While they’re traditionally thought of as imaginary stories for children, such fantasy tales and their various reinterpretations continue to define our understanding of society over generations. By looking at how these ancient tales continue to evolve, and are used to speak to different cultural moments, we learn more about how storytelling is still an important part of how we understand our world today.

This course will dive into new and old tales across a variety of media in order to reframe our understanding of the genre, and the sense of wonder that they all encapsulate.

Read the full course outline (PDF).

This course will run across six dates:

• Monday 16 October, 18.00 – 20.00
• Monday 23 October, 18.00 – 20.00
• Monday 30 October, 18.00 – 20.00
• Monday 6 November, 18.00 – 20.00
• Monday 13 November, 18.00 – 20.00
• Monday 20 November, 18.00 – 20.00

Previous experience

None required. A willingness to participate in group discussion, and to undertake the required reading for each session, will help you get the most from this course. Regarding the assigned reading, choice has been provided to account for differences to access to different media. Should further adjustment be required, please contact the course tutor.

Tutor

Michelle Anya Anjirbag is an academic researcher in the fields of fairy tale and folklore, children’s literature and media, and adaptation studies. Her research interests include adaptation, fairy tales and folklore, Disney, magical libraries, the intersection of literature, media, and culture, representations of gender and age, and cross-period approaches to narrative transmission across cultures and societies. She earned her doctorate at the University of Cambridge before joining the University of Antwerp as a postdoctoral researcher. Her research focuses on questions of representation in adaptations of fairytale and folklore in fantasy media and other speculative fiction, and has appeared in a variety of journals and edited collections.

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