AJ14074 Fairy-tales and Feminism: Discovering Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2016
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Adéla Hájková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 15:50–17:25 U24
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ01002 Practical English II
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives (in Czech)
This course is designed to introduce Angela Carter´s collection of fairy tales The Bloody Chamber. It aims at discussing conventional roles of canonical fairy-tale heroines such as Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. Students will discover that while traditional fairy tales promote obedience, passivity and beauty as ultimate goals for women, feminist rewritings represent a powerful weapon that challenges patriarchy. This course gives students insights into scholarly work concerning feminism and feminist rewritings of traditional fairy tales. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze fairy tales from a feminist perspective and make connections to broader cultural and social issues.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • Topics and readings to be covered Session 1: Introductory seminar (lecture on Angela Carter and Feminism) Topic: Little Red Riding Hood Session 2: Reading: "The Company of Wolves" by Angela Carter Session 3: Reading: "Wolf-Alice" by Angela Carter Session 4: Reading: "Werewolf" by Angela Carter Topic: Snow White Session 5: Reading: "The Snow Child" by Angela Carter Session 6: Reading: "It´s Not All About Snow White: The Evil Queen Isn´t that Monstrous After All" by Cristina Santos Session 7: Reading: "The Queen's Looking Glass" by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar Topic: Sleeping Beauty Session 8: Reading: "The Lady of the House of Love" by Angela Carter Session:9 Reading: "The Mirror Broken: Women's Autobiography and Fairy Tales" by Elizabeth Harries Topic: Beauty and the Beast Session 10 Reading: "The Courtship of Mr Lyon" by Angela Carter Session 11 Reading: "Some Day My Prince Will Come: Female Acculturation through the Fairy Tale" by Marcia Lieberman Session 12 Reading: "Feminism and Fairy Tales" by Karen E. Rowe Session 13 Reading: "Disrupting the Boundaries of Genre and Gender: Postmodernism and the Fairy Tale" by Cathy Lynn Preston
Literature
  • CARTER, Angela. The bloody chamber and other stories. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1981, 125 stran. ISBN 0140054049. info
  • Contemporary fiction and the fairy tale. Edited by Stephen Benson. Detroit: Wayne State University, 2008, 209 s. ISBN 9780814332542. info
  • Fairy tales and feminism : new approaches. Edited by Donald Haase. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2004, xiv, 268. ISBN 9780814330302. info
  • SELLERS, Susan. Myth and fairy tale in contemporary women's fiction. 1st publ. Houndmills: Palgrave, 2001, ix, 198 s. ISBN 0-333-72014-8. info
  • Don't bet on the prince : contemporary feminist fairy tales in North America and England. Edited by Jack David Zipes. New York: Methuen, 1987, xiv, 270. ISBN 9780416013719. info
Teaching methods (in Czech)
Each session will consist of a short lecture followed by a discussion on assigned topics. Students will be asked to read one story from Carter´s The Bloody Chamber and one critical text. A group of selected students will be responsible for preparing a short presentation of the key ideas from the assigned readings and their relation to the selected fairy tale. They will also prepare discussion questions for the rest of the students and they will be in charge of the following discussion. At the end of the semester, students will submit a final essay. It will be 1500 – 2000 words long, following all MLA style guidelines, and discussing the topics covered in the seminars. All compulsory readings will be uploaded in the ELF course.
Assessment methods (in Czech)
Active participation in the seminars Presentation (40%) Final Essay (60%) Attendance (students are allowed to miss one class)
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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