Weeks 1 & 2
Welcome to the new semester and to Media English 2007.
We’re going to be looking at adaptations in media, and because the subject of the “super-hero” is one I know something about, and have been thinking about a lot lately, that’s going to be one connecting theme in this course. But the deeper connecting theme is of adaptations — how stories change when we adapt them from one medium to another, say, from comic book to film, or from film to cartoon, or from novel to radio play, or from radio play to film. But we’ll also look at how stories, and meanings, get changed by media, and how stories and meanings change over time as a result of the media.
I’m teaching two sections of this course, one in the daytime (on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and one in the evenings (on Wednesdays and Fridays). These classes will be called DAY and NIGHT from now on.
The beginning part of this semester, we’re discussing the idea of the super-hero, looking at how it has developed over time, and examining closely the character of Superman. Don’t worry, we’ll move on to more interesting subjects soon, but this is important background. So some lecture, and some discussion of Superman as a character will be followed by a viewing of the pilot episode of the TV show Smallville, which is the newest of the adaptations that have been made using Superman.
Our schedule for week 2 is as follows:
DAY:
Superman discussion on Tuesday, March 13th.
Smallville Pilot viewing/discussion on Thursday, March 15th. (Print this script, read through it, and prepare for the viewing on Thursday afternoon.)
NIGHT:
Smallville viewing/discussion on Wednesday night, March 14th. (Print this script, read through it, and prepare for the viewing on Thursday afternoon.)
Student presentations on assigned subjects and associated discussion will begin on Friday evening, March 16th.
Here is a copy of our course syllabus, and of the student information paper I need you to fill out and bring to me. See you soon!