English/CSCT 3F03 & CL 3JJ3
THE FAIRY TALE
Winter 2010
Instructor Name: Iris Bruce
TSH 627: ext. 24697
Email: ibruce@mcmaster.ca
Office Hours: Wednesday 10:30-12:20
Lectures: Tuesday 12:30-1:20; Wednesday 12:30-1:20; Friday 12:30-1:20
Important Note 1: In the event of class cancellations, students will be notified on Avenue and the
English Department Website. It is your responsibility to check these sites regularly for any such
announcements.
Link: http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~english/ (Department)
Link: http://avenue.mcmaster.ca/ (avenue to learn)
Important Note 2: Email Policy
It is the policy of the Faculty of Humanities that all email communication sent from students to
instructors (including TAs), and from students to staff, must originate from the student's own
McMaster University email account. This policy protects confidentiality and confirms the identity of
the student. Instructors will delete emails that do not originate from a McMaster email account.
Important Note 3: The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of
the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses
in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and
communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on
changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites
weekly during the term and to note any changes.
*
Students will be requested to complete a online course evaluation at the end of the course.
Course Description:
The course will examine fairy tales and novels for children and adults from a variety of cultures.
Beginning with the Arabian Nights, we will discuss tales preceding the Grimm Brothers’ collections,
tales from European Romanticism, as well as twentieth century children’s literature and (parodic)
rewritings of traditional fairy tales. In chronological order we will focus on particular motifs:
Mermaids and Treacherous Water Nymphs, Cinderella in Film and Fiction, The Bridegroom as
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Beast, Of Little Men and Dangerous Wolves, Political and/or Feminist Tales. We will place the later
novels within their specific cultural/historical contexts and genres, and use films to provoke critical
readings (feminist, psychological, political, etc.).
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course students will have learned about the ideological implications of earlier
folktales and children’s literature for our understanding of modern children’s narratives.
Required Texts:
These are available at Titles, the university bookstore.
The Arabian Nights. Volume I: The Marvels and Wonders of the Thousand and One Nights.
Ed. Jack Zipes, Signet Classics
Ende, Michael. The Neverending Story, Penguin
Hoffmann, Heinrich. Struwwelpeter in English Translation, Dover Publications
Hoffmann, Henry. Slovenly Betsy, Applewood Books
Grossman, David. The Zig Zag Kid , Picador
Lindgren, Astrid. Pippi Longstocking, Penguin
Richler, Mordecai. Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang, Tundra
Saint-Exupéry, Antoine. The Little Prince, Harvest Books
Salten, Felix. Bambi , Aladdin
Folk & Fairy Tales. Eds. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek, Broadview Press
Courseware: The Fairy Tale
Films will include The Never-Ending Story, The Company of Wolves, Snow White: A Tale of Terror.
Excepts will be shown from The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney), Cinderella (Disney, Rodgers
& Hammerstein), Bambi (Disney), Jacob Two Two, Pippi Longstocking.
Assignments and Evaluations: (Due Dates)
First Essay:
Second Essay:
Final Exam:
20% (1000 words; due 8 Feb.)
30% (2000 words, due 15 March)
50% (scheduled by Registrar’s Office)
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Since September 1982, the grading scale has been:
Grade
Equivalent Grade
Point
Equivalent
Percentages
A+
12
90-100
A
11
85-89
A-
10
80-84
B+
9
77-79
B
8
73-76
B-
7
70-72
C+
6
67-69
C
5
63-66
C-
4
60-62
D+
3
57-59
D
2
53-56
D-
1
50-52
F
0
0-49 -- Failure
Written Work and Late Submissions:
Late work will be penalized: there will be a reduction of 3% per day on essays handed in late
without permission, and they will receive no extensive commentary.
Late Assignment Policy:
All essays are due either in class or electronically by the end of the day on the assigned date.
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Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and
can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a
notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or
suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the
various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically
Appendix 3, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac_integrity.htm
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has
been obtained.
2. Improper collaboration in group work. (Receiving a group grade for a presentation without
having done an equal amount of work on the project.)
3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
Students will be required to submit their work electronically and in hard copy so that it can be
checked for academic dishonesty.”
SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND LECTURES
The discussion of certain texts may flow over to the following class.
January 4: Classes begin; introduction
January 5: Arabian Nights, “The Story of King Shahryar and His Brother,” 1-22
January 7: Arabian Nights, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” 105-135
January 11: Arabian Nights, “Alladin and the Magic Lamp,” 136-222
January 12: Arabian Nights, “Sinbad the Seaman and Sinbad the Landsman” & “Conclusion,” 505583
January 14: Cinderella in film and fiction: Perrault, “Cinderella” (Folk and Fairy Tales 97);
Grimm, “Cinderella “ (courseware); film excerpt
January 18: Other Cinderella stories (Folk and Fairy Tales 102-117); film excerpt
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January 19: Lee, “When the Clock Strikes” & Maitland, “The Wicked Stepmother’s Lament” (Folk
and Fairy Tales 117-135)
January 21: The Bridegroom as Beast: Beaumont, “The Beauty and the Beast” (Folk and Fairy
Tales 171); film excerpt
January 25: Grimm, “The Frog King” (Folk and Fairy Tales 189); Asbjornsen and Moe, “East of the
Sun and West of the Moon” (Folk and Fairy Tales 181)
January 26: Hoffmann, Struwwelpeter & Slovenly Betsy
January 28: Anderson, “The Ugly Duckling” (Folk and Fairy Tales 161); Anderson, “The Emperor’s
Clothes” (Folk and Fairy Tales 237)
February 1: Mermaids and Treacherous Water Nymphs, Grimm, “Nixie in the Pond,”
Andersen, “The Little Mermaid” (courseware); film excerpts
February 2: film excerpts; Yolen, “The Lady and the Merman” (courseware)
February 4: Of Little Men and Dangerous Wolves, Grimm, “Rumpelstiltskin” (Folk and Fairy
Tales 227); Perrault, “Little Red Riding Hood” (Folk and Fairy Tales 33)
February 8: Grimm, “Little Red Cap” (Folk and Fairy Tales 35); Carter, The Company of Wolves
(Folk and Fairy Tales 47); ESSAY 1 DUE
February 9: film: The Company of Wolves
February 11: film: The Company of Wolves
February 15: Basile, “Petrosinella” (courseware); Grimm, “Rapunzel” (Folk and Fairy Tales 154);
Schulz, “Rapunzel” (courseware); Grimm, “Snow White” (Folk and Fairy Tales 147)
February 16: film: Snow White: A Tale of Horror
February 18: film: Snow White: A Tale of Horror
February 21-26; Mid-term recess
March 1: Salten, Bambi
March 2: Bambi & & film excerpt
March 4: Wilde, “The Happy Prince” (Folk and Fairy Tales 250)
March 8: Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
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March 9: Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking & film: Pippi
March 11: Richler, Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang
March 15: film: Jacob Two Two; ESSAY 2 DUE
March 16: Ende, The Neverending Story
March 18: Ende, The Neverending Story
March 22: Ende, The Neverending Story
March 23: film: The Neverending Story
March 25: film: The Neverending Story
March 29: excerpts from Nimr, Ghaddar the Ghoul and Other Palestinian Stories & Kanafani,
Palestine’s Children (courseware)
March 30: Grossman, The Zig Zag Kid
April 1: Grossman, The Zig Zag Kid
April 5: LAST DAY OF CLASSES, REVIEW
April 7 to
April 26
Final Examinations
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