The eight film versions of the seven Harry Potter novels represent an unprecedented cultural event in the history of cinematic adaptation. The movie version of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone, premiered in 2001, in between publication of the fourth and fifth books of this global literary phenomenon. As a result, the production and reception of both novel and movie series became intertwined with one another, creating multiple combination of fans who accessed the series first through the books, first through the movies, and in various other combinations.
Harry Potter on the Page and on the Screen: Adaptation/Reception/Transformation is an essay collection that proposes to explore the cultural, political, aesthetic, and pedagogical implications of the adaptation of this generation-defining young adult narrative in order to expand our scholarly understanding of this far-reaching international literary and cinematic event, consider what we can learn about the process of cinematic adaptation of literary sources, and facilitate the classroom exploration of the Harry Potter series.
Some questions that might be considered:
· How does the overlapping adaptation history of the Harry Potter series affect theoretical questions of fidelity, interpretation, and transformation in film adaptation studies?
· In what ways do the novel and movie series represent the same or different narrative universes?
· How was the dual development of the novel and film series affected by the concurrent development of Web 2.0 and interactive fan culture?
Interested contributors may email inquiries or one page abstracts by 15 August 2014.
