Time Schedule:
Sarah Kathryn Moore
ENGL 200
Seattle Campus
Covers techniques and practice in reading and enjoying literature in its various forms: poetry, drama, prose fiction, and film. Examines such features of literary meanings as imagery, characterization, narration, and patterning in sound and sense. Offered: AWSp.
Class description
ENGL 200: Contemporary Fairy Tales
The primary aim of this course is to introduce students to the practice and pleasure of critically reading literature. To do so, we will engage with contemporary re-tellings and re-imaginings of fairy tales in various genres: short story, graphic novel, novella, and music album, as well as visual media.
Through the course of the quarter we will examine the enduring appeal of fairy tales and especially the irresistibility of telling and “re-telling" them to authors and artists of our own era. Course texts will include Philip Pullman’s new Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, a recent reissue in graphic novel form of Neil Gaiman’s Dream Hunters, Shane Jones’ innovative novella Light Boxes, the rock-operaesque Decemberists album The Hazards of Love, and other interpretations of fairy tales in visual media such as visual art and film.
Please note: Our class is in Condon Hall, which is quite far from the center of campus. You are expected to be on time, so please do not schedule this class back-to-back with a class that ends at 1:20 unless you can travel from that classroom to our classroom by 1:30.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
The majority of our class time will be spent in small and large group discussions and activities, so expect to participate actively in every class period. There will also be occasional lectures.
Recommended preparation
Note that this course fulfills the UW’s “W” requirement and as such is writing intensive. We'll devote some of our class time to writing instruction, but this course assumes rhetorical awareness and a familiarity with the fundamentals of academic writing taught in "C" courses. It is strongly recommended that you complete the university's "C" requirement before enrolling in this class.
Class assignments and grading
As a "W" credit course you will complete two 5-page papers with the opportunity for revision as well as smaller in- and out-of-class writing assignments. Participation is also a large component of your grade.
