DRAM20050 Shakespeare on Film

Academic Year 2022/2023

This module will look at the way that some of Shakespeare's comedies (Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream) have been adapted for the big and small screen. We will address different versions of a small number of comedies, considering the interpretations that underlie the adaptations, the responses to key interpretative controversies in each play, the way the comedies are made to resonate with the concerns of modern audiences, and the understandings of Shakespeare that inform the film appropriations. Students will anchor their engagement with the film and television adaptations through readings of the plays in performance, analyse the ways the plays have been adapted for television and cinema screens, and imagine other possibilities for television or film adaptation.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this module, students will have demonstrated the ability to:
1. Understand adaptation and appropriation as a form of reading and interpretation, and evaluate different readings of Shakespeare's comedies for film and television.
2. Identify key considerations in adapting or appropriating Shakespeare's comedies for the big and small screen, weighing up various options, and imagining other possibilities.
3. Critically assess how modern television and film adaptations have addressed key topics and controversies in the performance of Shakespeare's comedies.
4. Analyse how Shakespeare's comedies have been used to interrogate pressing social concerns, such as changing attitudes to gender and sexuality, through modern film and television adaptation.
5. Critically examine how Shakespeare's dramatic comedies have been adapted for the big and small screen in a range of television and film genres, utilizing genre as a key lens of interpretation.
6. Evaluate the extent to which film adaptations and appropriations of the comedies borrow, question, or subvert the cultural capital of Shakespeare.

Indicative Module Content:

Introduction: Shakespeare on Film
The Taming of the Shrew 1: Zeffirelli (1967)
The Taming of the Shrew 2: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
The Taming of the Shrew 3: Shakespeare ReTold (2005)
A Midsummer Night's Dream 1: Hall (1968)
A Midsummer Night's Dream 2: Hoffman (1999)
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3: Kerr (2016)
Much Ado About Nothing 1: Branagh (1993)
Much Ado About Nothing 2: Shakespeare ReTold (2005)
Much Ado About Nothing 3: Whedon (2012)
Conclusion: Shakespeare's Comedies on the Big and Small Screen

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

12

Specified Learning Activities

36

Autonomous Student Learning

52

Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Students will be required to watch the films and engage in secondary research outside of scheduled class time; all learning resources will be available via Brightspace. In the classes, brief lecture segments will be enhanced by individual and group work. Regular attendance is essential for success on the module. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment: Review Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

30

Assignment: Preliminary work for the adaptation project Unspecified n/a Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

20

Project: Shakespeare adaptation project Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

50


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.