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COURSE NUMBER: ENGL 329
COURSE TITLE: Stranger than Fiction: Literature And Film
NAME OF INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Philip Mingay
CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: credits 3 (hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will examine the relationship between film and literature by studying films that have been adapted from literary texts. Like literature, films are narratives that can be examined and discussed using similar methodologies. However, film has its own distinct techniques and terminology. This course will augment our understanding of both art forms, as well as their complementary themes such as identity, memory, and violence.

Prerequisites: ENGL 215
REQUIRED TEXTS:
  • Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Collins)
  • Martel, Yann.  Life of Pi (Vintage)
  • Munro, Alice.  “Away From Her” (handout) 
  • Nolan, Jonathan.  “Memento Mori” (website)
  • Ondaatje, Michael.  The English Patient (Vintage)
  • Strayed, Cheryl. Wild (Vintage)
MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:
Scene Comparison 1
15%
Scene Comparison 2 15%
Research Essay 30%
Presentation/Participation10%
Final Exam 30%
100%
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
  • To understand the role of narrative in film and literature, and how it reveals to us the intricacies of the human experience. 
  • To build a critical language for discussing about film and literature. 
  • To understand how literature and film can reveal opportunities to discuss the place of Christianity in art. 
  • To apply and expand many of the skills we have learned in English literature to the study of film. 
COURSE OUTLINE:
  • Introduction/Syllabus
  • Beloved Classics
    • To Kill a Mockingbird
    • Villarejo, Film Studies: The Basics, 1-18
    • Benyahia, AS Film Studies: The Essential Introduction, pp 1-14, 16-42
  • The Gothic 
    • To Kill a Mockingbird 
    • Vallarejo, 24-35
    • Benyahia, 16-24
    • Terms: Camera; Lighting; Scene analysis
  • Biography into Film
    • Into the Wild 
    • Benyahia, 43-68
    • "From Script to Screen" 
  • Ethical and Moral Dilemmas
    • Into the Wild
    • Presenters:
  • The Short Story
    • "The Bear Went Over the Mountain"
    • Away From Her 
  • Grief
    • "The Bear Went Over the Mountain"
    • Away From Her 
    • Villarejo, Film Studies: The Basics, 36-53 
    • Presenters: 
  • Playing with Narratives and Time
    • Nolan, "Memento Mori" 
    • Memento
    • Presenters:  
    • Benyahia, 69-77 
    • "Close Your Eyes" 
    • "Mistaken Identity"
    • "Graphism and Story-time"
    • Scene Comparison #1 due 
  • Violence and Art
    • Memento
  • The Postmodern Experience
    • Life of Pi 
    • Malpas, The Postmodern (pgs 1-32) 
  • History into Film
    • The English Patient
    • The English Patient and Fidelity
  • The Global Experience and Hollywood 
    • The English Patient
    • Benyahia, 69-77, 161-194
    • Film Studies: The Basics, 109-127 
    • Presenters:


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