Brandeis UniversityProfessor Sabine von Mering
Spring 2015Office: Shiffman 209
GECS 130 The Princess and the Golem: Fairy TalesPhone: (781) 736-3227
MW 3:30-4:
Please Note:
This course is a writing intensive course. It counts as an Elective for English, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Comparative Literature, as well as for German and European Cultural Studies. [A note for Graduate Students: Please see me for advanced reading materials and requirements].
Welcome to a magical semester’s worth of fairy tales! In the coming weeks and months we will delve into the world of the Brothers Jakob andWilhelm Grimm and their fairy tales and explore their influence on the genre until today. You will get to know and appreciate the intricacies of many versions of suchclassic tales as Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White, or Hänsel and Gretel. You will also read lesser-known and modern fairy tales and learn to compare them to their folk and literary ancestors, and learn to compare the Grimms’ versions with their modern rendition, especially the ubiquitous Disney films.
You will learn to discuss questions such as: How do psychologists and literaryscholars interpret these tales that continue to be marketed primarily tochildren and yet are so full of child abuse, sex and violent crime? How can weexplain the fascination they have held for generations of readers? What role dofairy tales play in literary histories and how does that role change with theadvent of modern media? Above all we will focus on the role of women in the fairy tale tradition—from their contributions to the oral tradition from which many tales originate to their importance as evil stepmothers, cunning witches and wise elders, to the many witty or not so witty brides.
You will learn to write effectively about fairy tales, using the critical terminology that you will get to know in the secondary material. You will learn to analyze, interpret, and compare the different texts based on their style, structure, dramatic effect, and pedagogical aims. You will also become familiar with the history of fairy tales and the most important fairy tale scholarship.
Most of all, I hope you will enjoy reading and discussing the texts, conceptualizing your own ideas orally and in writing, and learning to question existing scholarly assumptions about these texts that have shaped German cultural history and modern literary expression in so many important ways. You will learn to apply critical perspectives onto the material, especially feminist and psychoanalytical literary criticism. You will learn to read ‘between the lines’ and insert your own critical perspective onto the understanding of the role of women and gender in their intersections with sexuality, race, and class in a dynamic cross-cultural historical perspective.
Learning Outcomes:
The readings and assignments for this course are deisgned to help you:
- Demonstrate a close understanding of fairy tales as a genre
- Identify and work with the core elements of folktales and fairy tales;
- Place the various tellers, writers, and editors of fairy tales in their historical and biographical contexts;
- Outline the historical development of written and collected folklore materials in Europe;
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the anxieties and desires of European cultures and societies as introduced in the tales;
- Contextualize Walt Disney’s fairy tale films within the larger context of the fairy tale genre;
- Analyze tales first by learning about, then applying folklore/structural, socio-historical, Freudian and Jungian approaches to texts;
- Critique the ever-changing cultural positions and array of meanings generated by fairy tales; and
- Analyze images associated with tales using visual interpretive tools.
Tentative Syllabus (subject to change)
January12 MonIntroduction: Why Fairy Tales?
The Legacy of the Brothers Grimm
14Wed“Once There Were Two Brothers Named Grimm” In: Jack Zipes: The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, p.xxiii-xxxviii.
Maria Tatar, The Classic Fairy Tales [TCFT] ix-9.
19 MonLabor Day No Class
21 WedThe Story of Grandmother In: TCFT 10; Charles Perrault: Little Red Riding Hood TCFT 11-12; Italo Calvino:The False Grandmother In: TCFT 17-18 ; Jack Zipes: The Irresistible Fairy Tale chapters 1&2
26 MonThe Brothers Grimm’s Snow White; Walt Disney’s Snow White; Jack Zipes: “Breaking the Disney Spell.” TCFT 332-352. Jack Zipes: The Irresistible Fairy Tale chapter 5
28WedFirst Draft of First Five-Page Paper Due
Theorizing and Modernizing the Fairy Tale
February 02 MonThe Brothers Grimm’s Cinderella (Zipes 468-473); Walt Disney’s
Cinderella; Alison Lurie: “Fairy Tale Liberatioin” The New York Review of Books, (1970) Marcia R. Lieberman: “Someday My Prince Will Come.”(1972) [LATTE]
04WedAndy Tennant: Ever After (1999)
09 MonVáclav Vorlícek: Three Wishes for Aschenbroedel (1973)
11WedCultural Variations of the Rapunzel tale; Byron Howard’s Tangled (2010); Second Draft of First Five-Page Paper Due
16 MonMidterm Recess
18 WedMidterm Recess
Sexuality, the Body and Conscious Femininity
23MonBluebeard/The Robber Bridegroom In: TCFT 138-178
Maria Tatar: “Sex and Violence: The Hard Core of Fairy Tales. In: TCFT 364-372. Jack Zipes: The Irresistible Fairy Tale chapter 3
25 Angela Carter: “The Bloody Chamber.”
March 02 MonPerrault: “Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” (Zipes 688-695); The Brothers Grimm’s Brier Rose (Zipes 696-698);
04 WedWalt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty; First Draft of Second 5-Page-Paper due
09MonBettine von Arnim: The Life of Gritta von Ratsinourhouse
11 WedBettine von Arnim: The Life of Gritta von Ratsinourhouse
Further Theorizing the Fairy Tale
16MonCarl Gustav Jung’s archetypes; Hänsel and Gretel TCFT 179-211
18WedBruno Bettelheim: The Uses of Enchantment.
23MonBruno Bettelheim: The Uses of Enchantment.
