FILMS SHOWN OCCASIONALLY ON MONDAY NIGHTS AT 7:00.
Lecture:
1966 11:15A-12:05P MW (144) 3 cr.
Corequisite discussions:
1967 08:00A-08:50A F (36)
1968 09:05A-09:55A F (36)
1969 10:10A-11:00A F (36)
1970 11:15A-12:05P F (36)
This course will focus on children's stories, ranging from fairy tales to contemporary fiction, television, and film. The course will emphasize the ways in which stories play on and give shape to basic wishes and basis fears and the strategies by which stories either convey or subvert prevalent cultural values. We will address such questions as: why do stories fascinate children (and others)? What is the relationship between the structure of stories and the emotions and values they convey? To what extent are stories gender-coded? How has the notion of childhood changed over time? What is the role of magic and the imaginary in children's books and films? What should an adult (parent, educator) do about a children's story whose values are different from his or her own? Why is the analysis of a children's story a useful adult activity? These issues will not be addressed in the abstract, but in the context of discussing specific, influential children's stories.
The class will meet twice a week in lecture and once a week in discussion sections. Films will be shown on Monday nights at 7:00. Students will be expected to have read the assigned material by the first day on which it is considered in lecture; quizzes will be given periodically. Students will also write two essays, a mid-term and a final exam.
The reading list is tentative; contact me by email (hedin@indiana.edu) later in the fall for a final list. Granted that these are children's books, students should note that the reading list is extensive.
Selected fairy tales
Sexton, "Cinderella" and "Snow White"
Beauty and the Beast (film)
Pretty Woman (film)
Newberry, Mother Goose Rhymes
Potter, Tale of Peter Rabbit
Carrol, Alice in Wonderland
Barrie, Peter Pan
Graham, The Wind in the Willows
Lobel, Frog and Toad Are Friends
Lobel, Frog and Toad Together
Wilder, Little House on the Prairie
Blume, Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing
White, Charlotte's Web
Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy
Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia
Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
School House Rock (an early ‘70s television program)
Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends
Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone