With a spoonful of sugar, the character of Mary Poppins enchanted cinematic audiences in 1964 with Disney's eponymous musical film adaptation and ensured an ongoing popularity of the iconic British nanny, who is blown in by the East Wind in order to take care of the Banks siblings. Narratives of nannies and governesses were frequently featured in nineteenth century literature and gained an ongoing popularity in twentieth century children's literature. Accordingly, the character of the nanny and governess saw many lives throughout twentieth century popular culture, not least in the Dr. Who Christmas special The Snowmen (2012).
Most recently, children's literature laureate Chris Riddell's Goth Girl book series (2013--), which received the Costa Book Award in 2013, comprises an undead reincarnation of the iconic Mary Poppins. Riddell's series in fact parodies popular nannies and governesses from nineteenth and twentieth century literature and introduces a three-hundred-year-old vampire governess named Lucy Borgia, who masters and teaches the art of umbrella fencing. In this course, we will study representations of nannies and governesses and contextualize them with regard to gender, class, and education. Beginning with Jane Eyre (1847), we will examine different texts and media examples in order to trace the development of the British nanny and governess, including various examples from the genre of fantasy fiction and children's literature.
Please buy a copy of each of the following three books: • Henry James: The Turn of the Screw (recommended edition: ISBN 0199536171) • P. L. Travers: Mary Poppins (If you are interested in the books and/or writing your term paper on the subject, I would recommend -The Complete Collection- by Harpercollins Children's Books: ISBN: 0007398557) • Terry Pratchett: Hogfather Leistungsnachweis 2 CP or 3 LP SL: regular, active participation in class (this includes reading the required texts and being able to participate in discussions on the material) AND an expert session as a group. 3 LP PL or 7 CP: a written term paper (3.500-4.500 words) to be handed in by 29 August 2016; topic must have been discussed during my office hours prior to 22 July 2016. Seminar für Anglistik Beachten Sie, dass Sie diesen Kurs nach den Prüfungsordnungen ab 2011 nicht besuchen dürfen, wenn Sie die für dieses Modulelement laut Fachspezifischen Bestimmungen und Modulhandbuch notwendigen Voraussetzungen noch nicht erfüllen. 2 CP or 3 LP SL: regular, active participation in class (this includes reading the required texts and being able to participate in discussions on the material) AND an expert session as a group. 3 LP PL or 7 CP: a written term paper (3.500-4.500 words) to be handed in by 29 August 2016; topic must have been discussed during my office hours prior to 22 July 2016. Universität Siegen SoSe 2016 M.A. Burstyn Franziska M.A
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