Novel to Screen for Young Adult Readers

The category of fiction labeled -Young Adult- (YA) by booksellers and libraries is probably the fastest growing genre today, especially in connection with film adaptations. (Indeed, adults are also attracted to these books and films – just think of the Harry Potter and Twilight series!) The majority of these books and movies appear to be in the fantasy and sci fi genres, but many other genres are represented as well. For future GYM and BK teachers, Young Adult fiction is of great importance with an eye to being able to relate to the high school/BK students’ interests in literature and cinema. We will deal with adaptation theory, particularly in connection with the transformation of narrative strategies into cinematic ones. The YA categorization will be investigated thoroughly. We will also discuss the remarkable and effective advertising -hype” which creates juvenile interest in forthcoming releases as well as the appropriateness of the novels and their film versions for classroom use. Gender issues, -social problem” topics in the works, and the question of whether adaptations enhance or reduce adolescents’ interest in reading the original works will be addressed. I am still finalizing the syllabus for this seminar, but it will definitely include Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) and its award-winning screen adaptation (1962). A fine novella by Stephen King (yes, he has written prize-winning YA fiction!) called The Body (1982) will be compared not only to its film adaptation Stand By Me (1986) but also to the 'retold' novella used at schools. The technically skillful film version of Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel Coraline will be viewed after we read the short novel. Excerpts and clips from numerous other books and movies will play a role in our seminar; the excerpts, theory, and film reviews will be contained in the semester reader. No doubt we will not be able to avoid Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, will we? Students who attended my Proseminar -From Novel to Screen for Young Readers” in SoSe 2009 are not encouraged to register for this HS, since it will be necessary for us to repeat the reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, excerpts from Holes, and James Monaco’s influential theory on -reading a film,” especially with regard to cinematic tropes. - Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960 (any economical edition) - Neil Gaiman, Coraline, 2002 (any edition) - Stephen King's novella The Body is available in his collection called Different Seasons (1982); if you can't locate a cheap version of this collection, you can obtain a photocopied version of The Body from me. The simplified school text (published by Penguin/Longman 1994) will be in the reader. Anglistik - Literaturwissenschaft Universität Siegen WiSe 2011/12 Anglistik - Sprachpraxis Ph.D. Waegner Cathy Ph.D