German 212 - Pretty Grimm: German Fairy Tales from Past to Present

Once upon a time, two brothers travelled the land, searching for the magic words that would make children smile. Their names were Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the land was Germany, and what they found were fairy tales like Rapunzel, Snow White, and Little Red Riding Hood. Today, the Brothers Grimm and their Children’s and Household Tales are a household name, with millions of copies sold and an official status as UNESCO world heritage. But how did we get to “happily ever after”? Was it really so happy? What’s fact and what’s fiction, and who decides? First, we will get to know the texts from the Grimms’ editions, as well as the wider cultural and historical contexts for their work, such as the Napoleonic Wars, the revolutions of 1848, and the societal upheavals of industrialization, modern media, and urban life. Next, we will consider precursors to this narrative tradition in Europe and beyond, which served as sources—and crucially, challenges—for the Grimms’ own views of the genre in matters of gender, class, and race. Finally, we’ll follow the tales’ transformations through the twentieth century and some of the theories used to explain them in scholarship. Students beware, the history of German fairy tales is as dark and twisted as the stories themselves! Conducted in English, with German majors required to do a substantial portion of the reading in German.

Spring semester: Professor Hannah Hunter-Parker.

How to handle overenrollment: German majors have priority.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: an emphasis on written work, close reading, oral presentations, group work, field trips, textual analysis, visual analysis, seminar-style discussions. Students with documented disabilities who will require accommodations in this course should be in consultation with Accessibility Services and reach out to the faculty member as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations can be made in a timely manner.