Formative influences: myths, legends and fairy tales in modern children's fantasy
I Breuer
8 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Peninsula
Objectives In this subject students should develop an understanding of the historical association between oral narratives and children's literature; a critical understanding of the major paradigms of fantasy literature; a critical understanding of major psychoanalytic interpretations of myths, legendary and fairy tale material and ways in which fantasy literature rewrites mythic and legendary material.
Synopsis Through a study of modern fantasy narratives for children, this subject will explore the oral and literary traditions of myth, hero legend and fairy tale which underpin adult and children's literature. Using such theoretical approaches as structuralism, psychoanalytic criticism, feminism and cultural studies, the shaping influences of traditional material as it is presented to children, and as it informs the adult consciousness, will be developed. The ideological assumptions implicit in cultural variants will be questioned as narrative patterns are traced to their sources in earlier cultures.
Assessment second year In-class tests (2 hours): 40%
* Seminar paper
(2000 words): 30%
* Major essay (2000 words): 30%
Assessment third year In-class tests (2 hours): 40%
* Seminar paper
(2000 words): 30%
* Major essay (2000 words): 30%
* Students taking
this subject at third-year level will be expected to demonstrate wider reading,
a greater analytical grasp of topics and a deeper acquaintance with the
discipline.
Prescribed texts
Boston L The children of Greene Knowe Puffin
Cooper S The dark is rising Puffin
Garner A The owl service Puffin
Hoban R The mouse and his child Penguin
Le Guin U The wizard of Earthsea Puffin
L'Engle M A wrinkle in time Puffin
Lewis C S The lion the witch and the wardrobe Puffin
Mahy M The changeover Puffin
O'Brien R Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH Puffin
Tolkien JRR The Hobbit Puffin
Recommended texts
Bettleheim B The uses of enchantment Thames and London
Inglis F The promise of happiness Cambridge
Opie I The classic fairy tales Oxford
Stephens J Language and ideology in children's literature Longman
Zipes J Fairy tales and the art of subversion Routledge
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