Dr. Laurel Amtower Arts and Letters 259
Office Hours: TBA Phone: 594-1517

Comp Lit 470: Folk Literature
MWF 12-1, HH 206

Required Texts:

The Great Fairy Tale Tradition (Jack Zipes)
The Vanishing Hitchhiker (Jan Harold Brunvand)
The European Folktale  (Max Luthi)
webpage readings

Grades:

Final Exam: 30%
Midterm Exam: 20%
Weekly Assignments: 20%
Final Project: 10%
Participation and Attendance: 20%

Exams:

Exams will include all the material covered in the reading assignments and class lectures. Questions will range from the historical to the literary; you will be expected to know titles, authors, and (approximate) dates of composition, as well as main characters, themes, major issues and concerns. You may also be asked to identify major passages and to comment upon them. Expect an essay component on every exam. Exams may not be made up, unless advance notice and an acceptable, documented excuse are provided.

Weekly Assignments:

This course is being offered as a "hybrid," which means that Friday sections take place online and/or in outside research instead of in the classroom. After the first week, WE WILL NEVER MEET IN THE CLASSROOM ON FRIDAY. The Friday assignments will vary by week; you can find them in the “assignments” section of Blackboard. Assignments for the most part will be divided into two parts: one week will be devoted to outside research or fieldwork, and one week will be given to writing up your results. You may work with a partner on the research/fieldwork, but all written assignments must be turned in by you alone.

Papers must be submitted in a form I can read IMMEDIATELY. That means a Microsoft Document or a file saved in “.rtf” form. I cannot read Microsoft Works or WordPerfect. Files that arrive in unreadable form will be considered late and points will be docked.

Project:

A final project worth 10% of your overall grade is due at the end of the semester. Please note that this project is worth the equivalent of one full grade step, which means that you may omit it if you are happy with receiving a grade lower (i.e. if you’re earning an A through your other work, but you’re happy with a B, you don’t have to do the project). You may choose from among the ideas below for your final project. More detailed descriptions of the project options may be found on Blackboard.

1. Formal paper assessing contemporary hero mythology (from comics, films, or literature) plus analysis (8 pages minimum).
2. Fairy Tale plus structural analysis (8 pages minimum).
3. Digital Folktale Project using PowerPoint, iMovie, or another electronic medium (6-7 min presentation time).

Participation/discussion:

This class is a seminar/discussion, which means that you are expected to be in class and to participate every day. Basic expectations include the following: that you will have read and prepared in advance all materials to be covered that day in class; that you are ready to discuss core problems or issues; and that you maintain standard rules of politeness: i.e. no eating, sleeping, chatting, reading extraneous material, leaving and re-entering the classroom, etc. Students who engage in distracting or unprofessional behavior will not be given credit for participation. Students who plan on receiving an “A” should miss no more than one class total, regardless of the excuse. Students who plan on receiving a “B+” or better should miss no more than two classes maximum. Students who plan on receiving a “B” should miss no more than 3 classes. Students who miss 5 classes or more will not pass the class.

Policies and Procedures:

Classroom etiquette:

• Turn off your cell phones during class time. Playing with your phone in any capacity during class time will result in a lowered participation grade. Please be aware that I DO NOTICE texting, internet browsing, and everything else. I find this behavior very distracting when I’m trying to concentrate on teaching the class; therefore, your behavior affects everyone.
• Laptops are allowed in the back row of the classroom only in order to minimize the distraction to me and to others.

Blackboard: Any documents not found in the textbooks will be posted on Blackboard. Please check the site regularly to get specific assignments, study guides, or any other updates that might be available. You can also keep track of your grades there.

Exams: All students will be expected to take exams on the dates noted in the schedule. Special testing accommodations will be made only for students with disabilities--NO EXCEPTIONS. In such cases it is the student’s responsibility to make all arrangements well in advance of the deadline. Exams may not be taken on dates other than those assigned except in case of medical or family emergency (documentation required—please note that a form letter from Student Health Services is not sufficient). In such cases an alternate exam may be issued to minimize opportunities for cheating. Please check the schedule NOW to make sure you will not have any conflicts. Otherwise you will have to find another course to satisfy your requirements.

Late policy: Assignments are penalized by ½ grade per day. After one week papers and/or assignments automatically fail.

