Wednesday, 3 October 2012, 7.00 pm at the Ondaatje Hall, McCain Building (next to the Killam Library), Dalhousie University

Once upon a time, 200 years ago this year, the Brothers Grimm published the first volume of what was to become one of the most important books in Western culture. Their evolving collection of Children’s and Household Tales gathered together 200 widely circulated folk tales, and through their rewriting brought them into wide public circulation. Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and so many other tales are with us today because of the stories’ amazing adaptability and also because of the Brothers Grimm and their transformative scholarship.

To celebrate this important anniversary, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has invited Dr Jack Zipes, today’s most prominent fairy tale scholar, to Halifax. He has written and edited scores of books, he has lectured all over the world, and he is also a storyteller himself. His work was recently profiled in The New Yorker.

Dr Zipes will talk about the way Walt Disney films (Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and others) have been massively influential in the transmission of the tales, as a single widely known version that becomes culturally dominant. Yet fairy tales have a dynamic form that is maintained through retelling. A tale like Little Riding Hood can be retold in many different ways. Some of the widely circulated alternative versions were considered scandalous at their time of production and still challenge the stereotype that Grimms’ tales are simply for children. This scholarly talk is open to all those in the community interested in fairy tales, folklore, literature (including writing for children), film, literature, and cultural studies. There will be a reception afterwards, at which you can meet Dr Zipes.

For further information, please contact:

Krista Armstrong

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Dalhousie

Tel 902.494.6288