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French Fairy Tales: Of Pixies, Politics and Parodies
FIST255 SP

Crosslistings: FREN254

"And they lived happily ever after." Why? Why was there a need for happy endings in 17th- and 18th- century France? If written for children, what do fairy tales tell us of the civilizing process of the period? If aimed at adults, what social, economic, and literary concerns did this amazingly popular genre address? We shall discuss these issues through analyses ranging from psychoanalytic texts to gender studies, as well as situate the French tales between their Italian precursors and German followers; map the growth of the oral peasant folktale into a written, aristocratic genre; examine ideological differences between male and female authors; study the (licentious) influence of the ARABIAN NIGHTS, and consider transformations into political parodies and films.

MAJOR READINGS

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST AND OTHER CLASSIC FRENCH FAIRY TALES, ed. Jack Zipes (Includes tales by Perrault, d'Aulnoy, Bernard, Murat, Leprince de Beaumont) THE SKIMMER, Crebilon fils THE INDISCREET JEWELS, Diderot ZADIG, Voltaire Selection of tales by Rousseau, Duclos, Voisenon BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Cocteau THE USES OF ENCHANTMENT, Bettelheim Articles by Barchilon, Darnton, Robert, Zipes

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Short papers, oral reports, Internet-based exercises, final multi-media-based project. (Not to worry, technological instruction will be available!)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Regular class attendance, active participation in class and on-line discussion group. Classwork may be submitted electronically. Check out this course on the Internet! Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE

Last Updated on MAR-24-2000

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