WOMEN AND FAIRY TALES HNRS 20013-01 CRN 43264 Spring 2017 3-3:50 p.m. MWF Smiddy 113 Dr. Katharyn Howd Machan office: Smiddy 424 607-274-3325 (phoning is better than email) machan@ithaca.edu office hours: Mon. 1-1:50 p.m., Wed. 2-2:50 p.m., TR 1:15-2:15 p.m., or by appt Required Textbooks The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, ed. Maria Tatar Fairy Tale by Andrew Teverson Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter The Girl with No Hands (and Other Tales) by Angela Slatter Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked by Catherine Orenstein Also consider as part of your required expense: photocopies for each classmate of one of your stories to be discussed in your workshop session. Course Description Women and Fairy Tales offers the opportunity for challenging, truly interdisciplinary study of a body of literature long important to personal and global understanding. You will be asked to examine, question, and form your own ideas about not only the depictions of women in fairy tales, but the positive and negative effects of these characterizations archetypes and stereotypes on listeners and readers through the ages. You will be expected to read widely and deeply and to express the results of your scholarship through excellent expository and/or creative writing (each student s choice) and oral communication. Along with regular short assignments, you will focus on creating a final project of at least 20 pages (one long work OR a connected collection), entering into the subject from your own career perspective and contributing to classmates understanding of the material. Part of the power of this course is that it scans the spectrum from erudite knowledge to accessible popular culture. Fairy tales connect, delight, inspire, and illuminate what we live and what we come to know. Objectives 1. To broaden and deepen knowledge about fairy tales and their significance. 2. To further skills in research, creative and expository writing, and oral communication. Format 1. Extensive and intensive reading and discussion. 2. Keeping of a fairy-tale journal: ideas, reading responses, questions, ideas, dreams, notes for expository and personal essays, stories, poems. 3. Major individual final presentation of creative and/or scholarly work, towards possible professional publication or conference participation.
2 Grading 1) Written work: Each assignment will receive a letter grade, on the following basis: A means the work is an excellent response to the assignment, showing wonderful originality and imagination and thorough attention to the correct use of the English language. B means the work is a good response to the assignment, showing care and effort and commendable originality and skill with language. C means the work is a satisfactory response to the assignment, showing effort and some originality and fair skill in using language correctly. D means the work is a poor response to the assignment, showing little effort or originality and weak language skills. F means the work was never written or never handed in. 2) Class Participation: All students are expected to 1) engage the professor and fellow students with constructive questions and comments, 2) listen thoughtfully and respectfully to all others, 3) refrain from texting and emailing others, 4) complete all reading and writing assignments on time, 5) keep conference appointments scheduled with the professor, and 6) maintain good attendance, which includes arriving on time. Preparation and delivery of oral presentations is also a part of class participation. Attendance STEADY attendance is EXPECTED. A writing class is not a lecture class with set notes, but one of process and flux, needing involvement from all students in it. Be there! We need your mind and voice. Note: A scheduled private conference with the professor is as important as attending the class; missing such a conference without calling the professor to cancel/reschedule will be counted as a full class absence. I radically allow a maximum of SIX absences without penalty, because life happens; they include time taken by brief illnesses, family s/friends needs, personal or organized-religion holidays, other shortterm priorities. But each absence beyond six will lower the final grade a notch (a B- would become a C+, for example). Any sustained illness or condition which will necessitate a number of absences must be reported officially to me in writing by your academic advisor. Golden Gift: Excellent attendance (missing no more than one class and always arriving on time) will earn an automatic one-notch rise in the final grade (except in the case of a full A, as Ithaca College does not allow A+ for a final grade). I m very serious when I say we are creating a course together, a truly collaborative experience. Manuscript preparation 1) TYPE all papers in 12-pt Times New Roman. 2) Double-space prose. Single-space poetry. 3) Provide the word count of your story or essay in the upper right corner of the first page. (Poetry does NOT call for a word count.) 3) PAGINATE by typing your last name, a hyphen, and the page number in the upper right corner of each page (EXCEPT the first one, which will contain your heading). 4) STAPLE once in the upper left corner; do not use a paper clip. 5) PROOFREAD every word you have typed!
3 The HEADING on the upper left of the first page should be in the following format (using YOUR information, of course): Katharyn Howd Machan P.O. Box 456 Ithaca, NY 14851-0456 machan@ithaca.edu (607) 273-3744 Work handed in without these elements will be returned unread until prepared correctly. Due Dates The course schedule stipulates due dates for assignments. I will read late work and provide a grade, but I will not provide editing. A student who must be absent the day an assignment is due may submit it via a classmate or email me an extension request (specifying the date the assignment will be handed in) on or before that day in order to avoid the penalty. I am generally lenient about extensions for valid reasons. Plagiarism results in automatic failure of the course and a referral for judicial action. Accommodations Information from Ithaca College In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support Services and provide appropriate documentation to the College before any academic adjustment will be provided. Mental Health Information from Ithaca College Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance. The source of symptoms might be related to your course work; if so, please speak with me. However, problems with relationships, family worries, loss, or a personal struggle or crisis can also contribute to decreased academic performance. Ithaca College provides cost-free mental health services through the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to help you manage personal challenges that threaten your personal or academic well-being. In the event a professor suspects you need additional support, expect that he or she will express to you that concern and the reasons for it, not with the intent to know the details of what might be troubling you, but simply to let you know that help (e.g., CAPS, Health Center, Chaplains, etc.), if needed, is available. Remember, getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do for yourself and for your loved ones. 70% written works and oral presentations; 30% participation.
