Russian Fairy Tales (RUSS 0090): Syllabus
Autumn 2009 (2101)
Prepared by: Abigail Snyder (acs73@pitt.edu) and
David J. Birnbaum (djbpitt+tales@pitt.edu)
Last modified: 2009-12-02
Location: http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/tales/2101/syllabus.html
Students experiencing problems in this course should discuss those problems with any one
of the instructors. We check our email regularly, and are available to discuss any
aspect of the course or of general study habits.
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are
encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services (DRS),
216 William Pitt Union, 412-648-7890 or 412-383-7355 (TTY) as early as possible in the
term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this
course. No accommodations can be made without verification by DRS.
Abbreviations:
- AA: Aleksandr Afanas′ev. Russian Fairy Tales. New
York: Pantheon. 1973.
- Clover: On line at http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/tales/. The Course Description contains a full
list of on-line readings.
- LI: Linda Ivanits. Russian Folk Belief. NY: M. E.
Sharpe. 1982.
- CP:
Course Pack. Available in the Pitt Book Center.
August
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31
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December
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Topics for Monday, August 31
- Course introduction
- Film Clip: Tennant, Ever After (1998)
PowerPoint: Introduction
Assignment due Monday, August 31
Topics for Wednesday, September 2
- Quiz on course description (see assignment, below)
- Russian paganism. Pagan deities and festivals
- Film clip: Tarkovskii, Andrei Rublev (1966)
- Terminology
PowerPoint: Paganism
Assignment due Wednesday, September 2
Topics for Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4
- Introduction
- Domestic and nature spirits
- Terminology
Assignment due Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4
No Class, Labor Day
Topics for Wednesday, September 9
- Film clip: Paradjanov: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964)
- Max Lüthi and stylistic characteristics of folktales
PowerPoint: Stylistic analysis and
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Assignment due Wednesday, September 9
- AA: “Ivan the Peasant’s Son and the Thumb-Sized Man,” pp.
262–68
Topics for Thursday, September 10 and Friday, September 11
- Stylistic characteristics of folktales
Assignment due Thursday, September 10 and Friday, September 11
- Bring Afanas′ev to class
- AA: “Vasilisa the Beautiful,” pp. 439-47
- AA: “Prince Ivan, the Firebird, and the Grey Wolf,” pp. 612-25
Topics for Monday, September 14
- Psychoanalytic approaches to fairy tales
- Freudian: Bruno Bettelheim
- Jungian: Marie-Louise von Franz
- Self Theory: Sheldon Cashdan
PowerPoint: Psychology and Fairy
Tales
Assignment due Monday, September 14
- Deadline for notifying instructors and Office of Disability Resources of special
accommodation requests. (See Course
Description or consult with one of the instructors for details.)
- CP: Bettelheim, pp. 102–111
- AA: “Ivanushko, the Little Fool,” pp. 62–66
Topics for Wednesday, September 16
- Typologies of tales
- Two Sibling tales
PowerPoint: Two-Sibling Tales;
Art
Assignment due Wednesday, September 16
- CP: Bettelheim, pp. 78–83, 90–96
- AA: “The Armless Maiden,” pp. 294–99
- AA: “The Magic Swan Geese,” pp. 349–51
- AA: “Shemiaka the Judge,” pp. 625–27
Topics for Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18
- Youngest Child tales
- Two Sibling Tales
Assignment due Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18
- AA: “Salt,” pp. 40–44
- AA: “The Princess Who Wanted to Solve Riddles,” pp. 115–17
- AA: “Prince Ivan, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf,” pp. 612–24
- AA: “Misery,” pp. 20–24
- AA: “Two Ivans, Soldier’s Sons,” pp. 463–75
Topics for Monday, September 21
- Music: Mussorgskii, “Night on Bald Mountain”
- Film clip: Disney, Fantasia (1940)
- The authorship of folklore
PowerPoint: Folklore as a Special Form of
Creativity; Musorgskii
Assignment due Monday, September 21
- CP: Bogatyrev and Jakobson, “Folklore as a Special Form of
Creativity,” pp. 32–46. (Note: Many students find this reading particularly
difficult. We’ll go over it carefully in class, but read it ahead of time so that
you’ll know what you already understand and what you need to ask about.)
Topics for Wednesday, September 23
- Sorcery, Spoiling, and Healing
PowerPoint: Sorcery, Spoiling, and
Healing
Assignment due Wednesday, September 23
Topics for Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25
- General review for examination #1
Assignment due Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25
- Review for examination #1. Come to class with questions or requests to review
specific material.
- Write out two multiple-choice questions (four answers each; indicate the correct
answer) and two essay questions based on the material for Examination #1 and bring
them to recitation. Students who submit good questions will earn participation
credit.
Topics for Monday, September 28
- Animal Bride and Animal Groom Tales
- Film clip: Cocteau, Beauty and Beast (1946)
- Film clip: Disney, Beauty and Beast (1991)
- Film clip: Adamson/Jenson, Shrek (2001)
- Video clip: Swan Lake (ballet)
PowerPoint: Animal Brides and
Grooms
Assignment due Monday, September 28.
