LMKB_a447 Adaptation in Theory and Practice: Adapting Alice

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Petr Bubeníček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Prof. Kamilla Elliott, Ph.D. (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Petr Bubeníček, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Petr Bubeníček, Ph.D.
Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Veronika Bromová, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 24. 9. 10:00–13:40 B2.34
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 17/30, only registered: 0/30, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Lewis Carroll’s Alice books have been used by historians, linguists, theologians, cognitive scientists, physicists, and evolutionary biology to theorize their subjects: this short, online course uses them to theorize humanities adaptation practices. Beginning with John Tenniel’s illustrative adaptations of Carroll’s prose, course uses adaptations of to address concepts and issues in literary adaptation studies. The course is divided into three sessions: 1. Illustrating Alice examines word-image relations in literature generally; word-image interactions in nonsense literature specifically; adapting illustration across art genres, technologies, periods, and cultures; digital illustration; and, AI illustration. 2. Animating Alice ponders time-space theories in adaptation theory, technologies and theories of animation, and the role of animation’s metamorphoses in adaptation. Its main case study is a Czech animation, Jan Švankmajer’s surrealist Něco z Alenky (1988), supplemented by extracts from two Disney animations of Alice in Wonderland (1951 and 2010). 3. Gaming Alice addresses the game structures of the Alice books (cards and chess), Lewis Carroll’s games and puzzles, and videogame adaptations of the Alice books to ponder relations between literature and gaming across historical periods and technologies. Sessions combine lecture with (inter)activities and discussion.
Syllabus
  • Session 1: Course Introduction; Illustrating Alice Course Introduction: Why Alice? Why Adaptation? Theory and practice Illustrating Alice • Carroll and Tenniel • Other illustrations • Digital illustrations • AI illustration Before the session: Read Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1867) and Through the Looking Glass (1871), with the illustrations by John Tenniel Some online locations: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland PDF format https://www.adobe.com › Alice_in_Wonderland ePub, Kindle, Kobo format https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/lewis-carroll/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/john-tenniel Through the Looking Glass PDF format https://web.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Carroll_Through_the_Looking_Glass.pdf ePub, Kindle, Kobo format https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/lewis-carroll/through-the-looking-glass/john-tenniel Further Reading and Resources Critical articles Kamilla Elliott, Rethinking the Novel/Film Debate (2003), Chapter 6 Kamilla Elliott, “Ad-app-tive Illustration: Or, the Uses of Illustration,” in Adaptation and Illustration: New Cartographies, eds. Shannon Wells-Lassagne and Sophie Aymes, Palgrave Studies in Adaptation and Visual Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, 23 January 2024 (ebook 9783031321337); softcover (forthcoming 2025), pp.117-137. Websites featuring other illustrations (we will discuss some of these in class) Popova, Maria. “The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland.” Brain Pickings (7 July 2014). URL: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/07/07/best-illustrations-alice-in-wonderland/ University of Maryland Libraries. “Illustrated Alice: Alice Illustrated around the World.” URL: https://www.lib.umd.edu/alice150/alice-in-wonderland/alice-illustrated Note: The link can only be accessed via a WWW search for “Alice illustrated around the world.” Maryland library user permissions block clicking on the link directly. Session 2: Animating Alice Introduction: Literature, film, animation Case studies: • Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951, dirs. Clyde Geronimi et al.) drawn cell animation • Jan Švankmajer, Něco z Alenky (1988) surrealist animation; animism • Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (2010, dir. Tim Burton) CGI animation Before the session: Watch Jan Švankmajer, Něco z Alenky (1988) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK_l74cSPGY Read these online interviews: Nandita Kumar (2008) https://nanditakumar.com/jan-svankmajer-interview/ Mark Stafford and Virginie Sélavy (2010) http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/2011/06/14/interview-with-jan-352vankmajer/ Further Reading and Resources Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951, dirs. Clyde Geronimi et al.) WHERE TO WATCH? Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (2010, dir. Tim Burton) WHERE TO WATCH? Session 3: Gaming Alice • The Alice books and games: cards and chess • Carroll’s games and puzzles • Videogaming Alice Module conclusion: Why is a raven like a writing desk? Before the session: Search YouTube or other resources for footage of any videogame adapting the Alice books and be prepared to talk about it in the session. Some examples: Alice in Wonderland (1985, Windham Classics, based on the Alice books) Alice in Wonderland (Nintendo, 2000, based on the 1951 Disney animation) Alice in Wonderland (Disney, 2010, based on the 2010 film directed by Tim Burton) American McGee’s Alice (2000) and its sequel Alice: Madness Returns (2011)--psychological horror games Further Reading and Resources Kamilla Elliott, ‘Bite-Sizing Digital Literature in the Twenty-First Century’, Adaptation 16.2 (August 2023): 116-137. Open access https://academic.oup.com/adaptation/article/16/2/116/7237324 Boulder Punch, ‘Examining American McGee’s Alice Series’ (2022), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei4-s2F8hI0&t=72s Further resources to help with essays will be provided.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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