Term 1: September 2022-December 2022
GERM 100: Introductory German I
GERM 200: Intermediate German I
GERM 121: German Fairy Tales and Popular Culture
Meeting Times: Wednesdays and Fridays: 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Meeting Location(s): BUCH-B210
This course examines selected folk and fairy tales from the German-speaking tradition, primarily those collected by the Brothers Grimm, and their adaptation in popular culture. We will locate the texts in the 18th- and 19th-century cultural contexts of their origins and then follow how they have evolved into perennial favourites internationally across various media, including film, video games, board games, and comics. Students will thus explore how fairy tales have changed over the centuries to meet new political, cultural, and social demands while adopting innovative formal and narrative strategies with the emergence of new technologies.
Course readings will be supplemented by short introductory lectures on a variety of disciplinary approaches to fairy tales, such as feminist and critical race studies perspectives as well as media studies theory.
In addition to weekly course readings, class discussion, group work, and short Response Assignments, students will complete a Midterm Assignment, a creative Final Project and a Final Essay on storytelling in contemporary culture.
Term 2: January 2023-April 2023
GERM 110: Introductory German II
GERM 200: Intermediate German I
GERM 121: German Fairy Tales and Popular Culture
Meeting Times: Mondays and Wednesdays: 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Meeting Location(s): SWNG-405
CENS 404: Women and Nation