Ateneo - UPO

Cinema, television, adaptation: the Sherlock Holmes case

Compulsory novels and short stories:
• Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet (1887)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four (1890)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, A Scandal in Bohemia (1891)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Five Orange Pips (1891)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Man with the Twisted Lip (1891)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Gloria Scott (1893)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual (1893)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter (1893)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Final Problem (1893)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Empty House (1903)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (1904)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Six Napoleons (1904)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans (1908)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Dying Detective (1913)
• Arthur Conan Doyle, His Last Bow (1917)

Compulsory films:
1. The Spider Woman (Roy William Neill, 1943)
2. The Scarlet Claw (Roy William Neill, 1944)
3. The Hound of the Baskervilles (Terence Fisher, 1959)
4. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (Billy Wilder, 1970)
5. Without a Clue (Thom Eberhardt, 1988)
6. Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie, 2009)

Compulsory TV series:
Sherlock (BBC, 2010–2017) – the complete series (13 episodes)

Compulsory essays/books:
Matteo Pollone, Sherlock, Turin, Graphot, 2021.
Giulia Carluccio, Anna Masecchia, Stefania Rimini (eds.), Cinema, letteratura, intermedialità, Rome, Carocci, 2023.

The course aims to provide students with basic theoretical and methodological tools for the analysis of adaptation and of the relationships between different narrative and media forms, through the study of the case of Sherlock Holmes.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• reconstruct the main stages in the literary, cinematic and television history of Sherlock Holmes;
• identify and describe the main transformations of the character and his stories in the transition from literature to cinema and television;
• apply the main concepts relating to adaptation, rewriting and intermediality to the analysis of literary and audiovisual texts;
• compare a text by Arthur Conan Doyle with a film or television adaptation, identifying and discussing the main narrative and formal transformations.

A more advanced objective is to provide students with the skills necessary to critically reassess the information acquired during the course, together with that derived from the readings and viewings undertaken independently, and to develop a critical discourse on the authors, texts, and their historical and cultural context.

Distribution of CFU: In-person delivered teaching (DE): 1.5 CFU; self-study: 4.5 CFU.

English Language Fluency

Lectures and screening of audiovisual materials followed by classroom discussion. Lectures will provide the theoretical and methodological tools necessary for the analysis of literary and audiovisual texts; discussion of audiovisual materials will be aimed at developing students’ ability to apply these tools to the comparison of works belonging to different media.

Students enrolled in the specialist English Literature course are required to read Doyle’s stories in the original English.

Students with disabilities, Specific Learning Disorders (SLD/DSA), or Special Educational Needs (SEN/BES) may request dedicated services and support by contacting the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti and consulting the relevant section of the University website:
https://www.uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilita-e-dsa

Students with disabilities, SLD/DSA, or SEN/BES, once they have contacted the University Staff, may contact the lecturer responsible for the course regarding the examination arrangements, particularly with regard to teaching and assessment-related aspects.

Learning will be assessed through an individual oral examination. The examination will consist of questions concerning the contents, texts and audiovisual materials covered in the course, as well as a discussion of a topic chosen by the student.

The examination will assess the following learning outcomes:
• Knowledge and understanding: knowledge of the main contents of the course, the history of Sherlock Holmes, and the concepts of adaptation, rewriting and intermediality;
• Applying knowledge and understanding: ability to apply these concepts to the analysis and comparison of literary texts and audiovisual works, identifying the main narrative and formal transformations;
• Making judgements: ability to formulate an independent interpretation and support it with relevant textual and audiovisual references;
• Communication skills: ability to present ideas clearly and coherently and to use appropriate terminology.

Minimum passing level (18/30): essential but correct knowledge of the course contents; basic ability to apply the concepts discussed in class to the works examined; comprehensible exposition and knowledge of the fundamental terminology.
Intermediate level (19–26/30): broader and more articulated knowledge; increasingly autonomous application of the concepts to the works examined; coherent argumentation and appropriate use of terminology.
Advanced level (27–30/30): broad and in-depth knowledge; confident command of the relevant concepts and terminology; autonomous comparative analysis; precise and well-supported discussion of narrative, formal and medial transformations.
Honours (30/30 cum laude): achievement of the highest level, combined with particular clarity, originality and autonomy in analysis and argumentation.

The overall grade will take into account the completeness and accuracy of the student’s knowledge, the ability to apply concepts to the works examined, the ability to establish relevant connections and formulate an independent argument, as well as clarity of exposition and appropriate use of terminology.

The course will examine the transmedia history of the character of Sherlock Holmes, from his first appearance in Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels and short stories to contemporary film and television adaptations.
The first part of the course will focus on the literary construction of the character and his narrative universe, through the reading of the novels and short stories listed in the syllabus. Particular attention will be paid to the characteristics of the detective figure, the construction of the investigation, the relationship between Holmes and Watson, and the main recurring narrative structures in Doyle’s texts.
The second part will focus on the transition from literature to cinema through the analysis of adaptations produced in different historical periods and production contexts. Comparing Doyle’s works with the films included in the syllabus will make it possible to examine transformations in the character, narrative structures and modes of representing Sherlock Holmes, with particular attention to different forms of adaptation, rewriting and reinterpretation.
The third part will focus on television and, in particular, on the series Sherlock (BBC, 2010–2017). The complete series will be analysed in relation to Doyle’s stories, with attention to the transposition of narrative structures and characters into a contemporary context and to the ways in which literary material is reinterpreted for a different medium and a different historical and cultural context.
Finally, the course will address the main theoretical concepts relating to adaptation, rewriting, intermediality and transmediality, using them as tools for analysing the relationships between the literary and audiovisual works examined. Particular attention will be paid to the continuities and transformations involved in the movement of a character and a narrative universe across different media, historical periods and forms of storytelling.

Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will:
• know the main stages in the literary, cinematic and television history of Sherlock Holmes;
• know the key concepts of adaptation, rewriting, intermediality and transmediality;
• know the main narrative and audiovisual features of the works analysed in the course;
• understand how a character and a narrative universe can be transformed when transferred across different media.

Applying knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• analyse a literary text and an audiovisual work, identifying their relevant narrative and formal elements;
• compare a text by Doyle with a film or television adaptation, identifying and discussing the main transformations;
• apply the concepts of adaptation, rewriting and intermediality to the works examined;
• place an adaptation within its historical and medial context and discuss the choices involved in its rewriting.

Making judgements
Students will be able to formulate independent interpretations and support them with relevant textual and audiovisual references.

Communication skills
Students will be able to present the contents of the course clearly and coherently and to use appropriate specialist terminology.

Minimum level of achievement required for a pass
Students must demonstrate essential but correct knowledge of the course contents, a basic ability to apply the concepts discussed to the works examined, and a comprehensible exposition using the fundamental terminology.

Advanced level of achievement
Students will demonstrate broad and in-depth knowledge, the ability to carry out autonomous comparative analyses, precise and well-supported argumentation, the ability to establish relevant connections, and a clear and independent critical approach.