Russian Fairy Tales (RUSS 0090): Syllabus
Autumn 2004 (05-1)
Prepared by: David J. Birnbaum (djbpitt+tales@pitt.edu)
Last modified: 2004-08-27
Location: http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/05-1/syllabus.html
Abbreviations:
- AA: Aleksandr Afanas'ev. Russian Fairy
Tales. New York: Pantheon. 1973.
- CP: Supplement to Russian 0090. Course
pack, available in Pitt Book Center.
- LI: Linda Ivanits. Russian Folk Belief.
NY: M. E. Sharpe. 1982.
- OL: On line. The Course
Description contains a full list of on-line readings.
August
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3 |
4 |
5 |
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10 |
11 |
12 |
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18 |
19 |
20 |
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24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
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31 |
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December
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W |
H |
F |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
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7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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Topics for Monday, August 30
- Course introduction
- Film Clip: Tennant, Ever After (1998)
Assignment due Monday, August 30
Topics for Wednesday, September 1
- Quiz on course description (see assignment,
below)
- Russian paganism. Pagan deities and festivals
- Film clip: Tarkovskii, Andrei Rublev (1966)
- Terminology
Assignment due Wednesday, September 1
Topics for Thursday, September 2 and Friday, September 3
- Introduction
- Domestic and nature spirits
- Terminology
Assignment due Thursday, September 2 and Friday, September 3
Lecture, Monday, September 6
No Class: Labor Day Observance
Topics for Wednesday, September 8
- Saints and devils
- How to read an Icon
Assignment due Wednesday, September 8
Topics for Thursday, September 9 and Friday, September 10
- Sorcery and healing
- Shrieking
Assignment due Thursday, September 9 and Friday, September 10
Topics for Monday, September 13
- Film clip: Paradjanov: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
(1964)
- Stylistic characteristics of folktales
Assignment due Monday, September 13
- 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.)
- LI, 190-205
- AA, "Ivan the Peasant's Son and the Thumb-Sized Man," pp.
262-68
- OL, Viewing notes for Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,
http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/film/shadows.html
- (Optional: The lecture on "Stylistic Characteristics of Folktales" will
be based on the first three chapters of one of the recommended books: Max
Lüthi, The European Folktale. 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 Wednesday, September 15
- Psychoanalytic approaches to fairy tales
- Freudian: Bruno Bettelheim
- Jungian: Maria-Louise von Franz
- Self Theory: Sheldon Cashdan
Assignment due Wednesday, September 15
- CP, Bettelheim, pp. 102-111
Topics for Thursday, September 16 and Friday, September 17
- "Youngest Child" tales
- "Ivan Durak" ('Ivan the Fool')
Assignment due Thursday, September 16 and Friday, September 17
- AA, "Salt," pp. 40-44
- AA, "The Three Kingdoms," pp. 49-53
- AA, "Ivanuskho, the Little Fool," pp. 62-66
- AA, "The Princess Who Wanted to Solve Riddles," pp.
115-17
- AA, "The Wicked Sisters," pp. 356-60
- AA, "Prince Ivan, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf,"
pp. 612-24
Topics for Monday, September 20
- Music: Mussorgskii, "Night on Bald Mountain"
- Film clip: Disney, Fantasia (1940)
- The authorship of folklore
Assignment due Monday, September 20
- 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 22
- Typologies of tales
- "Two Sibling" tales
Assignment due Wednesday, September 22
- CP, Bettelheim, pp. 78-83, 90-96
- AA, "Misery," pp. 20-24
- AA, "The Armless Maiden," pp. 294-99
- AA, "The Magic Swan Geese," pp. 349-51
- AA, "Two Ivans, Soldier's Sons," pp. 463-75
- AA, "Shemiaka the Judge," pp. 625-27
Topics for Thursday, September 23 and Friday, September 24
- General review for examination #1
Assignment due Thursday, September 23 and Friday, September 24
- 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. These questions will be collected
and used in the in-class review, and good questions will earn participation
credit.
Examination #1
Includes all materials (readings, lectures, recitations) to date.
Topics for Wednesday, September 29
- "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)
Assignment due Wednesday, September 29
Topics for Thursday, September 30 and Friday, October 1
- "Animal Bride" and "Animal Groom" Tales
- Review of Bettelheim and Freudian psychoanalysis
Assignment due Thursday, September 30 and Friday, October 1
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.
Lecture, Monday, October 4
- Feminism and the study of fairy tales
Assignment due Monday, October 4
- 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 6
- Feminist approaches to fairy tales
- "Bad Wife" tales
- "Wise Maiden" tales
- Riddles
Assignment due Wednesday, October 6
- 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
- AA, "Vasilisa, the Priest's Daughter," pp. 131-33
Topics for Thursday, October 7 and Friday, October 8
- Feminist approaches to fairy tales
- "Bad Wife" tales
- "Wise Maiden" tales
- Riddles
Assignment due Thursday, October 7 and Friday, October 8
- AA, "The Bad Wife," pp. 56-57
- AA, "The Wise Maiden and the Seven Robbers," pp.
