German Studies 221FT - German Culture and Histories: 'Into the Woods: Magic and Mischief in European Folkloric Traditions'

This course introduces students to the tradition of the German fairy tale and the development of the short story from the 19th century to the present. We will read and discuss fairy tales written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Wilhelm Hauff, Ludwig Tieck, Adelbert von Chamisso as well as by contemporary authors such as Elfriede Jelinek, Yoko Tawada, and Kim De L'Horizon who incorporate fairy tales into their writings. We will engage with scholarship on fairy tales' oral and written transmissions, structures, meanings, and functions and analyze cinematic adaptations within the German speaking realm and beyond. Various interpretations of fairy tales will be explored, including their potential for social subversion through reinterpretation and rewriting.

Prereq: GRMST-201 or equivalent.