In this course, we will explore together the relationship between literary works and their film adaptations. What is lost, gained, or transformed as the story’s voice changes its form? How do characters and images change when we encounter them on screen instead of on the page? As film continues to demonstrate new possibility for narrative, how might we observe and articulate the different choices authors and directors make to engage us in their art? By studying the terms and techniques used in each medium, students will be able to analyze, appreciate, and imitate the techniques and talents of authors and directors alike. Past texts have included The Color Purple, Atonement, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, The Joy Luck Club, Never Let Me Go, and The Orchid Thief, among others. Texts under consideration for 2023 include If Beale Street Could Talk, Stories of Your Life and Others, The Namesake, and Rabbit Hole, among others.

Offered Fall 2023