Jack Zipes | |
---|---|
Born | June 7, 1937 |
Occupation(s) | Literary scholar and author |
Academic background | |
Education | BA., Political Science MA., English and Comparative Literature PhD., English and Comparative Literature |
Alma mater | Dartmouth College Columbia University |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Minnesota |
Jack David Zipes (born June 7,1937) is a literary scholar and author. He is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of German,Nordic,Slavic and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. [1]
Zipes is known for his work on fairy tales,folklore,critical theory,20th century literature,German literature,German Jewish culture and the political and cultural significance of the Brothers Grimm tales. He has authored,co-authored and edited 69 books including The Great Fairy Tale Tradition:From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm,Buried Treasures:The Power of Political Fairy Tales and Don't Bet on the Prince. Among his honors are the Guggenheim Fellowship (1988), [2] the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts Distinguished Scholar Award (1992), [3] the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship (1998), [4] the International Brothers Grimm Award from the International Institute for Children's Literature in Osaka,Japan (1999), [5] the Folklore Society Katharine Briggs Award (2007), [6] the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award (2012), [7] the Chicago Folklore Prize (2015), [8] and the World Fantasy Convention Award for Lifetime Achievement (2019). [9]
Zipes is a Fellow of the American Folklore Society [10] and the International Research Society for Children's Literature (IRSCL). [11] He was a Founding Editor of the New German Critique , [12] and holds positions on the advisory boards for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature , [13] Fairy Tale Review [14] and Storytelling,Self,Society. [15]
Zipes earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Dartmouth College in 1959,followed by a master's degree in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University in 1960. He went on to study at the University of Munich in 1962 and the University of Tübingen in 1963,receiving a PhD in Comparative Literature from Columbia University in 1965. [1] His thesis was published as a book,The Great Refusal:Studies of the Romantic Hero in German and American Literature,in 1970 and was influenced by the works of Herbert Marcuse. [16]
Zipes began his academic career as an Instructor of American Literature at the University of Munich from 1966 to 1977. He became an Assistant Professor at the New York University German Department in 1967,and later joined the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee as an Associate Professor of German and Comparative Literature,staying there as Full Professor until 1986. From 1986 to 1989,he continued as a Professor at the University of Florida Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures before moving to the University of Minnesota,where he has been serving as a Professor Emeritus in the Department of German,Nordic,Slavic and Dutch since 2008. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the Anglia Ruskin University (2019), [17] the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (2023), [18] and the University of Winnipeg. [19]
Zipes assumed the position of the Chair of the Department of German,Dutch,and Scandinavian from 1994 to 1998,later becoming the Director of the Center for German and European Studies from 1998 to 2002 and has been the Director of Graduate Studies since 1990. [1]
Zipes was the Co-founder of the Neighborhood Bridges literacy program,a joint project of the University of Minneapolis and the Children's Theatre Company,in 1997 and directed it until 2008. [20] In 2018,he established Little Mole and Honey Bear,a publishing house specializing in unique books for children and adults primarily created between 1910 and 1940. [21]
Zipes has contributed to the field of literature by studying Jewish studies,German literature,children's literature,and the influence of fairy tales,with arguments based on the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. [22]
Zipes has analyzed fairy tales to understand their importance in the modern world. Looking into the lasting impact of fairy tales on literature,he explored their evolution,socio-political context,and exploitation by media networks in the book Breaking the Magic Spell:Radical Theories of Folk &Fairy Tales,which was called "a stimulating contribution to the critical literature of folk and fairy tales" by Edith Lazaros Honig in Children's Literature Association Quarterly. [23] He emphasized the genre's broader cultural significance in Why Fairy Tales Stick:The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre,suggesting that fairy tales,as culturally repeated memes,have evolved alongside humans' cognitive development,exhibiting polygenic traits that transcend geographical boundaries. Kimberley Reynolds commented in the Modern Language Review,"Why Fairy Tales Stick is both a welcome addition to the expanding area of books about fairy tales and a useful teaching resource." [24]
Zipes compiled various stories in several works,including The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood:Versions of the Tale in Sociocultural Context and Beauties,Beasts,and Enchantment:Classic French Fairy Tales,presenting an account of lesser-known fairy tale versions and their contemporary relevance. He is also the Editor of the book series Oddly Modern Fairy Tales with Princeton University Press,comprising unusual literary fairy tales. Additionally,he published Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion,which Deborah Stevenson referred to as "one of the key works of fairy-tale scholarship in our time",examining how fairy tales,through traditional forms and genres,have been used to shape children's behavior,values,and societal roles. [25]
Zipes researched the lives and works of the Brothers Grimm in detail,by translating and publishing books like The Brothers Grimm:From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World and Grimm Legacies:The Magic Spell of the Grimms' Folk and Fairy Tales,revealing their personal struggles,political endeavors,and contributions to establishing fairy tales as a significant literary form. He translated the complete 1857 edition of fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm in 1987,and in 2014,he published the first edition of 1812 and 1815 as The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm along with a new study of the tales,Grimm Legacies:The Magic Power of the Grimms' Folk and Fairy Tales. Furthermore,he delved into forgotten political fairy tales and profiles writers like Édouard Laboulaye and illustrators who addressed social and economic issues in Buried Treasures:The Power of Political Fairy Tales. In Publishers Weekly,the publication was regarded as "a potent testament to the power of stories." [26]
Zipes' work on German Jewish studies focused on the relationship between German literature and Jewish culture. His book entitled Yale Companion to Jewish Writing and Thought in German Culture,1096-1996,provided a chronological history of Jewish writing and thought in German-speaking lands,showcasing the influence of Jewish writers on German culture. In a review for the Journal of European Studies,Joachim Whaley stated "Gilman and Zipes have produced a marvellous compendium. Scholars will wish to return to it repeatedly." [27]
In 1992,Zipes published The Operated Jew:Two Tales of Anti-Semitism,a translation of the stories "The Operated Jew" by Oskar Panizza and "The Operated Goy" by Mynona,investigating the themes of anti-Semitism and the pursuit of purity and perfection in turn-of-the-century Germany. In addition,he co-edited Unlikely History:The Changing German-Jewish Symbiosis,1945-2000 with Leslie Morris,assessing Jewish life in postwar Germany,including community,culture,and the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Austria,offering insights into the evolving relationship between Jews and Germans. About it,Bjorn Krondofer remarked "The co-editors Morris and Zipes have gathered an impressive list of contributors from different academic disciplines in the United States and Germany...". [28]
The Brothers Grimm,Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859),were German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of folktales,popularizing stories such as "Cinderella","The Frog Prince","Hansel and Gretel","Town Musicians of Bremen","Little Red Riding Hood","Rapunzel","Rumpelstiltskin","Sleeping Beauty",and "Snow White". Their first collection of folktales,Children's and Household Tales,began publication in 1812.
