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Housekeeping:
- There are NO in-class meetings next week. We'll be having conferences in my office in FAB.
Agenda:
The Chosen Woman and the Choosing
Group 15 Tatar
“The Princess and the Pea.”
- Who wrote this fairy tale?
- Where was it published?
“Vasilisa the Fair.”
- Who wrote this fairy tale?
- Where was it published?
Discussion Questions:
- How do these fairy tales construct gender?
- How is gender being constructed in relation to CHOICE.
- Who chooses?
- Does gender play a role?
- What is being chosen?
- Why are choices being made?
- How is CHOOSING a significant part of the fairy tale genre? WHY do you think choosing is such an important trope?
Let's Get Visual
Baba Yaga and the Female Body: Heroine, Hero, and Decorative Motif
These are the illustrations drawn by Ivan Bilibin for the Baba Yaga tale we read:
(Mortar and Pestal)
- How do these images construct a material and cultural gender hierarchy? How do they disrupt it?
- How do these illustrations depicted the gendered body? The transgendered body?
- Do the illustrations create gendered meaning that is distinct from the literary tale?
- Consider the frames? How is the gendered body reduced to a decorative motif? What is the significance of this?
Around the Bend:
Remember, there are NO IN-CLASS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK. I will be holding conferences in my office (in FAB). Use the time to work in the library (or at your own leisure) on your final papers and presentations.