Final Project

The final project for this course will entail 2 components: Interviews and Questionnaires.

The subject will revolve around peoples perceived thoughts of the "culture" of college education and versus what they actually found, specifically as it pertains to adjunct instructors teaching.

- The study will conducted at Queens College

- Main group will consist of Juniors and Seniors of the English Department currently enrolled in Senior Seminar. There will be a questionnaire passed out consisting of 25 items asking the number of full time professors they had versus the number of adjunct instructors, how this has affected their idea of what college was, their confidence - preparedness for their future studies or careers, and to invite students to participate in sending in comments, via email or to have themselves interviewed.

- Secondary group will consist of interviews with the professors currently teaching Senior Seminar in the English depart with the addition of 2 additional professors that have taught at QC for an extended period of over 10 years but who are not teaching SS. this semester.

This is not a study regarding the right or wrong of adjunct instruction, rather it is to assess the the expectations, fantasy, folklore and culture that students held regarding college as an institution, and how that has changed now that they are finishing their education. Conversely, the secondary group being interviewed is to assess their culture of education, the differences of their own undergraduate education experience versus what they provide and see their students receiving, and how they view the changing educational priority of using adjunct instructors - in what way have they observed the change in the student knowledge base by the time they take Senior Seminar. Have the students attained the base level of the standard "canon" they expected them to have?

The Audience

If ever a reminder that all writing has a specific audience and that a writer must be cognizant of that audience, the journal articles for this week's class serve as that reminder. Or perhaps these articles are correctly in line within the frame of this class considering it has taken a distinctly "Disneyesque" tone, and it is I who am out of tune for I have not, and do not intend to watch "Everafter." I truly believed that this was an Intro to Folklore course, however, what has transpired through these articles are something wholly different. How is it possible to gleam anything remotely usable by a layperson reading John Stephens' article "Utopia, Dystopia, and Cultural Controversy..." It is obvious that the intended audience is not a student of an intro course, but rather an audience who is quite familiar with the films "Ever After" and the Grimm's film version of "Snow White."

It is evident the audience by the lack of plot summary and reflection, as Jenna Jorgensen attempts to do in her article. Yet even the Jorgensen article fails to conjoin an overarching theme of what this class is supposed to perform by way of learning folklore. The use of the fairy 'godmother' is a trope continuously used within American media, but so are other tropes which connect to the magical "knowingness" of the African-American as the other, or of immigrants being hard working. How is it that this particular ideal of the "godmother", Cinderella, and Snow White a constant within the Intro course? Is there something I am to thoroughly understand, which I would not by examining other examples of fairy tales?

It is an extremely shortsighted view to bring the fairytale down to its film counterpart. And it is disappointing that tomorrow will be another discussion of Disney.

Fairy Tales and Folklore

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This film is in a classic fairy tale format in which the alien "fairy" comes to the boy's aid and ultimate comfort (but I will not spoil the movie). Unfortunately, this version is in dubbed English; the original Chinese with English subtitles lends better to the overall universal theme of the story. You can watch the original Starz version of the film on netflix - "watch instantly" tab.

It seems to be reaching a bit to reduce Snow White to an oedipal psychoanalytical frame. Although these are not the only points being made, it is a central troupe that the oedipus story applies to the many tales. I disagree as in Snow White and Cinderella for example, the female heroines are not subverted by their mothers, but by a step-mother. I am sure there are stories which can be interpreted using the ancient tale of Oedipus; however, one must also be aware of their own interpretive limitations as well. An excellent example is given through Bettleheim's brief explanation of the pagan origins of the Snow White story. Knowledge, and the lack there of is particularly dangerous when attempting to critically analysis a work according to a set frame.

I am more apt to understand the Snow White tale as a story of maturity and the perils of maturity rather than one of abject jealousy on the part of the step mother. Human beings pose significant possibilities for harm and destruction both against themselves and those closest to them whether they be children or parents. "The Fantasy of the Wicked Stepmother" is troublesome, not because of the analysis of the stepmother, but of the analysis of the meanings of duality within the tales. Folktales may only do so much in the advancement of the human psyche, thereafter, it can be harmful. The example of the girl who believed her mother to be a martian does not aid her in understanding the meaning behind her mother's anger; and thus helps her to subvert the realities in human emotion. Children must not be robbed of learning early on of the realities of this life, both its brief joys and its many hardships. I suppose the tales I still remember are those that remind me now of how important it was to learn those moral lessons at such a young age, as it is not until I became older that they came into full view.

A Culture and a Tale

I fell asleep this afternoon to the movie Excalibur playing in the background and having finished reading the Cinderella fairy tales. These tales are separated as much by language as they are by sequencing. I never considered that I was attempting to escape reality or learn a moral lesson when reading fairytales as a child? They seemed more like a way in which to see how problems were solved. Grimm's Fairy Tales were my favorite, and although I can not recall individual details regarding the characters and specific actions, I do recall the poignant nature of humanity the tales described. The stories were terrifically realistic and violent and they delivered as many lessons regarding the psychology and personalities of men.

Learning from Grimm's and other tales were the stories that taught me to grow fast from the young girl into an observant young woman. From them I learned to watch others as they generally speak and tell all I need to know about them. These words my mother told me repeatedly, but the tales, and later movies and other books illustrated her words.

In reading the Cinderella tales from France, Germany, Scotland and Kashmir, I see the influence of culture, personality, and belief in these tales. France presents the most civil and highly mannered of all the tales. The moral of the story is clearly stated by the author at the end of the story. It is clear the moral is to remain decorum despite being mistreated; however it is not clear that there is a moral to follow to the same extent in the other tales as in the French version. The French version is closest to the Cinderella story told to American children. It follows closely to the American ideal of the princess being created out of nothing, and being rescued by a prince holding her glass slipper.

It would interesting to see how our society would react to adopting the Scottish version of this tale with the red calf advising Rashin-Coatie (Cinderella) to chop the head of her ugly sister before the two escape. The story follows through in the same manner, although it is the girl’s natural parents that reject her, and her red calf becomes her guardian instead of a fairy. Much like the German tale, the girls cut their feet in order to fit the shoes and it is a bird who warns the prince of their deception; however, it is the use of violence, both self inflicted and against others that is missing in the French story.

Because this is a recurring theme in all the other regional tales, it leads me to ask questions regarding the way in which children in the States are raised in comparison to children of other nations. As violence is a permanent part of the human existence, for what purpose does it serve to create an extended fantastical childhood in which parents are taught to shield children violence? And how is this played out in our nation of extremes, whereas there is the Disney culture versus the culture of ever increasing video games and targeted violent programs targeted toward children