- CP: Bettelheim, pp. 282–291, 295–310
Examination #1
Includes all materials (readings, lectures, recitations) to date with the exception of
Animal Bride and Animal Groom Tales.
Topics for Thursday, October 1 and Friday, October 2
- Animal Bride and Animal Groom Tales
- Review of Bettelheim and Freudian psychoanalysis
Assignment due Thursday, October 1 and Friday, October 2
Friday, October 2
Makeup Examination #1, 7:00 a.m., Slavic Department 1417 CL.
If you miss the regular examination because of an emergency, you may take the makeup
examination at this time. No official note or excuse is required, but this is the only
opportunity to make up Examination #1.
Topics for Monday, October 5
- Feminism and the study of fairy tales
PowerPoint: Feminism
Assignment due Monday, October 5
- CP: Bottigheimer, “Silenced Women in the Grimms’ Tales,” pp.
115–31
- CP: Lieberman, “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” pp. 185–200
Topics for Wednesday, October 7
- Feminist approaches to fairy tales
- Bad Wife tales
- Wise Maiden tales
- Riddles
PowerPoint: Bad Wives and
Wise Maidens
Assignment due Wednesday, October 7
- CP: “Peter and Fevronia of Murom,” pp. 291–300
- AA: “The Wondrous Wonder, the Marvelous Marvel,” pp. 13–15
- AA: “The Wise Little Girl,” pp. 252–55
Topics for Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October 9
- Feminist approaches to fairy tales
- Bad Wife tales
- Wise Maiden tales
- Riddles
Assignment due Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October 9
- AA: “The Bad Wife,” pp. 56–57
- AA: “The Wise Maiden and the Seven Robbers,” pp. 134–40
- AA: “Vasilisa, the Priest’s Daughter,” pp. 131–34
- AA: “The Indiscreet Wife,” pp. 226–27
- AA: “The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise,” pp. 427–37
- AA: “The Goldfish,” pp. 528–32
Topics for Tuesday, October 13
- Baba Yaga and Koshchey the Deathless
PowerPoint: Baba Yaga and Koshchey the
Deathless
Assignment due Tuesday, October 13
- AA: “Baba Yaga and the Brave Youth,” pp. 76–79
- AA: “Baba Yaga,” pp. 194–95
- AA: “Koshchey the Deathless,” pp. 485–93
Topics for Wednesday, October 14
- Wicked stepmothers
- Film clip: Disney, Snow White (1937)
- Film clip: Disney, Cinderella (1950)
PowerPoint: Stepmothers
and Cinderella
Assignment due Wednesday, October 14
- CP: Warner, “Wicked Stepmothers,” pp. 218–40
- CP: Gilbert and Gubar, “The Queen’s Looking Glass”
Topics for Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16
Assignment due Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16
- CP: Bettelheim, pp. 66–73
- AA: “Burenushka, the Little Red Cow,” pp. 146–50
- AA: “The Maiden Tsar,” pp. 229–34
- AA: “Daughter and Stepdaughter,” pp. 278–79
- AA: “The Grumbling Old Woman,” pp. 340–41
Topics for Monday, October 19
- Cinderella tales
- Film clip: Rou, Morozko (Jack Frost) (1964)
- Self Theory looks at Envy
- Music: Prokof′ev: Cinderella (ballet)
- Film clip: Tennant, Ever After (1998)
PowerPoint: Cinderella Tales
Assignment due Monday, October 19
- CP: Cashdan, “Envy,” 85–105
- AA: “Jack Frost,” pp. 366–69
- AA: “The Golden Slipper,” pp. 44–46
- AA: “Vasilisa the Beautiful,” pp. 439–47
Topics for Wednesday, October 21
- Structuralist approach to fairy tales
PowerPoint: Propp and Structuralism
Assignment due Wednesday, October 21
- AA: “The Magic Swan Geese,” pp. 349–51
- CP: Propp, pp. 19–24, 149–55
- (Optional: The Propp excerpts in the Course Packet are taken from Propp’s
Morphology of the Folktale, which is one of the recommended books
for this course. Except for the excerpts reproduced on Course Packet, you do not
have to read this book [it is recommended, and not required, and we’ll summarize the
most important details for you in lecture], but if you’d like to read it, this is
the best time to do so.)
Topics for Thursday, October 22 and Friday, October 23
- Structuralist approach to fairy tales
Assignment due Thursday, October 22 and Friday, October 23
- AA: “The Crystal Mountain,” pp. 482-85. As you read this tale in
preparation for class, think about it from a structuralist perspective, looking for
Proppian functions as listed and described in the Course Pack and the October 21
lecture. The focus of the recitation meeting will be your structuralist analysis of
this tale.
Topics for Monday, October 26
- Epics and byliny
- Film clip: Ptushko, The Sword and the Dragon (1956)
PowerPoint: Epics and Byliny
Assignment due Monday, October 26
- CP: “Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber” (bylina), pp.
