Professional and Lifelong Learning

Course description

Traditional models of movie-use in classrooms generally involve showing a film adaptation of a novel: to reward learners after first reading the story, to compare-and-contrast the book and film adaptation with a general critique of the movie as an "unfaithful" version, and to support teaching content in subject areas thematically related to the film’s plot or themes, content, or themes.

Deeper Than Edutainment: Taking Books and Their Film Adaptations Seriously presents an approach that further enhances movie-use through the intentional application of cross-media storytelling. By looking closely at a story "twice-told" through the lenses of aesthetics, ethics, and academics, students will have the opportunity to interrogate the merit of what is on their screen, surface the differences in how stories are being told, and gain a deeper understanding of the overall narrative. While improving their media literacy skills, learners also develop a deeper sense of self-understanding, heightened social perspective-taking, and better informed civic awareness and civic engagement.