Traditional Fairy Tales, Class One

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Monday, January 8, Period 2

Aziraphale was in the classroom bright and early, to make certain everything was ready for his new class. With the assistance of Lana and Phoebe, he had quite a nice spread of pastries and hot tea, coffee and cocoa. As it had been last year, the classroom was arranged with comfortable furnishings rather than desks and chairs, and the walls held shelves full of books.

Once everyone was assembled, he stood near his armchair and smiled at the class. "Good morning, and welcome to Traditional Fairy Tales. For those of you who are new to the school, my name is Aziraphale. However, I do realize that's quite a mouthful, so you may shorten it to 'Mr Phale' or 'Professor Phale' if you like. Let me also introduce your TAs for this class: Lana Lang and Phoebe Halliwell. They'll be assisting me, and will also be available to help you should you need it."

With a wave of his hand, he indicated a stack of papers on the table by his chair. "This is your syllabus. All of the reading materials you'll need are available here in the classroom, and I'm certain also in the library. If anyone needs assistance in finding a text, please let me know. Also, I'll be holding office hours on Tuesdays during third and fourth periods, if any of you need to speak with me outside of class. And you're all welcome to stop by my office hours for any reason at all.

"Today, we're going to briefly discuss how exactly a fairy tale is defined. And then I'd like each of you to introduce yourself, tell me why you signed up for this class and what you hope to learn here, and tell us your favorite fairy tale.

"First, however, I want to explain just a bit about my expectations for you as students in this class, and also I want to take a moment to discuss the required Group Project.

"Attendance is mandatory, and you must sign at the beginning of each class. If you are unable to attend a class, do your best to inform me or one of the TAs in advance. If you miss more than one class without an excuse, you will receive detention. If you miss more than five classes without an excuse, you will receive a failing grade for the course."

Group Projects: "I have assigned each of you to one of four groups. Each group, as your final "exam" grade, will choose a fairy tale that is not on your assigned reading list. Working together, you will identify the elements of character type, theme, symbolism, and gender roles in that tale. You will then update the tale for a different type of setting, remembering to maintain those the elements so that they are still transmitted in the retelling, and then you will present the tale to the class on our final day."

Project Groups

LECTURE:
What is a fairy tale?
"For our purposes, we'll be studying mostly English and European tales, but I've also included a couple of Indian tales in your reading list as well. For your group project, however, you are more than welcome to choose a tale from any source you like. While fairy tale elements are present in a number of literary types -- Shakespearean drama is a good example, as well as many mythologies -- the tales we'll be discussing are separated from other literary traditions by two main features. First, fairy tales deal with religion in only a very general sense, as an element present in the environment but not as a central focus, as with mythologies. Second, fairy tales originate in the oral tradition, created to pass along advice and morals from one generation to the next. They are not created out of whole cloth, but rather evolve and change as they are told and retold. For this reason, you'll find numerous examples of common stories that are told in a wide range of styles. The well-known "Cinderella" tale, for example, has probably hundreds of variations.

"In addition, when possible, I've tried to choose versions of the stories for our reading list that are closer to the oral tradition than you might find in a publication by Perrault or the Grimm brothers. Many of you may recognize the central plots of the tales from more well-known sources. I've done this to try and maintain the oral history tradition of these tales, and to avoid as much of the more literary rewriting done by the professional publishers."

CLASS DISCUSSION:
"Please tell us your name, why you enrolled in this class and your expectations for it, and your favorite fairy tale." [ooc: Characters from non-21st century Earth societies are welcome to make up the name of a favorite story.]

ASSIGNMENT:
"For next week, please read "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Molly Whuppie".

[ooc: Not all of the posts will be this long, I promise! Lots of housekeeping to get done in the first class. Please wait for the OCD threads are up! *rings bell*]


Syllabus
Class Roster
Project Groups
Linkdrop for classes

Comments

Sign In

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

The TAs will be keeping track of your attendance, so please don't make them tell Aziraphale that you've been skipping class.

And please to be tagging in a collapsey manner.

Re: Sign In

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Lana Lang

Discussion

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

"Please tell us your name, why you enrolled in this class and your expectations for it, and your favorite fairy tale."

[ooc: Characters from non-21st century Earth societies are welcome to make up the name of a favorite story.]

Re: Discussion

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Hi, my name is Lana Lang. I signed up for this class because I've always been fascinated by fairy tales and the ideas they represent. My favorite fairy tale is probably a toss-up between Cinderella and Rapunzel."

Re: Discussion

[iftheseshadows.livejournal.com]

"Good morning." Neil said politely and in a clear voice. "My name is Neil Perry not Wee!Wilson. I signed up for this class because it sounded like a very interesting course with a lot of good lessons on life and the ideas of how to solve every day problems. My favorite tale I suppose is..."

Here, Neil's voice tailed off as he realized he was a little stuck. His father hadn't been a big fan of Fairy Tales and so it had been quite a few years since Neil had heard one and after some time, they all blur together.

But he realized the class was sort of waiting on him so he blurted out what came to mind.

"Jack and the Beanstalk."

Re: Discussion

[nadiathesaint]

"I'm Nadia Santos. I'm taking this class because I love stories, of almost any kind, and, well, you can really only take so many classes that have anything to do with spies and government before you go insane." She smiled for a moment, then continued. "There are a lot of fairy tales that I used to hear in Argentina when I was little, but my favorite was called 'the Snake's Lover', about a young woman who falls in love with a snake that she believes to be a young man. I thought it was silly, when I was little."

