SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS Voyage: Summer 2014 Discipline: Slavic Languages and Literatures SEMS 3500-106: Fiction Into Film Division: Upper Faculty Name: Julian W. Connolly Pre-requisites: None COURSE DESCRIPTION The course will examine the many ways that literary texts have been transformed into cinematic works, focusing on European and American versions of works written by writers originally from Europe and Russia. Students will read a literary text, such as a play by Anton Chekhov, a story by James Joyce, or a tale by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and will investigate how a film director refashions that text into a new cinematic vision. Students will consider the difference between literary language and cinematic language, the treatment of point of view, setting, style, costumes, and so on. The films to be screened will range from relatively close adaptations of the original material to free-ranging interpretations that may very widely from the original. Issues of cultural identity and identification also come into play when the filmmaker is from a different country than the writer of the source text. COURSE OBJECTIVES The principal aim of the course is two-fold. First, students will learn to analyze a literary text on its own terms, exploring the techniques a writer uses to communicate his or her vision to the reader. Then, students will investigate how a filmmaker transforms that original vision into a new work of art. Because several of the films present the original literary story in new settings and contexts, students will have the opportunity to study the effect that different cultural backgrounds or assumptions have on an underlying theme or idea. During the course, students will learn to: Analyze literary and cinematic texts Assess the importance of point of view in shaping a message Become thoughtful observers of cultural differences Develop critical thinking skills Develop writing skills through short response papers and essays REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS 1
AUTHOR: Anton Chekhov TITLE: The Plays of Anton Chekhov, trans. Paul Schmidt PUBLISHER: Harper Perennial ISBN #: ISBN-10 0060928751 ISBN-13 978-0060928759 DATE/EDITION: paperback AUTHOR: James Joyce TITLE: Dubliners PUBLISHER: Dover ISBN #: ISBN-10 0486268705 ISBN-13 978-0486268705 DATE/EDITION: paper AUTHOR: Fyodor Dostoevsky TITLE: The Gambler, trans. Andrew MacAndrew PUBLISHER: Dover ISBN #: ISBN-10 0486290816 ISBN-13 978-0486290812 DATE/EDITION: paper AUTHOR: Vladimir Nabokov TITLE: Lolita PUBLISHER: Vintage ISBN #: ISBN-13 978-0679723165 DATE/EDITION: TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE June 16: Depart Southampton June 17: Orientation C1-June 18: Introduction to the course. Discussion of the aims for the summer. The language of fiction and the language of film. C2- June 19: Anton Chekhov, The Seagull Reading assignment: The Seagull, Acts 1 and 2 [view excerpts from theatrical performance Williamstown Theater Festival, 1975] C3- June 20: Anton Chekhov, The Seagull Reading assignment: The Seagull, Acts 3 and 4 [view excerpts from theatrical performance Williamstown Theater Festival, 1975] June 21-24: Lisbon C4- June 25: Discuss film: La Petite Lili (Claude Miller, dir.) C5- June 26: Short paper on The Seagull and film adaptation due. In-class discussion of papers. 2
June 27-30: Bilbao C6- July 1: Discuss film: Michael Collins (dir. Neil Jordan). Selected poems by Yeats. C7- July 2: James Joyce, Dubliners Reading assignment: An Encounter, Eveline, Two Gallants, The Boarding House C8- July 3: James Joyce, Dubliners Reading assignment: Counterparts, A Painful Case, The Dead C9- July 4: Discuss film: The Dead (dir. John Huston) July 5-8: Glasgow C10-July 9: Short paper on an aspect of Dubliners and The Dead due. In-class discussion of papers. July 10-13: Dublin C11- July 14: In-class discussion of field experience in Dublin. Personal reflection paper due. C12- July 15: Reading assignment: Isak Dinesen, Babette s Feast C13- July 16: Discuss film: Babette s Feast (dir. Gabriel Axel) July 17-20: Bergen and Oslo C14- July 21: Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Gambler Reading assignment: The Gambler, Chapters 1-9 C15- July 23: Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Gambler Reading assignment: The Gambler, Chapters 10-17 July 24-28: St. Petersburg C16- July 29: Discuss film: The Gambler (dir. Károly Makk) C17- July 30: Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita Reading assignment: Lolita (through Part 1, Chapter 17) July 31- August 3: Stockholm C18- August 4: Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita Reading assignment: Lolita (through end of Part 1) 3
