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MFD10020

Academic Year 2026/2027

Adaptation, Transmediality & Intertextuality (MFD10020)

Subject:
Music,Film & Drama
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Music
Level:
1 (Introductory)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Professor Wolfgang Marx
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

In this module, students will be introduced to theories of adaptation, transmediality, and intertextuality, examining a wide variety of examples drawn from music, dance, theatre, cinema, and music video.
Some stories or texts seem to surface again and again, often crossing over or bleeding into multiple art forms. For example, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, itself an adaptation of the Pyramus and Thisbe myth, has inspired too many examples to count, from Berlioz’s symphonie dramatique to Prokofiev’s ballet, and from Bernstein’s West Side Story to Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story.’ The transformations that occur when texts or themes modulate across media forms offer a rare opportunity to interrogate the features that both distinguish and unite the worlds of music, film and drama. This module requires engagement with all three of these academic disciplines and invites correlation of themes and ideas in writing about music, film and drama.
UCD's target to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability in all its varieties will also be contextualised.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

- Discuss, interpret, and apply theories of adaptation, transmediality, and intertextuality in the creative arts.
- Examine a variety of examples of musical, filmic, and dramatic adaptation.
- Compare and contrast aspects of the various media through which adaptations modulate.
- Work co-operatively and independently to synthesise knowledge and critically reflect on module topics.
- Contextualise UCD's target to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability in all its varieties.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Advanced Beginner

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Advanced Beginner

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Advanced Beginner

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Advanced Beginner

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Advanced Beginner

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Advanced Beginner

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Advanced Beginner

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Advanced Beginner

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Advanced Beginner

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Advanced Beginner

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

End poverty in all its forms everywhere 5

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 5

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages 5

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 5

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 5

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 5

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 5

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 5

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation 5

Reduce inequality within and among countries 5

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 5

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 5

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 5

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 5

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss 5

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 5

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development 5
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

28
Autonomous Student Learning

50
Lectures

22
Tutorial

22
Total

122

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
- lectures
- reflective learning
- critical writing
- debates
- active-task-based learning
- contextualising UCD's target to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability in all its varieties

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Essay Week 6 Graded No
30
 No
Group Work Assignment: Group Presentation Week 12 Graded No
50
 No
Reflective Assignment: Learning Journal Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
20
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Formative feedback will be given on draft texts while the final versions will receive feedback together with the grade.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 09:00 - 10:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 11:00 - 11:50
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