ClassInfo

Once upon a time, around 1800, there were two poor traveling con-artists in French-occupied Germany, called the Brothers Grimm. Normally, they made a living through bogus exorcisms, but one day a French general forced them to fight against the magic spell of an evil queen who lived deep in the forest… So, at least, the story goes in the 2005 fantasy film The Brothers Grimm. At first glance, nothing could be further from the historical truth: Wilhelm Grimm (1785-1863) and his brother Jacob (1786-1859) were two extremely dutiful philologists fascinated by medieval literature and the history of the German language who collected a variety of folklore, including fairy tales. When they published the first edition of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen the first volume in 1812 and the second volume in 1815, there was little indication that this would become the most successful collection of fairy tales ever. However, it quickly, captured the imaginations of children and adults, artists, and ordinary people around the world, and continues to do so today.

At second glance, however, there is some truth to the film: After the unexpected death of their father, the brothers struggled to provide for their families and avoid poverty. Jacob did work for the French invaders, though only as a librarian. And though they did not fight an evil queen, the brothers protested against the abolition of the Kingdom of Hanover's constitution and refused to swear allegiance to the new king in 1837, an act of defiance that resulted in their dismissal as university professors. But even more interesting, the good brothers have indeed been accused by some scholars as having been philological con-artists: Didn't they tell the public that they travelled throughout Germany to gather their tales from ordinary peoples' oral reports, when in reality they collected them from well-educated friends in their hometown of Kassel and from written correspondence[K1] ? And didn't they smooth and embellish their tales, cut out offending parts, transform bad mothers into stepmothers, and Germanize tales from France and Italy?

There is no doubt that the truth about the Brothers Grimm and their literary legacy is a bit more complex than they suggested, but that makes it even more interesting. This course will investigate the Grimms' original sources, the traditions to which their stories really belong, and how the Brothers reworked the texts until, by the last edition in 1858, they had achieved an unmistakable "Grimm sound." Further, this course will show that it is unjust and fruitless to see these brothers merely as philological con-artists. Rather, we will contextualize their work within the larger German Romantic movement that tried to awake the "Sleeping Beauty" of Volkspoesie (folk poetry) at a time when Germans were struggling to develop and define their cultural and political identity. This course is structured so that in the first half of the course we will explore the enthralling story behind Grimms Märchen (the Grimms' Fairy Tales) then in the second half we will turn to the texts themselves, focusing on some of the best-known tales featuring female protagonists. We will interpret different illustrations found in various editions and examine a variety of adaptations, including literary, film and comic strip forms, asking how such adaptations change the meaning of the tales and how they affirm, uncover or question gender concepts inherent in the tale.

1) Students will take notes during one class session, to be submitted to Moodle no later than three days after that session. Notes will be graded; however, you will have the chance to improve your grade by reworking and resubmitting them. (10%)

2)
Summary of one article or chapter by Jack Zipes (or by another fairy tale scholar), to be handed in the Saturday (midnight) before the week it is assigned for. You will have the chance to improve your grade by reworking the summary. (10%)

3)
Midterm and final exam
(15+15=30%)

4)
Final paper: You will analyze a fairy tale version not covered in the course or create an original adaptation of a fairy tale not covered in the course and discuss it. (20%)

5)
Active participation in group assignments and discussions (30%).

6)
There will be 2-5 pop quizzes (depending on the general level of participation) to make sure that everyone reads the texts and watches the movies assigned for each week. The questions will be very easy. There will be no grade, just pass or fail. If you fail once, you will be given the chance to compensate by writing extra minutes.