[ooc: So, yeah, that one is Peruvian, not Argentine, but I wasn't able to find a good Argentine one in my books.]

Re: Discussion

[indebttocrazies.livejournal.com]

"I'm Haruhi Fujioka," she began. "I signed up because I like to read classical stories. I think I'll have to say Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorites to read."

Re: Discussion

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm Conner McKnight," he said, "and I signed up for this mostly 'cause my friend Kira was telling me over the break about how the original versions of fairy tales are a lot creepier than the kind we heard growing up, and I wanted to know if that was true."

He hesitated. "I guess my favorite would be Rumpelstiltskin, just because of the spinning straw into gold."

Re: Discussion

[bookyeve.livejournal.com]

"Hello, my name is Evie Carnahan. I enrolled in this class because I'm interested in the stories people told, and what revelance they have to history, and oh, what they disclose about them." She bounced a little in her seat, smiling happily at Mr. Phale. "I suppose I expect we'll talk about how fairy tales reveal different attitudes and archetypal difficulties. And, umm. So many fairy tales." She brightened. "Ohh. And I think Hansel and Gretel is my favorite."

Re: Discussion

[2-twin-devils-2.livejournal.com]

"Hello, my name is Kaoru Hitachiin." Kaoru bowed slightly out of respect, "And I signed up for this class because I really enjoy literature, foreign or familiar." He pauses to consider his favorite fairy tale. "My favorite fairy tale is 'Urashima Taro'."

Re: Discussion

[stocksgrrl.livejournal.com]

"Hello," Turtle bounce a little, long braid swinging slightly as she introduced herself. "My name is Turtle Wexler and I took this class because I thought it sounded really fun, and I really like stories. If I had to pick a favorite fairy tale, I'd have to say Rumplestilkskin, but only based on the concept. I don't think that woman should have gotten her baby back, because then she really would have learned that false advertising and getting other people to do your work for you is a bad combination for any business. Including whoring yourself out to princes."

Re: Discussion

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"River Tam. And I think my favourite fairytale is of the Monkey that chases protects the Shepherd during his journey to all the known planets. Shows how you can be good while still breaking all the rules." She smiled. "I like fairy tales, and I expect I'll learn new ones or eralier variations of the ones I know."

Re: Discussion

[pyroliz.livejournal.com]

"I'm Liz Sherman," Liz said, "I signed up for this class because it sounded interesting, um ... my favorite fairytale is Cinderella,"

Re: Discussion

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

"Jack Harkness. I signed up because I can't seem to get away from fairy tales, figured I may as well learn something about them. As for a favourite?" He paused giving it some thought, then smirked slightly. "I don't know if I really have one. Kind of fond of Jack and the beanstalk, though."

Re: Discussion

[untouchableskin.livejournal.com]

Marie smiled. "I'm Marie D'Ancanto and I signed up for this class because I want to learn more about fairy tales. I think my favorite is probably Little Red Riding Hood."

Re: Discussion

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"My name is Cedric Diggory," he started, "and I signed up for this class because I'd like to learn a little more about fairy tales from this world since I know very few. I'd like to know if the fairy tales from this land are in any way similar to the ones from my own. My favorite fairy tale from my world would most probably be The Old Man's Hidden Witch, a story about a non magic person who found an injured witch, kept her hidden and eventually fell in love with her."

Re: Discussion

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

"Hello!" Kaylee greeted cheerfully. "My name's Kaylee Frye and I enrolled in the class cause I like shiny stories. Figured it might be fun to learn more 'bout them. I like so many, but I think my most favorite is Cinderella."

Re: Discussion

[otherside-miley.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I'm Miley Stewart and I signed up for this class because it looked like fun." Miley shrugged and figured that telling him that she signed up for the class because she thought it might be easy would be a bad idea. "I think I like the little mermaid best."

Re: Discussion

[sensethevisions]

"I'm Phoebe Halliwell and I signed up for this class for several reasons. One of them being that I have grown up loving fairy tales... and another being that here in Fandom you never know what you might see happen. I'd like to gain more familiarity with them."

Re: Discussion

[proudsidekick.livejournal.com]

"My name is Layla Williams, and I signed up for this class because I like reading stories, but I've never really studied fairy tales," she said. "My favorite one is probably The Twelve Dancing Princesses."

Re: Discussion

[chasingangela]

'I'm Angela Chase," Angela said with a slight smile. "I took this class because it sounded like a really interesting variation on a literature class, and I like fairy tales and folktales. I guess my favorite fairy tale is Snow White."

Talk to the Professor

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Ask any questions you have during class, or catch him on your way out afterwards.

Re: Talk to the Professor

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Lana smiled at Mr. Aziraphale. "How is Dr. Wilson? And how are you doing?"

Talk to the TAs

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

Please wait for Phoebe and Lana to tag in here if you want to speak with them.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Lana's available if there's anything you need.

Talk Amongst Yourselves

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

For any chatting or note-passing that may occur (so as not to clutter up the Discussion thread).

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

[l1ttle-billy.livejournal.com]

Billy was mostly trying to keep to himself. Trying to attract as little attention to himself as possible.

OOC

[a-phale.livejournal.com]

*breathes*

I don't think I've forgotten anything. If I have, let me know! And welcome everyone! :D