4 SCHEDULE M 23 Jan. W 25 Jan. F 27 Jan. M 30 Jan. W 1 Feb. F 3 Feb. M 6 Feb. W 8 Feb. F 10 Feb. M 13 Feb. W 15 Feb. F 17 Feb. M 20 Feb. W 22 Feb. Introduction to course. Why fairy tales? Who is in the course, and why? How will we shape the rhythm of the semester? Each student will speak briefly about a favorite fairy tale, perhaps read aloud brief poetry or prose he, she, or another author has written about, or based on, that tale. Try to reach beyond Disney? Owning tales: psychological matching. Which female characters reverberate especially for you and for girls and women you know? Discussion and writing Due: pages 1-60 of Fairy Tale. Discussion and writing Due: pages 61-108 of Fairy Tale. Discussion and writing Due: pages 109-143 of Fairy Tale. Discussion and writing Due: Introduction and stories one, two, and three in The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Discussion and writing Due: Stories four, five, and six in The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Discussion and writing Due: Stories seven, eight, nine, ten, and eleven in The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Discussion and writing Due: stories twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen in The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Discussion and writing Due: stories seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one in The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Discussion and writing Due: stories twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, and twenty-six in The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. Discussion and writing Due for workshop: complete draft of a personal essay (five pages minimum) inspired by one or more of the fairy tales we have read.. Be SURE to follow the manuscript preparation directions and bring TWO copies--clearly printed and firmly stapled! Due: Personal essay. Faerie Tale Theatre episode: Beauty and the Beast.
5 F 24 Feb. M 27 Feb. W 1 Mar. F 3 Mar. M 6 Mar. W 8 Mar. F 10 Mar. Due: the first five stories in The Bloody Chamber. Discussion and writing Due: the second five stories in The Bloody Chamber. Discussion and writing Due: pages 13-51 of The Girl with No Hands. Discussion and writing Due: pages 55-90 of The Girl with No Hands. Discussion and writing Due: pages 93-147 of The Girl with No Hands. Discussion and writing Due: pages 151-205 of The Girl with No Hands. Discussion and writing No class meeting KHM in Key West for annual writing workshop. ---SPRING BREAK--- M 20 Mar. W 22 Mar. F 24 Mar. M 27 Mar. W 29 Mar. F 31 Mar. M 3 Apr. W 5 Apr. F 7 Apr. M 10 Apr. In-class writing exercise based on a fairy tale you have been living with (dreaming of? haunted by?) over the past weeks. Due for workshop: complete draft (five pages minimum) of a fairy-taledriven short story (minimum five pages) or poetry (three pages minimum) or an academic essay analyzing an aspect of women in fairy tales (five pages minimum). Be SURE to follow the manuscript preparation directions and bring TWO copies--clearly printed and firmly stapled! Due: Story/poetry/essay. Faerie Tale Theatre episode: Little Red Riding Hood. Due: pp 1-61 of Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked. Discussion. Due: pp 63-106 of Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked. Discussion. Due: pp 107-176 of Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked. Discussion. Due: pp 177-245 of Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked. Discussion. WORKSHOP SESSIONS BEGIN: Eliana & Sydney Eva & Mia Isabella & Emily
6 W 12 Apr. F 14 Apr. M 17 April W 19 Apr. F 21 Apr. Bryn & Alexandria Alfio & Catherine Andy & a writing exercise (magical mirrors) Due: 1) a typed one-to-three sentence description of your final writingassignment project (your choice of genre) for oral sharing and 2) a typed 100-word formal bio of yourself in the third person (make it professional, as for an academic conference) for partnered rehearsal Guest speaker. FORMAL MINI-CONFERENCE OF 20-MINUTE PRESENTATIONS BEGINS: M 24 Apr. Eliana & Sydney W 26 Apr. Eva & Mia F 28 Apr. Isabella & Emily M 1 May Bryn & Alexandria W 3 May Alfio & Catherine F 5 May Andy For our final-weeks gathering on Tuesday, May 9, 1:30-3 p.m., each student will share aloud five-to-seven minutes of material written for this course that classmates have not yet enjoyed. Friends may be invited to attend. Due at this time is a final manuscript (minimum 20 pages) of original fairy-tale-inspired work not yet handed in to me. HAZEL TELLS LAVERNE by Katharyn Howd Machan last night im cleanin out my howard johnsons ladies room when all of a sudden up pops this frog musta come from the sewer swimmin aroun an tryin ta climb up the sida the bowl so i goes ta flushm down but sohelpmegod he starts talkin bout a golden ball an how i can be a princess me a princess well my mouth drops all the way to the floor an he says kiss me just kiss me once on the nose well i screams ya little green pervert an i hitsm with my mop an has ta flush the toilet down three times me a princess