134-40
- AA, "The Taming of the Shrew," pp. 161-62
- 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 Monday, October 11
- Guest Lecture: Professor Sibelan Forrester (Swarthmore College), "Collecting
Folklore in Russia Today: Spells, Incantations, and Other Genres"
Assignment due Monday, October 11
- CP, Warner, "Wicked Stepmothers," pp. 218-40
- AA, "The Golden Slipper," pp. 44-46
- AA, "Vasilisa the Beautiful," pp. 439-47
Topics for Wednesday, October 13
- Cinderella tales and wicked stepmothers
- Self Theory looks at Envy
- Film clip: Rou, Morozko (Jack Frost) (1964)
- Film clip: Tennant, Ever After (1998)
- Film clip: Disney, Snow White (1937)
Assignment due Wednesday, October 13
- CP, Cashdan, "Envy," 85-105
- AA, "Jack Frost," pp. 366-69
- OL, Viewing notes for Morozko, http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/film/morozko.html
- OL, Viewing notes for Ever After, http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/film/ever_after.html
- OL, Disney's Animated Fairy Tale Films, http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/film/disney.html
Topics for Thursday, October 14 and Friday, October 15
Assignment due Thursday, October 14 and Friday, October 15
- 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 18
- Baba Yaga and Koshchey the Deathless
Assignment due Monday, October 18
- 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 20
- Structuralist approach to fairy tales
Assignment due Wednesday, October 20
- AA, "The Magic Swan Geese," pp. 349-51
- CP, Propp, pp. 19-24, 149-55
- (Optional: The Propp excerpts in the CP are taken
from Propp's Morphology of the Folktale, which is one of the
recommended books for this course. Except for the excerpts reproduced in the
CP, 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 21 and Friday, October 22
- Structuralist approach to fairy tales
Assignment due Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22
- AA, "The Crystal Mountain," pp. 482-84. 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 20 lecture. The focus of the recitation meeting
will be your structuralist analysis of this tale.
Topics for Monday, October 25
- Epics and byliny
- Film clip: Ptushko, The Sword and the Dragon (1956)
Assignment due Monday, October 25
- 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
- OL, Viewing notes for The Sword and the Dragon,
http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/film/sword_and_dragon.html
Topics for Wednesday, October 27
- Snow White Tales
- Film clip: Disney, Snow White (1937)
Assignment due Wednesday, October 27
- CP, Bettelheim, pp. 199-215
- OL, Pushkin, "The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven
Knights," http://www.marxists.org/subject/art/literature/children/texts/pushkin/seven.html
or http://russian-crafts.com/tales/dead_pr.html
- OL, Afanas'ev, "The Magic Mirror," http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/MagicMirror.pdf
- OL, Disney's Animated Fairy Tale Films, http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/film/disney.html
Topics for Thursday, October 28 and Friday, October 29
- A Jungian perspective on evil in folk tales
- Baba Yaga and Koshchey the Deathless
- Snow White Tales
Assignment due Thursday, October 28 and Friday, October 29
- 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 3
- Sleeping Beauty tales
- Video clip: Sleeping Beauty (Ballet)
Assignment due Wednesday, November 3
- CP, Bettelheim, pp. 225-36
- AA, "Prince Ivan and Princess Martha," pp.
79-86
- AA, "The Enchanted Princess," pp. 600-11
Topics for Thursday, November 4 and Friday, November 5
- Literary fairy tales
- Ostrovskii, "The Snow Maiden"
Assignment due Thursday, November 4 and Friday, November 5
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 8
- Film: Cohn, Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) (part
1)
Assignment due Monday, November 8
Topics for Wednesday, November 10
- Film: Cohn, Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) (part
2)
Assignment due Wednesday, November 10
Topics for Thursday, November 11 and Friday, November 12
- Discussion of Snow White: A Tale of Terror
Assignment due Thursday, November 11 and Friday, November 12
Topics for Monday, November 15
- Marxist Approaches to Fairy Tales
Assignment due Monday, November 15
Topics for Wednesday, November 17
- Fairy Tales in verse
- Alexander Pushkin
- Film clip, Ptushko, Tsar Saltan (1966)
Assignment due Wednesday, November 17
Topics for Thursday, November 18 and Friday, November 19
- Alexander Pushkin
- Marxism
Assignment due Thursday, November 18 and Friday, November 19
Topics for Monday, November 22
- Self Theory looks at Magic Objects
- Review of psychoanalytic approaches to fairy tales
Assignment due Monday, November 22
- CP, Cashdan, "Objects that Love," pp. 107-27
Lecture, Wednesday, November 24
Recitation, Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26
No Class: Thanksgiving Observance
Topics for Monday, November 29
- Sadko and the Sea
- Film clip: Sadko (opera)
- Film clip: The Little Mermaid
Assignment due Monday, November 29
Topics for Wednesday, December 1
- Nikolai Gogol'
- Film clip, Kropachev/Ptushko, Viy (1967)
Assignment due Wednesday, December 1
- 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
- OL, Viewing notes for Viy, http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/film/Viy.pdf
Topics for Thursday, December 2 and Friday, December 3
- Tatyana Tolstaya
- Mythical Birds
Assignment due Thursday, December 2 and Friday, December 3
- 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
Topics for Monday, December 6
Assignment due Monday, December 6
- CP, Sadur, "Rings," pp.
- CP, Sadur, "The Cute Little Redhead," pp. 235-41
- CP, Sadur, "The Witch's Tears," pp. 264-69
- CP, Sadur, "Silky Hair," pp.
- OL, Birnbaum and Sarsenov, "Who is the Cute Little Redhead?,"
http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/sadur_redhead_2003-11-19.pdf
Examination #3
Emphasizes all materials (readings, lectures, recitations) since
Examination #2.
Extra-credit assignments due by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 8.
Note that the 5:00 p.m. deadline also applies to electronic copies; please email
those to djbpitt+tales.ec@pitt.edu
in time for them to arrive by 5:00 p.m.
Topics for Thursday, December 9 and Friday, December 10
- Censored tales
- Course evaluation
Assignment due Thursday, December 9 and Friday, December 10
Makeup Examination #3, 8:00 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 #3.