Teaching New Dogs, Old Tricks: Adaptation, Blogging and Pedagogy.

Conference: PCA/ACA National Conference

Dates: 8-11 April 2009

Abstract:

Adaptation studies has been generally concerned with texts. Generally speaking, such courses form parts of English literature or film studies programmes. Rarely does adaptation studies constitute a discipline in itself in our faculties and universities. This paper aims to sketch out a way this imbalance can be redressed.

In recent years a number of methodologies have moved the discipline away form binary notions of ‘source’ and ‘target’ texts. So now adaptation studies has finally come of age and is supported by a significant canon of historiography, theory and methodology. It is time then for adaptation scholars to examine the process of adaptation in more detail; what practices and incidents occur in the gap between the source and target adaptation?

Using case-study material and blogs generated by undergraduates in the UK, this paper will show how students can gain a greater understanding of adaptation by reflecting on the process of reconstituting, or re-purposing existing material for new audiences. In this, adaptation ceases to be a value-based driven subject, but one more concerned with ideas of reception.

Finally, the paper will propose that this way of teaching adaptation can be used for a variety of different subjects, as the process of adaptation reveals much about a subject whether in the arts, humanities or sciences.

Source: Manual

Preferred by: Richard Berger