| Unit name | Fairy Tales Across Borders |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODL20029 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Andreas Schonle |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Have you ever considered how deeply fairy tales are engrained in our modern world? From Disney’s fairy tale factory to fantasy worlds in video games, the plot lines and character types we are obsessed with all go back to fairy tales created by anonymous oral story tellers in the depth of time. In this unit we will explore major European fairy tale collections (e.g. Perrault, Grimm) and fairy tale motifs (e.g. Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella), highlighting their hybrid origins and their complex function in disseminating the values and conventions of the day. We will see how fairy tales migrate across Europe yet contribute to the consolidation of national identity, how they establish and subsequently dismantle gender norms, how they imagine the folk for an elite audience, and how they address both children and adults. We will trace the transformations of fairy tales across history and across media, including film adaptations, visual art, and advertisement. Finally we will ponder their enduring power in contemporary society: through a creative attempt to re-write and adapt a tale, we will experiment with their ability to embed contemporary concerns.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit offers a comparative approach to fairy tales that highlights their transnational circulation and their contributions to shaping European values from the late 17C to the present. The unit will give you a powerful sense of the hybridity and fluidity of cultures and of the way tales are appropriated to consolidate national, social and gender identities. By studying fairy tale adaptations in different media (including film), you will develop new techniques of interpretation. And by writing a fairy tale for our times, you will stretch your imagination and creativity. Regardless of your background, this unit will broaden your horizon.
This optional unit is therefore well suited to students of Comparative Literatures and Cultures and of Modern Languages, as it will build on and stretch your understanding of how cultures function and interact.
More broadly, this unit will also be of particular interest to students interested in the cross-fertilization between cultures and nations in the history of Europe.
Overview of content
We will explore a number of questions in this unit: how do we define fairy tales and what makes them so attractive to the public? How have major collections of fairy tales been put together and what sort of political and social interventions have they made in their times? What is the educational role of fairy tales, and in particular what social and gender norms do they disseminate? How have 20C writers and filmmakers used fairy tales in subversive, counter-cultural ways? And how can we adapt and deploy fairy tales to address contemporary concerns?
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will broaden your horizons by gaining insight into different cultures and societies as you discover that fairy tales are subtly political. You will also gain an appreciation for the power of story-telling, while refining your media-specific interpretive skills, and above all enjoying the inexhaustible richness of the fairy tale genre, which will make you alert to the ways in which we continue to shape our identities around seemingly trivial stories that articulate our innermost desires.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Each week, you will have two one-hour classes that will include, broadly, three types of learning: lecture or mini lecture, discussion, and workshop.
Lectures (most weeks): Lectures equip you with foundational subject knowledge. Far from being a passive mode of learning, lectures help you build critical analysis and evidence-gathering skills by modelling textual interpretation and posing key questions related to the discipline. We will often have a mini-lecture followed by plenary or small-group activities.
Discussion (most weeks): Discussions or seminars are a student-centred mode of learning. In pairs or small groups, you will discuss key questions about the texts, developing, sharing and defending your own arguments.
Workshop (once): the final week of term will be devoted to a relaxed workshop during which we will discuss together the various fairy tales written by groups of students. This will give you an opportunity to present your thoughts and receive feedback from your peers.
Beyond the classroom, you will devote much time to primary and secondary reading, essential in the humanities. You should anticipate reading in a number of different media: fairy tales in written or cinematic form, visual illustrations, scholarly articles and book chapters. Reading is sometimes misunderstood as a ‘passive’ activity, but engaged reading is an active process, as you will not only be expanding your subject knowledge, but also developing your sense of empathy, imagination and critical judgment judgement. Online activities and digital resources will be used as appropriate.
In total, you will have 22 hours of class teaching and 178 hours of independent learning.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. If it is not possible to put together a group for your collaborative task, you will undertake this task individually. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MODL20029).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