A fairy tale is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic,enchantments,and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures,there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale;all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends and explicit moral tales,including beast fables. Prevalent elements include dragons,dwarfs,elves,fairies,giants,gnomes,goblins,griffins,merfolk,monsters,pixies,talking animals,trolls,unicorns,witches,wizards,magic,and enchantments.
"Hansel and Gretel" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of Grimms' Fairy Tales. It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister.
The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth,fantasy,and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971,the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award is given for "fiction in the spirit of the Inklings",and the Scholarship Award for non-fiction work. The award is a statuette of a seated lion,with a plaque on the base. It has drawn resemblance to,and is often called,the "Aslan".
The Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index is a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore studies. The ATU Index is the product of a series of revisions and expansions by an international group of scholars:originally composed in German by Finnish folklorist Antti Aarne (1910),the index was translated into English,revised,and expanded by American folklorist Stith Thompson,and later further revised and expanded by German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther (2004). The ATU Index,along with Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1932)—with which it is used in tandem—is an essential tool for folklorists.
Terri Windling is an American editor,artist,essayist,and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards,the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award,and the Bram Stoker Award,and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree,Jr. Award.
Grimms' Fairy Tales,originally known as the Children's and Household Tales,is a German collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm,Jacob and Wilhelm,first published on 20 December 1812. Vol. 1 of the first edition contained 86 stories,which were followed by 70 more tales,numbered consecutively,in the 1st edition,Vol. 2,in 1815. By the seventh edition in 1857,the corpus of tales had expanded to 200 tales and 10 "Children's Legends". It is listed by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Registry.
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer best known for publishing nearly 600 East Slavic and Russian fairy and folk tales,one of the largest collections of folklore in the world. This collection was not strictly Russian,but included folk tales from Ukraine and Belarus alongside Russian folk tales. The first edition of his collection was published in eight volumes from 1855 to 1867,earning him the reputation of being the Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm.
Joseph Jacobs was a New South Welsh-born British-Jewish folklorist,translator,literary critic,social scientist,historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
"The Seven Ravens" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is of Aarne–Thompson type 451,commonly found throughout Europe.
"The Four Skillful Brothers" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is Aarne-Thompson type 653.
"Thumbling," published in German as "Daumesdick" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1819. The Grimms included another,similar story,"Thumbling's Travels." Both stories are related to the English Tom Thumb and often share its title when translated into English.
"The Peasant's Wise Daughter","The Peasant's Clever Daughter" or "The Clever Lass" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales as tale number 94. It has also spread into Bohemia and Božena Němcováincluded it into her collection of Czech national folk tales in 1846.
Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of literature from its beginning,though the idea of a distinct genre,in the modern sense,is less than two centuries old.
A Russian fairy tale or folktale is a fairy tale from Russia.
Ruth B. Bottigheimer is a literary scholar,folklorist,and author. She is currently Research Professor in the department of English at Stony Brook University,State University of New York where she specializes in European fairy tales and British children’s literature. She is also interested in the history of illustration and the religious socialization of children through edited Bible narratives. She “has been hailed as one of America’s foremost Grimm scholars”.
The Smith and the Devil is an Indo-European fairy tale. The story is of a smith who makes a pact with a malevolent being—commonly the Devil,Death,a demon or a genie—selling his soul for some power,then tricks the devil out of his prize. In one version,the smith gains the power to weld any materials,then uses this power to stick the devil to an immovable object,allowing the smith to renege on the bargain. It is indexed as ATU 330.
Dee L. Ashliman,who writes professionally as D. L. Ashliman,is an American folklorist and writer. He is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of Pittsburgh and is considered to be a leading expert on folklore and fairytales. He has published a number of works on the genre.
In folkloristics,"The Animal as Bridegroom" refers to a group of folk and fairy tales about a human woman marrying or being betrothed to an animal. The animal is revealed to be a human prince in disguise or under a curse. Most of these tales are grouped in the international system of Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index under type ATU 425,"The Search for the Lost Husband". Some subtypes exist in the international classification as independent stories,but they sometimes don't adhere to a fixed typing.
Dorothea Grimm was the mother to the "Brothers Grimm" Jacob and Wilhelm,and seven other children,including Ludwig Emil Grimm and Charlotte Amalie Grimm.