Discovering fairy tales - course 4950 rub. from Level One, training 8 online lectures for 2 hours, Date: November 29, 2023.

How fairy tales work and what do Hollywood films have to do with it?
At the lecture we will discuss the basic plot scheme on which any fairy tale is built. Most fairy tales from around the world have an initiation rite, magical gifts and helpers - let's find out why they are needed and what they symbolize. Let's see how these classic stories work today using the examples of The Hunger Games, Avatar and The Matrix.

Subtexts and psychologism of “The Nutcracker” and other fairy tales of Hoffmann
At the lecture we will deal with the symbols and subtexts of Hoffmann’s most famous fairy tales: “The Nutcracker”, “The Golden Pot”, “The Sandman”.

We will consider his work through the prism of romanticism, which dominated the literature of that time. Like all romantics, Hoffmann was interested in what lies deep in the human soul, in the “subconscious” - for this he is called one of the forefathers of psychoanalysis.

"The Wizard of Oz" vs "The Wizard of Oz"
At the lecture we will talk about the biographies of Volkov and Baum, and the cultural and historical context in which each of them existed. Let's compare the first book from the series about the Emerald City and from the series about the Wizard of Oz and try to understand why the fairy tales sound so different? Let's analyze the main characters and finally understand how the images of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were born.

"Alice in Wonderland": language games and mathematical implications
At the lecture we will talk about the history of the creation of “Alice” and how the first readers accepted it. Let's discuss Carroll's language jokes and attempts to translate this humor - often we are talking about things that are absolutely incomprehensible to the Russian reader. Well, let’s look at mathematical jokes and games separately - it’s not for nothing that Carroll taught mathematics at Oxford University.

Why Winnie the Pooh is a philosopher of the absurd
At the lecture we will talk about the book as a “linguistic fairy tale” - that is, a fairy tale in which language and jokes play a large role. Let's find out how to translate such books and how the Russian Vinnie differs from the original one. Let us separately examine the theme of philosophy in “Winnie the Pooh” and find out what “philosophy of the absurd” is.

Astrid Lindgren and her Pippi Longstocking: who is raising whom?
We will begin the lecture with a discussion of the author’s biography, the connection of the works with Lindgren’s social and pedagogical position. Let's find out what folklore the image of Pippi Longstocking is based on and how the first readers perceived her. Then we’ll switch to other books: Carlson and one of the most popular books in the writer’s homeland - “The Lionheart Brothers.”

How did The Hobbit come about?
At the lecture we will learn how a modest Oxford professor managed to create one of the most popular books of all time. Let's find out how the book about hobbits is connected with medieval literature and epic poems of England. Let's get acquainted with the fantasy genre and find out what distinguishes it from a literary fairy tale and from science fiction.

How Harry Potter bewitched us all
At the lecture we will discuss the rules by which modern authors construct fairy tales, and get acquainted with neo-mythologism - one of the brightest cultural phenomena of the 20th century.
We will see the classic scheme of a fairy tale, references to folklore, alchemical and Christian symbols. Let's talk separately about the parallels with classical English literature: the Gothic novel, detective story and political satire.