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ENG-10070 - Module Specification
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2025/26 Last Updated: 04 December 2025

ENG-10070 - Classic Literature and Its Adaptations
Coordinator: Nicholas Seager Tel: +44 1782 7 33142
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 4
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

What makes a work of literature 'classic'? What do we mean when we call something an example of 'popular culture'? This module invites you to compare 'classic' texts (such as Hamlet, The Great Gatsby, and The Color Purple) with adaptations that share their themes or challenge their values. You'll learn new ways to think about why some texts are called 'classics' and some are not, and enrich your understanding of the way that texts interact with one another across genres.

Aims
To develop students' skills in the analysis and interpretation of canonical literature and its adaptation into film/TV texts.
To introduce students to concepts, theories, and contexts relevant to the adaptation of literary 'classics'.
To give students opportunities to produce original writing and products based on their critical engagement with literature on screen.
To develop students' capabilities in studying English at university level, including independent research and critical thinking.

Intended Learning Outcomes

critically analyse adaptations with respect to their aesthetic strategies, sociocultural contexts, and relationship to literary works: 1,2
demonstrate understanding of and apply concepts relevant to screen reworkings of literary texts, including theories of adaptation and appropriation: 1,2
research topics related to screen adaptations of literary works: 1,2
communicate findings of research and interpretation in assessed work: 1,2

Study hours

24: Lectures
24: Workshops and seminars
152: Preparation for classes: reading and viewing texts, and guided study
40: Writing their own and reading other students' discussion threads
60: Researching and writing the essay

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Exercise weighted 40%
Discussion Threads
Students will post responses to discussion thread prompts set up by the tutor. Six posts of 300 words, totalling c. 1,800 words.

2: Essay weighted 60%
Researched essay or web essay
Students will write an essay of 2,500 words, choosing from a list of ten questions; they may present their work as a conventional essay or as a web essay

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 04 December 2025