Liberal Arts 101: “Happily Ever After? The Cultural Impact of German Fairy Tales”
Robinson Hall 314
MWF 9:10-10:00
Professor: Dr. Catherine Grimm
Office: Vulgamore 107
Phone(s): Office: 629-0629 Home: 629-2697
Office hours: MW from 1:00pm-2:00pm and F from 11am-12:00 noon
Email: cgrimm@albion.edu
Homepage: http://people.albion.edu/cgrimm/
Required Texts:
Zipes, Jack, ed. and trans. The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. 3rd ed. New York: Bantam Books, 2003.
Zipes, Jack. The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
(All other readings will be handed out as photocopies.)
Welcome to German Liberal Arts 101:
“Happily Ever After? The Cultural Impact of German Fairy Tales”
Course description: How we’ll proceed
This course will be a multi-faceted exploration of one of the most popular and influential literary genres: the folk fairy tale. The fairy tales of the brothers Grimm will be our textual anchor. During the first weeks of class you will read, learn and discuss with your peers the historical background of fairy tales in general and of the Grimm fairy tales in particular. From the start you’ll also read and discuss different fairy tales. As you read all these different texts I want you to be thinking about questions and topics regarding our overall subject of fairy tales that you would like to pursue further.
After the first few weeks and a couple of shorter writing assignments, you’ll be asked to come up with a topic about which you will write a longer more involved paper during the second half of the semester. In preparation for the reference paper, you’ll be introduced to different reference materials at the library, and through discussions with your peers and with me you’ll be able to flesh out a really good and interesting research proposal. You’ll have a general idea of what your topic is before we go head off on our adventure to the “land of fairy tales” i.e. Germany on Friday, October 8th.
Another aspect of this course is what one could call the “homeroom” aspect: the first year seminar is supposed to be a “space” where you can reflect in a group on what you’re experiencing as first year college students. I think this works well with our topic in the sense that fairy tales are, in a way, just a kind of story people tell to help them with their lives. And I’m sure being in college will generate lots of “stories” too… Fairy tales in this sense are not unrelated to “urban legends” in that they are stories that are not solely textual. They began, as you’ll find out soon as “oral narratives”. I think it will be fun for us all to think about the role stories and narratives have played in our lives (think of your childhood) and how you’re now embarking on a part of your life that you may be “telling stories about” for a long time to come…
Connected to this is another requirement I’m asking of you: I want you, beginning right now, to keep your eyes and ears open for references to fairy tales in your own surroundings: if you start paying attention you’ll realize the extent to which they have impacted our everyday language and lives.
Requirements
In this kind of course attendance and participation are key.
There will be different ways to participate: by saying something in class, by posting to a discussion forum on our course web, by giving a short presentation on a related topic. I would like you to think about ways to participate that seem appealing to you and to tell me in advance, so we can arrange different opportunities for people to respond in ways that they feel more comfortable with.
There will be a number of times when you’ll have to respond in writing to a reading you’ve done: these will take the form of reading quizzes in the beginning but soon you’ll simply be asked to jot down key passages of a text and explain to the class why you think the passages you picked are significant.
There will also be a journal-type assignment related to our trip to Germany.
Aside from these less formal (but not less important) assignments there will be two shorter papers plus the longer research paper, which will be made up of different components. You’ll have the opportunity to re-write the shorter papers, and the longer one will involve different steps towards completion, which will allow you ample opportunity to go back and revise what you’ve done.
The first short paper will be due on Friday, September 3rd. I will tell you the topic in advance.
I will hold regular office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1:00pm and Fridays at 11:00am. Since I am your advisor you’ll have to come see me at some point during the semester… But on top of that you’re are more than welcome to stop by my office (Vulgamore 107) during my scheduled office hours to talk about anything related to the class, college or life in general! (Or to just admire my Sigmund Freud Bobblehead Doll or German-speaking Furby) Please take advantage of this opportunity to get to know me and/or my office toys.
Regarding email: Use with caution! I highly recommend that you come see me in person as opposed to using email. The busyness of the semester means that however well intentioned I am about getting back to you quickly, it simply may not always be possible. A lot of times questions cannot be answered with a simple email. I advise you to talk to me after class or come see me in my office hours. You can also make an appointment at another time if you can’t make it to my office hours.
Grade percentages
Participation, both in-class and on the discussion board: 25%
Two shorter papers with re-writes: 30%
Field trip journal/web page: 15%
Research paper 30%