Variations of the Golem legend
25WedThe Forgotten Tales; Thesis and Outline of Final Paper due
30MonYudl Rosenberg: The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague
April01 WedThe Forgotten Tales; Second Draft of Second 5-Page Paper due
06 MonPassover and Spring Recess
08 WedPassover and Spring Recess
13 MonBeauty and the Beast TCFT 25-73; (Zipes 805-815); Angela Carter: The Courtship of Mr.Lyon and The Lady of the House of Love
15WedFilm: Jean Cocteau: Belle et la bête—Beauty and the Beast; First Draft of Final Paper due
20MonWalt Disney: Beauty and the Beast
22WedGroup Presentations
27MonGroup Presentations;concluding discussion
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
May01 FriFinal Draft of Final Paper due
Texts and Films
The required texts for this course are available at the bookstore. If possible, books will also be made available at the library reserve desk. Films will be streamed on our Latte page.
Required Readings, ordered at the Brandeis Bookstore:
Bettina von Arnim: The Life of High Countess Gritta von RatsinourhouseISBN-13:9780803296206.
Bruno Bettelheim: The Uses of Enchantment. The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. ISBN-13:978-0307739636
Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber. Penguin, 1990.ISBN-13:9780140178210
Yudl Rosenberg: The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague ISBN-13:978-0300143201
Maria Tatar: Classic Fairy Tales. Norton Critical Edition, 1999. ISBN: 0393972771.
Jack Zipes: The Irresistible Fairy Tale. The Cultural and Social History of a Genre. ISBN-13:978-0691159553
Jack Zipes: The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.ISBN: 9780553382167
Grading:
Please Note: A stellar attendance record weighs heavily for students between two grades!
Grades for this course will be determined as follows:
Course Participation25%
Two 5-page papers30%
Group Project20%
Final 10-12 page paper25%
Basic Grading Rubric
A: excellent to outstanding. Work of superior quality with consistent attention to detail, originality of thought, and highly eloquent execution. An A paper makes an interesting, complex, and important argument and is thoroughly wellexecuted.
A-: excellent. Work of the highest quality with practically consistent attention to detail, regular originality of thought, and very good execution. An A- paper makes an interesting, complex, and important argument and is mostly well-executed.
B+: very good. Work of high quality with frequent attention to detail, often originality of thought, and good execution. A high B paper either aims at making an engaging, complex argument but is hindered by a few local problems with structure, analysis, or style, or else it has a simpler argument that is thoroughly well-executed.
B: good. Work of good quality with attention to detail, some originality of thought, and appropriate execution.A B paper addresses the assignment and demonstrates effort to produce a complex argument. However, the essay is hindered by either a lack of complexity, creativity, or importance in the thesis or by structural, analytical, or stylistic problems in the execution of its ideas.
B-: satisfactory. Work of satisfactory quality, lacking perhaps in attention to detail, consistency, or originality of thought, but otherwise fulfilling the basic requirements. A low B paper demonstrates an effort to address the assignment, but the argument is ultimately too obvious, undeveloped, or obscured by significant structural, analytical, or stylistic problems.
C+: weak. Work shows weaknesses in basic understanding, lack of originality, not enough attention to basic requirements, but some effort to rectify the problem. A C+ paper has significant problems with argumentation and/or presentation, but shows the student has tried to address these.
C: very weak. Work of inferior quality with significant problems and no sign that the student tried to address these. A C paper has significant problems with argumentation and/or presentation.
C-: poor. Work shows lack of commitment, no originality, no attention to basic
requirements. A C- paper has serious problems with argumentation and/or presentation, may be incomplete or otherwise deficient.
D+: unsatisfactory. Work either not completed at all or only in very rudimentary form.
BELOW D+: Not Passing. A paper will not pass if it does not meet the minimum page requirement, does not address the assignment, plagiarizes, or does not meet standards for academic writing or argumentation.
Grading Scale:
100=A+
93-99=A
90-92=A-
87-89=B+
83-86=B
80-82=B-
77-79=C+
73-76=C
70-72=C-
67-69=D+
Participation
The minimum for successful participation is attendance. I expect you to attend class regularly. If you have to be absent for medical reasons, please send me an e-mail so I can make sure you are not penalized for your absence. Unexcused absences will affect your grade. If you have more than four unexcused absences you may fail the course. To receive a good grade for participation you must come prepared and actively engage in class discussion.
Homework
The syllabus lists all readings and films to be prepared for each day. Films will be available on LATTE. We will try to schedule screenings for all students on the nights before films are discussed. Attendance at such screenings is optional.
Written Work
This course is a writing intensive course. You will have a chance to revise all your papers. Please make sure to submit a carefully edited first draft so you can take advantage of the chance to revise it. Make ample use of study partners, the writing center, and office hours. Dates for the first and final version of your papers are spelled out in the syllabus. Exact assignments will be given in class. Late papers will not be accepted.
Group Project
Each group will search for uses/abuses of fairy stories in contemporary culture. These modern versions can take the form of news stories, advertisements, cartoons, pictures, rumors, tabloid stories, celebrity issues, and narratives, television and film, poetry or modern fiction. Your group will report on these modern versions during the last week of class by focusing on how the contemporary versions use or counteract the tale or tale type to which they refer as well as identify the values and presuppositions that underlie these contemporary US artifacts. The number of examples will depend on the medium.
Final Paper
Your final paper is your opportunity to explore one aspect of the fairy tale in-depth. You will choose a topic in consultation with me in the first half of the semester. We will have at least two follow-up meetings to discuss your progress.
Anote on Academic Honesty
The work you submit for this course should be completely and solely your own. Any and all quotations from the works or thoughts of others should be appropriately acknowledged in your written assignments. Any evidence that you have failed to follow these rules will be immediately and thoroughly investigated according to University procedures. Be forewarned: I consider cheating to be a serious and utterly avoidable offense. Expect no leniency from me in cases of suspected cheating/plagiarism.
Special Needs:
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
1