ENG4366 – Fiction and Film

Course content

Although literature and film are different forms of media, operating in dissimilar ways and producing various kinds of artistic effects, they are both narrative forms of communication. Both kinds of texts can be explored as not only reflecting but also producing and sometimes resisting the cultures from which they come. Fictional texts that have been adapted into films can be productive sites for analyzing discourses related to, for example, ethnicity, class, or gender, at particular historical and cultural moments. This course explores these kinds of issues in the context of cultural studies and critical theory, while also paying attention to genre conventions and elements of narrative form.

Learning outcome

After completing this course, you:

• can identify and discuss formal aspects of both prose fiction and film adaptations;
• understand how fiction and film can be situated in relation to various genres and narrative conventions;
• have developed skills in literary and cultural analysis, building from close reading to situating texts in relation to dominant discourses and historical and cultural contexts;
• can produce fruitful research questions engaging in scholarly debates
• have critical reading and writing skills in English

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Recommended previous knowledge

The course assumes a good proficiency in written and oral English

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with ENG2326 – Fiction and Film.

Teaching

Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. 20 hours in all.

Obligatory activity:

• A written thesis statement for your term paper turned in by a stated deadline.

• A draft of the first half of your paper, presenting your argument and relating it to relevant secondary sources (material published by an academic press or journal). You are encouraged to use points and observations from our seminar discussions and to evaluate the teaching materials in Canvas. You will get feedback on both language and content. Read more here about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for postponements. Information about guidelines for obligatory activities.

• It is obligatory to show up for a minimum of 60% of the teaching. In this course you have to attend 6 of 10 seminars. The requirement is absolute.

The allowed absence limit will cover all absences, including illness. You will not be granted valid absences with documentation, even when the absence is due to something beyond your control.

If the course has in-person teaching, and you are signed up for an in-person seminar group, you are to attend the teaching in the location found in the schedule.

If the course has digital teaching, and you are signed up for a digital seminar group, you must attend via Zoom with your camera on.

In certain circumstances, i.e. serious or chronic illness, you could apply for special needs accommodations.

All obligatory activities must be approved in the same semester for you to sit the exam. Fulfilled course requirements are only valid for the current semester.

Examination

The form of assessment is a term paper of approximately 10 pages (a standard page consists of 2,300 characters), plus references and bibliography. The term paper must follow further guidelines to be distributed in Canvas. You will be offered individual supervision and the chance to submit a longer draft of your term paper.

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

Resit an examination

A term paper or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.