COMP 216
Folk and Fairy Tales in Literature and Beyond
Spring 2025
Division I
W Writing Skills
Class Details
From cannibalistic crones in sugary cottages to frogs who can be transformed with a kiss, the English term “folktale” covers a broad range of stories that been beloved and belittled, transmitted and transformed for hundreds of years. This course will look broadly at folktales from different traditions, ranging from medieval China to early modern Europe and contemporary America. We will approach the folktale from a number of perspectives, including typologies; moral lessons embedded in tales; nationalism and the origins of folktale studies; modern transformations of old tales in new media such as film; and the often porous borders between the natural and the supernatural, the animal and the human, and the living and the dead. We will explore the way normative gender and ethnic roles are portrayed and sometimes undermined. We will also consider the complex literary histories of folktales, looking at sources, the interplay of oral and written traditions, folktales as alternative histories, notions of authorship, and the ways stories transform over time.
The Class:
Format: seminar
Limit: 18
Expected: 18
Class#: 3660
Grading: yes pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Limit: 18
Expected: 18
Class#: 3660
Grading: yes pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation:
Regular attendance and participation in class; multiple written assignments of varying lengths building towards a final paper of 10-12 pages.
Prerequisites:
none
Enrollment Preferences:
Comparative Literature majors
Distributions:
Divison I
Writing Skills
WS Notes:
Students will complete multiple writing assignments over the course of the semester that prepare them to produce a polished paper (10-12 pages) by the end of the semester. The final paper will be drafted in stages, and students will receive substantial feedback on these drafts as well as on other written assignments.
Class Grid
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COMP 216 - 01 (S) SEM Folk and Fairy Tales
COMP 216 - 01 (S) SEM Folk and Fairy TalesDivision I W Writing SkillsTR 11:20 am - 12:35 pm
3660ClosedInst