English Literature Undergraduate Masterclass

The last two years have have confronted us with our deepest fears (death, hospitalisation, isolation, loss of income, loss of human contact) but they have also given us hope (vaccinations, lockdown lifting, reductions in CO2 omissions, family time). This Masterclass, which is on the powers of story and fairy tales, explores how the literary form of the fairy tale might help us to think through what the future will bring.
“It is not implicit in the term fairy tale that the story told is not credible, but that it does not command serious allegiances or faith. Fairy Tales in this way face two ways: towards a past or realm of belief on one side and towards a sceptical present on the other. They offer the pleasure of imaginative entry into a world that does not have intellectual or religious authority.” (Warner, Once Upon a Time, 2014, p. 2)
Literature and especially fairy tales will fasciliate what cannot be experienced directly. Will the fear of close physical contact, bureaucratic hurdles, goverment guidances and requirements for repeated testing and quarantining create a precarious and ultimatitly soulless world? Drawing the conventions and traditions of the fairy tale, this Masterclass aims to project possible futures as well as explore the challenges we are now facing.
This masterclass will consist of a short presentation, followed by a story telling workshop that invites participants to engage with commonly held fears and hopes for what remains an uncertain future. What lies head? Using well-known fairy tales a catalyst to create our own tales - Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel – we will discuss how, through their structure and symbols, they communicate fears and dangers while also offering hope, resolutions and future happiness. And then you will set out on your own quest to create a version of the tale.
This session will be taking place on Wednesday 29th June 2022 between 10am and 12pm.