The Hoosier Folklore Conference and Hoosier Folklore Society annual meeting will be this Thursday and Friday (November 9-10) at Indiana State University.
This year's theme -- Fairy Tales and the Creative Imagination -- features a variety of lecturing scholars presenting topics ranging from "Why Nasty Frogs Must Become Charming Princes" to "De-Disneyfying the Fairy-Tale Film."
Two scholars who are recognized internationally for their interpretations of fairy tales, Jack Zipes and Maria Tatar, will be guest speakers at the conference. Zipes, Tatar, and four faculty and students from Indiana University, Bloomington, will present their ideas related to the fairy tale.
Zipes' retranslation of "The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" (1987) is considered a standard. Tatar, a professor at Harvard University, is the author of a number of books, including "Secrets Beyond the Door: The Story of Bluebeard and His Wives" (2005).
All lectures are free and open to the public and will take place in ISU's Hulman Memorial Student Union, Dede III, and at various locations on campus.
The following Joseph S. Schick lectures are being featured during the conference, which is hosted by ISU's Department of English:
THURSDAY (NOV. 9)
-- 3:30 p.m. -- Schick Lecture Series: Maria Tatar, the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, presents "Ignition Power and the Cult of Beauty: Can Fairy Tales Change Us?"; Root Hall A-264. Reception after the lecture.
-- 8:00 p.m. -- Schick Lecture Series: Jack Zipes, Professor of German, University of Minnesota, presents "Why Nasty Frogs Must Become Charming Princes: The Evolution and Relevance of a Folk Tale"; Root Hall A-264.
FRIDAY (NOV. 10)
-- 10:00 a.m. -- Schick Lecture Series, Always on Friday: Jack Zipes, Professor of German, University of Minnesota, presents "De-Disneyfying the Fairy-Tale Film"; HMSU, Dede III.
-- 2:00 p.m. -- Schick Lecture Series: Maria Tatar, the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, presents "The Magic Art of the Great Humbug: How to Do Things with Fairy Tales"; HMSU, Dede III.
Founded in 1938, the Hoosier Folklore Society is dedicated to collecting, preserving and studying the traditional culture of Indiana and the Midwest. The Society conducts annual meetings; publishes a semiannual journal, "Midwestern Folklore"; and cooperates with the folklore and history section of the American Folklore Society in publishing annually "The Folklore Historian."
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Contact: Karen Duffy, president of the Hoosier Folklore Society, English lecturer, Indiana State University, (812) 237-3145 or kduffy@indstate.edu
Writer: Katie Spanuello, media relations assistant director, Indiana State University, (812) 237-3790 or kspanuello@isugw.indstate.edu
ISU Communications and Marketing: (812) 237-3773 or http://www.indstate.edu/news