Adapting the Eighteenth Century
A Handbook of Pedagogies and Practices
Contributions by Aleksondra Hultquist, Anne Betty Weinshenker, Cait Coker, Catherine Ingrassia, Chase Bringardner, Emily C. Friedman, Heather King, Jason Gieger, Jason Gulya, Jeremy Brett, Jodi L. Wyett, Kathleen E. Urda, Kristen T. Saxton, Lindsay Doukopoulos, Maria Park Bobroff, Misty Krueger, Professor Nora Nachumi, Peggy Schaller Elliott, Rivka Swenson, Robin Runia, Servanne Woodward, Sharon R. Harrow, Ula Lukszo Klein Edited by Sharon R. Harrow, Kirsten T. Saxton
Publication date:
15 April 2020Length of book:
316 pagesPublisher
University of Rochester PressISBN-13: 9781787446618
A collection of pedagogical essays that presents proven strategies for the teaching of adaptation and eighteenth-century texts
The eighteenth century was a golden age of adaptation: classical epics were adapted to contemporaneous mock-epics, life writing to novels, novels to plays, and unauthorized sequels abounded. In our own time, cultural products of the long eighteenth century continue to be widely adapted. Early novels such as Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, the founding documents of the United States, Jane Austen's novels, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein-all of these have been adapted so often that they are ubiquitous cultural mythoi, even for people who have never read them. Eighteenth-century texts appear in consumer products, comics, cult mashups, fan fiction, films, network and streaming shows, novels, theater stagings, and web serials.
Adapting the Eighteenth Century provides innovative, hands-on pedagogies for teaching eighteenth-century studies and adaptation across disciplines and levels. Among the works treated in or as adaptations are novels by Austen, Defoe, and Shelley, as well as the current worldwide musical sensation Hamilton. Essays offer tested models for the teaching of practices such as close reading, collaboration, public scholarship, and research; in addition, they provide a historical grounding for discussions of such issues as the foundations of democracy, critical race and gender studies, and notions of genre. The collection as a whole demonstrates the fruitfulness of teaching about adaptation in both period-specific and generalist courses across the curriculum.
The eighteenth century was a golden age of adaptation: classical epics were adapted to contemporaneous mock-epics, life writing to novels, novels to plays, and unauthorized sequels abounded. In our own time, cultural products of the long eighteenth century continue to be widely adapted. Early novels such as Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, the founding documents of the United States, Jane Austen's novels, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein-all of these have been adapted so often that they are ubiquitous cultural mythoi, even for people who have never read them. Eighteenth-century texts appear in consumer products, comics, cult mashups, fan fiction, films, network and streaming shows, novels, theater stagings, and web serials.
Adapting the Eighteenth Century provides innovative, hands-on pedagogies for teaching eighteenth-century studies and adaptation across disciplines and levels. Among the works treated in or as adaptations are novels by Austen, Defoe, and Shelley, as well as the current worldwide musical sensation Hamilton. Essays offer tested models for the teaching of practices such as close reading, collaboration, public scholarship, and research; in addition, they provide a historical grounding for discussions of such issues as the foundations of democracy, critical race and gender studies, and notions of genre. The collection as a whole demonstrates the fruitfulness of teaching about adaptation in both period-specific and generalist courses across the curriculum.
As someone who teaches widely in eighteenth-century literature but also Shakespeare and the Victorian novel, I find that being able to connect with students through their familiarity with remixed versions of literary texts is invaluable. This book not only offers various case studies in how to pursue such connections, but it also provides useful reminders and suggestions for further reading within adaption theory and practice.