Texts

Course Description

Myths, legends and fairytales are traditional literatures; that is, the basic stories originate from oral tales handed down through generations in many different cultures. Almost always these tales contain a significant supernatural or magical element. In this class we will consider both the universal and cultural aspects of the stories, discussing the common themes of the works as well as the changes they undergo as they move from culture to culture or become more modern. We will also look at how these stories have surfaced in or been mimicked in conventional literary forms.

Coursework

1.        Reading Journal.

You will keep a reading journal in which you will write two entries per week, one for each set of readings, putting down your reactions, thoughts and questions—at least one full page per entry. Please keep these entries in a loose-leaf notebook, not a spiral one, because you will need to take entries out and put them back in. You will bring to class each day your entry for that day’s readings to use as a basis for your participation in the day’s discussion. Three times during the semester I will collect the journals and look through them. If you do your reading journal to the best of your ability, you will get full credit for it.

2.        Papers

You will write three papers in this class, two short ones and one longer, all of which will involve close analysis of fairy tales or legends. A full description of the three papers appears later in this handout and also on the website. For the longer paper you will need to hand in a topic proposal about a month before the paper due date, so that I can approve your topic and make sure it is not too general or ambitious.

3.        Quizzes

From time to time during the semester, about six times, I will give pop readings-quizzes. These are nothing tricky—if you keep up with the readings, you will have no trouble with them. The quizzes are simply a motivational tool to keep you from falling behind, and to discourage students who are in the habit of coming to class unprepared for discussion.

4.        Tests

There will be two exams, a midterm and a final. The exams will have both essay and objective components, but the essay questions and any extra readings will be given out in advance, so you can prepare ahead of time. However, the exams themselves must be written in class.

Attendance

Because discussion is so important to this class, your attendance is also important. You will sign an attendance sheet every class day. You may have three absences free for the usual unavoidable illnesses and car catastrophes—one and a half weeks—and then your grade will start to suffer. I will take 10 points off your total for the fourth absence, 20 points off for the fifth, 40 points for the sixth, 80 points for the seventh—you get the idea: the more you are absent, the worse it gets. If you have a truly awful semester health or family-wise and have to miss weeks and weeks of class, then I will probably suggest that you withdraw so you can take your courses at a better time.

On the up side, if you have wonderful attendance I will add points to your total. Those missing no classes will have 40 points added; those missing one class will get 20 points; those missing two classes will get 10.

How Your Assignments Count

You can figure out your grade at any time by looking at the number of points you have on returned papers, quizzes and tests. 90% and above is an A, 80-89% is a B, and so forth.

Grading of Papers

On papers I grade for content, organization, grace of expression, and correctness. If a paper is excellent in all areas it will get an A. But an incoherent, error-filled paper with excellent content is not going to get an A. Nor will a paper get an A if it has excellent content but paragraph after paragraph of short, simple sentences with no transitions. The moral of this story is: by all means do your best to fill every paper with great content, but your work does not end there. The content needs to be organized, edited, and well-expressed. Amen.