EN 12A: Introduction to Literature

Fall Semester 2005

Monday and Thursday 12:30-1:45 in CNS 15

Syllabus

Subject to revision

Thursday 9/8:Introduction: The Meanings of "Fairy Tales"

Monday 9/12: Little Red Riding Hood.

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• “Introduction” (pp. ix-xviii)
• “Introduction: Little Red Riding Hood” (3-10)
• “The Story of the Grandmother” (10-11)
• Charles Perrault, “Little Red Riding Hood” (11-13)
• Brothers Grimm, “Little Red Cap” (13-16)
• James Thurber, “The Little Girl and the Wolf” (16-17)
• Italo Calvino, “The False Grandmother” (17-19)
• Chiang Mi, “Goldflower and the Bear” (19-21)
• Roald Dahl, “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” (21-22)
• Roald Dahl, “The Three Little Pigs” (22-24)
• Bruno Bettelheim, "The Struggle for Meaning" (269-273)

Thursday 9/15: Little Red Riding Hood

Read Angela Carter's short story "The Company of Wolves" (handout) and view on Campus Cable the film “The Company of Wolves,” written by Carter and directed by Neil Jordan (running time: 92 minutes) at one of the following times:

• Tuesday 9/13 at 8:00on Channel 69
• Wednesday 9/14 at 9:00 on Channel 69

Monday 9/19: Hansel & Gretel

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• "Introduction: Hansel and Gretel" (179-184)
• Brothers Grimm, "Hansel and Gretel" (184-190)
• Brothers Grimm, "The Juniper Tree" (190-197)
• Joseph Jacobs, "The Rose Tree" (197-199)
• Charles Perrault, "Little Thumbling" (199-209)
• Joseph Jacobs, "Molly Whuppie" (209-211)
• Bruno Bettelheim, "Hansel and Gretel" (273-280)
• Robert Darnton, "Peasants Tell Tales: The Meaning of Mother Goose" (280-291)

Thursday 9/22: Beauty and the Beast

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• “Introduction: Beauty and the Beast” (25-32)
• Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, “Beauty and the Beast” (32-42)
• Angela Carter, “The Tiger’s Bride” (50-66)

View "La Belle et la Bête," directed by Jean Cocteau (90 minutes) on Campus Cable at the following times:

• Tuesday 9/20 at 9:00 on Channel 69
• Wednesday 9/21 at 7:00 on Channel 69

Monday 9/26: The Frog Prince (and other animal lovers)

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• Giovanni Straparola, “The Pig King” (42-47)
• Brothers Grimm, “The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich” (47-50)
• “Urashima the Fisherman” (66-68)
• Alexander Afanasev, “The Frog Princess” (68-71)
• “The Swan Maiden” (72-73)
• Maria Tatar, "Sex and Violence: The Hard Core of Fairy Tales" (364-373)

Thursday 9/29: Thesis workshop.

(Click here for a brief guide to citing sources.)

Monday 10/3: Snow White

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• “Introduction: Snow White” (74-80)
• Giambattista Basile, “The Young Slave” (80-83)
• Brothers Grimm, “Snow White” (83-89)
• “Lasair Gheug, the King of Ireland’s Daughter” (90-96)

First essay due.

Thursday 10/6: Snow White

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• Ann Sexton, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (96-100)
• S. Gilbert and S. Gubar, “Snow White and Her Wicked Stepmother” (291-297)
• Jack Zipes, “Breaking the Disney Spell” (332-352)

View on Campus Cable "Snow White," directed by Walt Disney (84 minutes):

• Tuesday 10/4 at 8:00 on Channel 69
• Wednesday 10/5 at 10:00 on Channel 68

Monday 10/10: No class meeting -- Columbus Day Holiday.

Thursday 10/13: No class meeting.

Monday 10/17: Cinderella

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• “Introduction: Cinderella” (101-107)
• “Yeh-hsien” (107-108)
• Brothers Grimm, “Cinderella” (117-122)
• Lin Lan, “Cinderella” (127-131)

Thursday 10/20: Donkeyskin

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• Charles Perrault, “Donkeyskin” (109-116)
• Joseph Jacobs, “Catskin” (122-125)
• “The Story of the Black Cow” (125-127)
• Lin Lan, “Cinderella” (127-131)
• “The Princess in the Suit of Leather” (131-137)
• Marina Warner, "The Old Wives' Tale" (309-317)

Monday 10/24: Bluebeard

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• "Introduction: Bluebeard" (138-144)
• Charles Perrault, "Bluebeard" (144-148)
• Brothers Grimm, "Fitcher's Bird" (148-151)
• Brothers Grimm, "The Robber Bridegroom" (151-154)
• Joseph Jacobs, "Mr. Fox" (154-156)
• Margaret Atwood, "Bluebeard's Egg" (156-178)

Thursday 10/27: The Little Mermaid

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

• “Introduction: Hans Christian Andersen” (212-216)
• “The Little Mermaid” (216-232)

Monday 10/31: Thesis workshop

Thursday 11/3: Jane Eyre, Volume 1

Read Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, pp. 19-156.

Second essay due.

Monday 11/7: Jane Eyre, Volume 2

Read Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, pp. 157-293.

Thursday 11/10: Jane Eyre, Volume 3

Read Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, pp. 293-441.

Monday 11/14: Jane Eyre, continued

In the Bedford edition of Jane Eyre, read:

• Sandra Gilbert, "Plain Jane's Progress" (475-501)
• Susan Fraiman, "Jane Eyre's Fall from Grace" (614-631)

Thursday 11/17: Thesis workshop.

Monday 11/21: Library instructional session.

Thursday 11/24: No class meeting -- Thanksgiving Holiday.

Monday 11/28: Methods and Strategies for Research and Writing

Third essay due.

Thursday 12/1:Class presentations. (Zybert-Sharkey)

Monday 12/5: Class presentations. (Sciarra-Johnston)

Thursday 12/8: Class presentations. (Hummel-Barry)

Monday 12/12: Drafts of research paper due; individual conferences.

Thursday 12/22: Research paper due.