28–36
- AA: “Ivan the Simpleton,” pp. 142–45
- AA: “Foma Berennikov,” pp. 284–87
- AA: “Ilya Muromets and the Dragon,” pp. 569–75
- CP: “Sadko,” pp. 32–42
Topics for Wednesday, October 28
- Snow White Tales
- Film clip: Disney, Snow White (1937)
PowerPoint: Snow White Tales
Assignment due Wednesday, October 28
Topics for Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30
- A Jungian perspective on evil in folk tales
- Snow White Tales
Assignment due Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30
- CP: von Franz, “Taboos,” pp. 190–214
- AA: “Maria Morevna,” pp. 553–62
- AA: “Vasilisa the Beautiful,” pp. 439–47 (review)
- AA: “The Maiden Tsar,” pp. 229–34 (review)
Examination #2
Emphasizes all materials (readings, lectures, recitations) since first examination
Topics for Wednesday, November 4
- Sleeping Beauty tales
- Video clip: Sleeping Beauty (Ballet)
PowerPoint: Sleeping
Beauty and the Snow Maiden
Assignment due Wednesday, November 4
- CP: Bettelheim, pp. 225–36
- AA: “Prince Ivan and Princess Martha,” pp. 79–86
- AA: “The Enchanted Princess,” pp. 600–11
All students who wish to submit extra-credit work must have discussed this work with an
instructor by 5:00 p.m.
Topics for Thursday, November 5 and Friday, November 6
- Literary fairy tales
- Ostrovskii, “The Snow Maiden”
Assignment due Thursday, November 5 and Friday, November 6
Makeup Examination #2, 7:00 a.m., Slavic Department 1417 CL.
If you miss the regular examination because of an emergency, you may take the makeup
examination at this time. No official note or excuse is required, but this is the only
opportunity to make up Examination #2.
Topics for Monday, November 9
- Film: Cohn, Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) (part 1)
No PowerPoint.
Assignment due Monday, November 9
Topics for Wednesday, November 11
- Film: Cohn, Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) (part 2)
No PowerPoint.
Assignment due Wednesday, November 11
Topics for Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13
- Discussion of Snow White: A Tale of Terror
Assignment due Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13
Topics for Monday, November 16
- Self Theory looks at Magic Objects
- Review of psychoanalytic approaches to fairy tales
PowerPoint Transitional
Objects
Video from lecture:
Assignment due Monday, November 16
- CP: Cashdan, “Objects that Love,” pp. 107–27
Topics for Wednesday, November 18
- Marxist Approaches to Fairy Tales
PowerPoint: Marxist Approaches to Fairy
Tales
Assignment due Wednesday, November 18
- CP: Zipes, “Breaking the Disney Spell,” pp. 72–95
- CP: Gaidar, “Tale of the Military Secret”
- CP: Shukshin, “Before the Cock Crows Thrice” (excerpt)
Topics for Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20
Assignment due Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20
AA: “Salt” pp. 40-44
Topics for Monday, November 23
- Fairy Tales in verse
- Alexander Pushkin, introduction and biography
PowerPoint: Aleksandr Pushkin, part 1
Assignment due Monday, November 23
Thanksgiving Break, no class
Thanksgiving Break, no class
Topics for Monday, November 30
- Alexander Pushkin, fairy-tale poems, operas, and illustrations
PowerPoint: Aleksandr Pushkin, part 2
Assignment due Monday, November 30
- CP: Pushkin, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son, the Glorious and
Mighty Knight Prince Guidon Saltonovich, and of the Fair Swan-Princess”
Topics for Wednesday, December 2
- Nikolai Gogol′
- Film clip, Kropachev/Ptushko, Viy (1967)
PowerPoint: Nikolai Gogol′
Assignment due Wednesday, December 2
- CP: Gogol′, “Viy,” pp. 338–74
- AA: “The Sorceress,” pp. 567–68
- AA: “The Vampire,” pp. 593–98
- LI: “The Colonel and the Witch,” pp. 194–95
Topics for Thursday, December 3 and Friday, December 4
- Tatyana Tolstaya
- Mythical Birds
Assignment due Thursday, December 3 and Friday, December 4
- CP: Tolstaya, “Date with a Bird,” pp. 116–30
- CP: Tolstaya, “The Poet and the Muse,” pp. 117–31
- AA: “The Feather of Finist, the Bright Falcon,” pp. 580–88
- Clover: Guide to Russian mythic birds (http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/tales/birds.html)
Topics for Monday, December 7
PowerPoint: Nina Sadur
Assignment due Monday, December 7
Examination #3
Emphasizes all materials (readings, lectures, recitations) since Examination #2.
Extra-credit assignments must be submitted to Turnitin by 5:00 p.m.
Topics for Thursday, December 11 and Friday, December 11
- Censored tales
- Course evaluation
Assignment due Thursday, December 11 and Friday, December 11
Makeup exam #3.
The third makeup exam will be 12:00–1:50 in Clapp L9 (our regular lecture hall). These
are the time and place assigned by the University for a final examination (there is no
regular final examination in this course).