EN 12M: Introduction to Literature

Spring Semester 2006

Monday and Thursday 12:30-1:45 in CNS 206

Syllabus

Subject to revision

Thursday 1/19:Introduction: The Meanings of "Fairy Tales"

Monday 1/23: 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)
• Italo Calvino, “The False Grandmother” (17-19)
• Chiang Mi, “Goldflower and the Bear” (19-21)
• Bruno Bettelheim, "The Struggle for Meaning" (269-273)

Thursday 1/26: Jack and the Beanstalk

Read the versions of "Jack and the Beanstalk" by Joseph Jacobs and Edwin Sidney Hartland.

Monday 1/30: 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 2/2: 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)

Monday 2/6: Thesis workshop.

Thursday 2/9: 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.

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

Monday 2/13: 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 and the Seven Dwarfs, directed by Walt Disney (84 minutes):

• Saturday 2/11 at 10:00 PM on Channel 66
• Sunday 2/12 at 7:00 on Channel 67
• Sunday 2/12 at 10:00 on Channel 67

Thursday 2/16: 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)

Monday 2/20: No class meeting -- President's Day Holiday.

Thursday 2/23: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)
• “The Story of the Black Cow” (125-127)

Monday 2/27: Donkeyskin

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

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

Thursday 3/2: 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)

Monday 3/6:The Little Mermaid

Read in The Classic Fairy Tales:

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

Thursday 3/9: Thesis workshop

SPRING BREAK

Monday 3/20: "Beauty and the Beast" Revisited

In The Classic Fairy Tales, read Angela Carter's "The Tiger's Bride," pp. 50-66.

Second essay due.

Thursday 3/23: "Little Red Riding Hood" Revisited

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 3/21 at 9:00 PM on Channel 66
• Wednesday 3/22 at 8:30 PM on Channel 66
• Wednesday 3/22 at 10:00 PM on Channel 67

Monday 3/27: "Cinderella" Revisited

View on Campus Cable the film Ever After at one of the following times:

• Saturday 3/25 at 7:00 PM on Channel 66
• Sunday 3/26 at 7:00 PM on Channel 67
• Sunday 3/26 at 10:00 PM on Channel 67

Thursday 3/30: "Bluebeard" Revisited

In The Classic Fairy Tales, read Margaret Atwood's "Bluebeard's Egg," pp. 156-178.

Monday 4/3: Thesis workshop.

Thursday 4/6:Library instructional session.

Third essay due.

Monday 4/10: Goals and Methods for the Research Paper.

Thursday 4/13: Goals and Methods for the Research Paper.

Monday 4/17: No class meeting -- Easter Holiday.

Thursday 4/20:Individual conferences.

Monday 4/24: Class presentations.

Thursday 4/27: Class presentations.

Monday 5/1: Class presentations.

Research paper due.

Monday 5/8: Research papers returned.

Thursday 5/11: Revisions of research paper due.