Fairy Tales, Myths and Fables

Fairy Tales, Myths, and Fables: Now vs. Then

This course will look at fairy tales, myths and
fables, both in terms of the way that they were
historically told or presented and at how they've
changed in our contemporary era. We'll do this
as a way of trying to understand how we reshape
common narratives as a way of justifying how we
change as a culture. We'll begin by looking at
Greek myths, work by the Brothers Grimm,
Perrault, Anderson, and others, and move from
there to revisionist work by Angela Carter,
Robert Coover, and Kate Bernheimer, as well as a
few graphic novels (Fable, The Sandman, etc.) and
movies (both Disney-like versions and darker
adaptations). How does a fairy tale change as it
crosses from one form or genre to another or as
it moves forward in time? And, more importantly,
how do the changes change us in ways we don't
expect?