C19- August 5: Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita Reading assignment: Lolita (through Part 2, Chapter 21) August 6-9: Helsinki C20- August 10: Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita Reading assignment: Lolita (through Part 2, Chapter 36) C21- August 11: Discuss film: Lolita (dir. Stanley Kubrick) August 12-15: Gdansk C22- August 16: Discuss film: Lolita (dir. Adrian Lyne) C23- August 17: Short paper comparing the two film versions of Lolita due. In-class discussion of papers. C24- August 19: Final Exam FIELD WORK Field lab attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Please do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of our field lab. FIELD LAB (At least 20 percent of the contact hours for each course, to be led by the instructor.) Dublin: The Power of Place in the Creative Imagination We will visit the city of Dublin and explore the sites that feature prominently in the works of James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, and other distinguished Irish writers and filmmakers. Students will have an opportunity to see how the city s layout and architectural monuments influenced these writers and their creations. We will make stops at the Dublin Writers Museum and the James Joyce Tower in Sandycove, and we will have lunch in one of the pubs featured in Joyce s The Dubliners. Our walking tour will be guided by a scholar intimately familiar with our writers works and we will come to understand the social, political, religious, and cultural forces that shaped the world view of Ireland s greatest writers. FIELD ASSIGNMENTS 1. Students will prepare a personal reflection statement detailing how their encounter with the sites they visited in Dublin affected their understanding of the material they read and viewed in the class (length: 3-4 pages). This reflection statement will count for 15% of the final grade. 4
2. During visits to two other cities, students will gather information about book and film culture of these cities, visiting bookstores and collecting information on the numbers and types of films being shown in the cities at the time of the visit. They will summarize their findings in a 1-2 page paper due on the day after the ship has left the relevant port. These brief reports will each count for 5% of the final grade. METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC During this class a student s work will be assessed in a variety of ways, with the overall goal of providing the student (and me) with useful feedback about the student s learning progress. This will involve periodic self-assessment, peer assessment, and assessment by me. The following assignments will be graded, and each will contribute to the final grade according to the percentage listed. 1. Class participation [15 %] To get the most out of this class, you will want to come to class well prepared (having read the assigned text or watched the assigned film) and ready to participate in class activities. Class attendance is mandatory. Your participation grade will reflect the contributions you make to the class on a regular basis. For many class sessions, you will be asked to prepare one or two questions or comments about the assigned reading or viewing, and post them to the class folder. The deadline for this posting will be given to you in class. Also, teams of students will be asked to prepare brief reports on contextual information that may be relevant for the work to be discussed (e.g, salient characteristics of the country and time in which it was made; how it fits into the creator s career, etc.). Finally, you will write a personal reflection statement summarizing your learning experience for the course; this will be due on August 19. 2. Short paper comparing the Chekhov play and the film adaptation of The Seagull (approx. 3 pages). Due June 26 [15%] 3. Short paper addressing some aspect of The Dubliners and the film adaptation of The Dead (approx. 3 pages). Due July 9 [15%] 4. Personal reflection on your experience visiting the sites toured during the field lab (approx. 3 pages). [15%] 5. Two short papers (1-2 pages each) describing the book and/or film culture in a city that we are visiting during our voyage. [each paper counts 5%] 6. Short paper comparing the two film versions of Lolita, focusing on a specific scene or theme (approx. 3 pages). Due August 17 [15%] 7. Final exam. [15%] 5
Assignments turned in late without prior permission will be marked down one letter grade. RESERVE LIBRARY LIST AUTHOR: Vladimir Nabokov TITLE: Lolita: A Screenplay PUBLISHER: Vintage ISBN #: 0-679-77255-3 DATE/EDITION: Any FILMS: La Petite Lili (Claude Miller, dir.) The Dead (John Huston, dir.) Babette s Feast (Gabriel Axel, dir.) The Gambler (Karoly Makk, dir.) Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, dir.) Lolita (Adrian Lyne, dir.) Each of these films should be shown on the ship s CCTV on the day before it will be discussed in class. ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS AUTHOR: Isak Dinesen CHAPTER TITLE: Babette s Feast BOOK TITLE: Anecdotes of Destiny PAGES: 21-59 HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed]. 6