Cheating/Plagiarism: The punishment for cheating or plagiarism in this class is immediate failure of the course and disciplinary action by the Office of Judicial Affairs. All papers will be checked by SafeAssigns on Blackboard. Any uncited material lifted from books, online sources, or other students, no matter how brief, constitutes plagiarism and will be treated accordingly. Please note that courses for which you have been documented for cheating may not be taken for Course Forgiveness.

What counts as plagiarism? Any time you use another person’s words or ideas and pass them off as your own. If you are going to paraphrase another person’s work, you must change every major word—every adjective, noun, and verb must be different. If you use ANY word from the original, it must be quoted. This includes words from websites and other students’ papers as well as words from published articles or books.

Schedule:

Week 1 (Aug 31):
M: Introductions and definitions
W: Legendary Heroes.
Reading: "The Hero: A Study in Tradition, Myth, and Drama” (webpage)
Online links for King Arthur, Oedipus (webpage)
F: Assign. #1 on blackboard

Week 2 (Sept. 7):
M: HOLIDAY
W: God-Heroes. Reading: Prometheus, Jesus (webpage)
F: Assign. #1 due

Week 3 (Sept. 14):
M: Comic superheroes and the 20th century
Reading: “The Comic Superhero” (webpage)
W: Standard character types. Reading: Propp’s “The Functions of the Dramatis Personae” (on webpage)

F: Assign. #2: “tricksters” on Blackboard

Week 4 (Sept. 21):
M: Folk and Fairy Tale characteristics.
Reading: The European Folktale, chs. 1-4
W: Folk and Fairy Tale characteristics.
Reading: The European Folktale, chs. 5-end
F: Assign. #2 on Blackboard

Week 5 (Sept. 28):
M: No Class: Furlough Day
W: Wonder Tales and Life Journeys
Reading: The Water of Life (webpage);
F: Assign. #2 due on Blackboard

Week 6 (Oct. 5):
M: Wonder Tales and Life Journeys
Reading: East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Cupid and Psyche (webpage)
W. Cinderellas
Reading: “The Revenge and Reward of Neglected Daughters” in Great Fairy Tale Tradition
F: Assign. #3 on blackboard

Week 7 (Oct. 12):
M: Medieval Cinderellas.
Reading: “Griselda Tales” (all variants); Lanval, webpage
W: Incestuous Fathers
Reading: “Incestuous Fathers” in Great Fairy Tale Tradition.
F: No Class: Furlough Day

Week 8 (Oct. 19):
M: Incestuous Fathers
Reading: “Incestuous Fathers” in Great Fairy Tale Tradition.
W: MIDTERM
F: Assign #3 due

Week 9 (Oct. 26):
M: Animal Transformations
Reading: “Beastly Born Heroes” chapter in Great Fairy Tale Tradition
W: Animal Bridegrooms.
Reading: “The Beast as Bridegroom” chapter in Great Fairy Tale Tradition
F: Assign. #4 on Blackboard

Week 10 (Nov. 2):
M: Evil Stepmothers and Young Children.
Reading: "The Juniper Tree," webpage, and "Hansel and Gretel” in Great Fairy Tale Tradition.
W: Cannibalistic Stepmothers.
Reading: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" AND "The Young Slave," Giambattista Basile, webpage.
F: Assign. #4 due

Week 11 (Nov. 9):
M: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" AND "The Young Slave," Giambattista Basile, webpage.
W: HOLIDAY
F: No Class: Furlough Day

M: (Nov 16) Sleeping Beauties
Reading: "The Fruitful Sleep” in Great Fairy Tale Tradition
W: Bloodthirsty Husbands
Reading: “Bloodthirsty Husbands,” Great Fairy Tale Tradition
F: Assign. #5 on Blackboard

Week 13 (Nov. 23):
M: Urban Legends. Reading: The Vanishing Hitchhiker
W: Furlough Day
F: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Week 14 (Nov. 30):
M: Urban Legends
Reading: The Vanishing Hitchhiker
W: Ghost Stories and Modern Witches
Reading: The Vanishing Hitchhiker
F: Assign. #5 due

Week 15 (Dec. 8):
M: Projects
W: Projects

Final Exam: Wednesday, Dec. 16, 10:30-12:30