Remaking Monsters and Heroines: Adapting Classic Literature for Contemporary Audiences

FAIN: ES-256936-17

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201)
Lissette Lopez Szwydky (Project Director: March 2017 to April 2021)
Sean P. Connors (Co Project Director: August 2017 to April 2021)

A two-week institute for thirty-six school teachers on Frankenstein, Cinderella, and the adaptations of these classic texts.

“Remaking Monsters and Heroines: Adapting Classic Literature for Contemporary Audiences” is the title of the proposed two-week NEH Summer Institute for School Teachers to be held at the University of Arkansas in June 2018. The topic is literary adaptation and its role in recirculating and popularizing the literary canon. In particular, the Institute co-directors are interested in helping practicing K-12 teachers develop a vocabulary and framework for teaching adaptations alongside a range of canonical texts that they already use (or are considering using) in their classrooms. The Institute will also feature hands-on workshops focused on reimagining and remaking traditional texts for new audiences. The goal is to demonstrate to individual and/or interdisciplinary teams of K-12 teachers the significance of knowing and teaching canonical texts alongside adaptations, of understanding the oral and fairy tale traditions in the humanities, and of incorporating a variety of genres and media.