Once upon a time is not only the beginning of many fairy tales, but also the beginning of questions to ask about them – when did they begin, and why? And why do they continue, across cultures, eras, and forms? What do they express that humans want to say, and need to hear? We will investigate this flexible and robust genre through history to discover subversive functions used by many minority groups; the layers of psychological and spiritual meanings encoded; and how the creation of retellings across generations and cultures liberates the stories to represent issues relevant to contemporary life.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face / Online

COURSE OUTLINE

• History of fairy tales and their subversive functions: national, gender, class, minority cultural group
• Pre Christian origins of fairy tales and their spiritual, cultural, environmental, and psychological functions
• Retellings of fairy tales and their functions of representation: gender, sexual orientation, historical, political, cultural heritage (particularly Australian), and forms

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Outline a history of fairy tales
2. Discuss multiple functions and layers of meaning in many fairy tales