On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1.Construct clear and coherent arguments about the evolution of the novel as a genre.
2.Analyse novels using recognised methods of literary criticism and critical visual analysis (in particular film studies and comics studies) criticism to substantiate and illustrate those arguments.
3. Competently evaluate critical references in order to support their argumentation.
4. Discuss about literary texts in relation to literary conventions, history and culture.
The aim of the course is to provide a critical-methodological introduction to the study of English literature and culture during the 19th and 20th century.
The course will place strong emphasis on the process of adaptation of literary texts to filmic and graphic format, with particular attention to the ways in which narrative is rendered. The literary analysis of the texts will be integrated with a critical visual analysis in order to explore how the formal properties of texts can be applied to and transformed into new visual formats.
Playing with TEXTS: novels, comics and films
A) TEXTS:
-Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre: The Graphic Novel , illustrated by John M. Burns, Terry Wiley Classics Illustrated,(2008).
-Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway (1925)
- Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber ( 1979)
Film: Stephen Daldry, The Hours, 2002.
B) CRITICAL TEXTS:
- Deborah Cartmell and Imelda Whelehan, Adaptations: from text to screen, screen to text, London ; New York : Routledge, 1999.
Chapters:
Part I An overview
1 Adaptations: The contemporary dilemmas Imelda Whelehan.
Part II From text to screen
2 Introduction Deborah Cartmell
Part III From screen to text and multiple adaptation
11 Introduction Deborah Cartmell
- Jan Baetens, The graphic novel : an introduction, New York : Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Chapters:
1 Introduction to the graphic novel: a special type of comic book
7. The graphic novel as a specific form of storytelling
8. The graphic novel and literary fiction: exchanges, interplays and fusions
C) Andrew Sanders, The Short Oxford History of English Literature, (from Chapter 7 to Chapter 10 ).
| Author | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN | Note |
| Deborah Cartmell and Imelda Whelehan | Adaptations: from text to screen, screen to text | Routledge, | 1999 | Part I An overview 1 Adaptations: The contemporary dilemmas Imelda Whelehan. Part II From text to screen 2 Introduction Deborah Cartmell Part III From screen to text and multiple adaptation 11 Introduction Deborah Cartmell | |
| Charlotte Bronte illustrated by John M. Burns, Terry Wiley | Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre: The Graphic Novel , | Classical Comics Ltd | 2008 | ||
| Virginia Woolf | Mrs Dalloway | 1925 | Any edition | ||
| Angela Carter, | The Bloody Chamber | 1979 | Any edition | ||
| Jan Baetens | The graphic novel : an introduction, | Cambridge University Press | 2015 | 1 Introduction to the graphic novel: a special type of comic book 7. The graphic novel as a specific form of storytelling 8. The graphic novel and literary fiction: exchanges, interplays and fusions | |
| Andrew Sanders | The Short Oxford History of English Literature | Oxford, Oxford University Press | 1994 | Dal Vittorianesimo al Periodo Contemporaneo |
The lessons will be in English. The exam will be an oral discussion in English on the topic of the course and the texts in the program (parts A,B,C).
In particular:
- the ability to discuss topics (literary trends, authors, genres) within the history of English literature ( from the Victorian period to the contemporary period)
- the ability to present a critical argumentation on topics related to the texts of the syllabus (making examples from scenes and passages)
- the ability to make connections between the topics of the course, on the basis of the critical texts indicated in the programm
Students unable to attend lectures are required to contact Prof. Battisti.
