Changing the Conversation in Adaptation Studies

Changing the Conversation in Adaptation Studies

            In the world of academics and the study of adaptation, we frequently hear the term associated only with the adaptation of a text to film, but, as you continually point out in your blog posts, that is only a small part of the concept of adaptation.  I, too, was very taken, as was Laurence Raw, by Jillian St. Jacques's presentation during one of my adaptation panels during the February conference of the SWAPCA in Albuquerque. And, immediately afterward, began to move my thoughts away from film, to culture and society, and the adaptations I have participated in during my life, both outside and inside the academy. Not so dramatic as Jillian's, but still as more than one of the (what I refer to as) "followers," who always do what they are told, and who seem to be so much alike, and so happy - never even seemingly wanting to be different, or an individual.  Maybe, for them, this predictable "follower" characteristic is a form of coping, or maybe breaking away from the status quo is too frightening, but, as a child in the 1950s and 1960s, then in college in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the only movement that fascinated me, and eventually engulfed me, was that idea of individualism.  Pursuing that idea, alone, made me an outcast in my native 1970s northeast Texas, something which continues today. This, coupled with what one of my colleagues refers to as "anti-intellectualism," has created an almost unsurmountable barrier to individualism here, to education, and to discovery - key elements for me in cultural adaptation.  Much is overlooked by those who refuse to investigate change, refuse to pursue discovery, refuse to listen to a variety of perspectives, and refuse to look at themselves as individuals with something individual to say.

            Years ago, I began to move away from the "film only" presentations of adaptation at conferences, to a more culturally-centered presentation. Much of the time, it seems participants, and audience members, are disappointed when they don't hear the typical film adaptation presentation they expected, even though film is included as a part of my presentations. Those reactions reveal what I consider two distinct theories: one, that the academy only considers text to film adaptation worth study (some even limit this study to adaptation of canonical texts); and, two, that cultural adaptation somehow does not fit within my area category (Adaptation: Literature, Film, & Culture) - hard to believe that cultural adaptation is not considered as relative, essential, or dramatic enough for conversation at one of these international events.

            My congratulations to Jillian, and to Laurence, both of you have accomplished great strides in the field of adaptation studies, have gotten it out of the "text-to-film only" category, and are encouraging a conversation that takes adaptation out of the stuffy, marginalized, environment of academia and into the public sphere of popular culture. Thanks to you two, and a variety of others who have also decided to broaden their study of adaptation to include culture and society, my panels, and the papers I present, have expanded the conversation. We in academia understand, as do Laurence and Jillian, the value of studying the past, but we also understand the importance of focusing on the present and toward the future, and with cultural studies leading the parade. In order to keep the current, young, just out of public school, students excited about learning, we have to make education interesting, relevant, and useful for them, and cultural studies is an essential element in this undertaking. 

            Studies in cultural adaptation also figure as essential elements in interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity studies (both essential in the working world outside academia), but the fear from inside the academy is that introduction of these studies and techniques will undermine the disciplinary kingdoms created over countless years by those who discount every "other" as just a passing fancy for students who cannot decide which discipline to choose as a major. Comments such as, "You'll never get a job without a specialty," or "No one will hire a liberal arts major." Although nothing is further from the truth, professors are the rule in the academy (the kings of their kingdoms).  If you do not listen to them, and follow their dictums, you will have a hard time graduating, and especially getting approval of your thesis or dissertation. Even within the academy, individualism is not looked at favorably, and, in many cases, the influences of culture and society are not areas of interest or focus. What is not being realized is the connection between literature and culture - current culture- or how cultural changes and differences affect the world around us.  As an example, in a recent blog post, you write about cultural adaptation saying, " This is not designed as a political piece: far from it.  Rather it is designed to show how a mindful awareness of one’s surroundings and how we respond to them can help us become more “adaptive” as people, as well as making us more aware of the continuities linking different cultures."

            My personal conclusion, after my emersion from the unvarying strictness of adaptation studies as a student in the academy, is that I cannot grow, intellectually or culturally, while cloistered. And, although I knew what I needed to do, I was so inundated with "old-school" philosophy concerning adaptation, that I had lost focus when it comes to the importance of cultural adaptation in every area of study.  Thanks to scholars like Laurence Raw and Jillian St. Jacques for your contributions to the study of cultural adaptation, and to the world-wide conferences for allowing us to bring the conversation back to the forefront. Let's keep this conversation going. 

Chuck Hamilton

Charles R. Hamilton, PhD

Professor of English

Northeast Texas Community College

SWP/ACA Area Chair - Adaptation: Film, Literature, and Culture

P.O.Box 1307 Mt. Pleasant, TX 75456

Email: chamilton@ntcc.edu

903-434-8248

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