twelve

3/27: Wide Sargasso Sea, finish. (It’s not long.)

3/29: Film: Wide Sargasso Sea.

Week Thirteen

4/3: Du Maurier’s Rebecca, chaps. 1-15 (p. 193)

4/5: Presentations.

Week Fourteen 

4/10: Finish Rebecca.

4/12: Film: Rebecca. Presentations.

Week Fifteen

4/17: Wrap up Rebecca/intertextuality discussion. Writing workshop.

4/19: Writing workshop.

Week Sixteen

4/24: Writing workshop.

4/26: Conclusion.

5/2:   Final Papers due in my office by 5 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change. Adjustments will be announced in class and on my website.

Course Goals

• Students will learn to view and analyze films as texts.
• Students will gain an enhanced knowledge of the ways in which film employs the aesthetic and cultural techniques of other literary forms.
• Students will become familiar with the medium's distinctive qualities.
• Students will understand that social, political, economic, and historical influences affect the production and consumption of film texts.
• Students will demonstrate in both oral and written work a discipline-specific critical facility through convincing and well-supported analysis of related material.
• Students will demonstrate their command of academic English and the tenets of sound composition by means of thesis-driven analytical prose.
• Students will learn to use discipline-specific computer technologies related to the study of language such as listservs, word processing, and internet research.

Program Goals

• This course fulfills one of the departmental requirements for the completion of the English major.
• Students will develop the analytical, oral and written skills to pursue graduate study or careers in teaching, writing, business and a variety of other fields.
• Students will be able to define and pursue independent research agendas.
• This course contributes to the program goal of equipping students with a foundation in literary history and the issues surrounding literary study in contemporary culture.
• This course broadens students' desire and ability to take pleasure in their encounter with literature.