M.A. / The success of a child's development from egocentricity to a broader socialization largely depends on the experiences of early childhood. The potential formative value of children's literature has repeatedly been proven by research. Being a cornerstone of children's literary heritage, the fairy tale has led to research being done from various perspectives. The tendency towards contemporary versions of traditional fairy tales has brought a new dimension to this genre and offers a field of research which up to now has been unexplored in South Africa. Apart from keeping them commercially viable, the various techniques used in contemporary versions can also transform them into podiums from which ideologies and viewpoints, feminism included, can be conveyed to children. With this in mind the study was undertaken by means of a literature survey. It concentrates on the different aspects concerning typical characteristics and the possible influence of fairy tales on children. Examples of contemporary versions readily available ill South Africa are discussed. The research has shown concern within feminist circles about possible sexist stereotypes which are brought across in children's literature, including traditional fairy tales, and the possible dangers it holds for the socialization of children. The feminist pursuit of a balanced portrayal of women in children's literature has led to the appearance of many contemporary versions of fairy tales in which the image of the traditional passive heroine is transformed, either subtly or radically. Research concerning the impact of these non-sexist versions on children and their acceptance or rejection of it, is limited and the results are inconclusive. The research has also touched upon the polemic surrounding the rewriting of traditional fairy tales in order to accommodate modern viewpoints. The possible danger involving biased interpretation of a diverse traditional literary genre has also been highlighted.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

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AFRIKAANS: In hierdie studie word 'n voorstel gemaak vir die skep van 'n interdissiplinere musiekblyspel vir die seniorfase (Graad 7-9). Die uitgangspunt vir hierdie musiekblyspel is die dinamiese interaksie wat daar tussen sprokies en musiek bestaan. In voorafgaande navorsing deur die outeur, is hierdie interaksie as die integrasieteorie geformuleer. Die integrasieteorie word in hierdie MMus-verhandeling deur middel van storytelling met die kurrikulum verbind. Die vertel-elemente van filmmusiek word ondersoek. Die werk van die filmprodusent, Walt Disney, as sinoniem vir die kombinasie van musiek, sprokies, film en storytelling, dien as voorbeeld vir die skep van die musiekblyspel. Improvisasie¬materiaal, na aanleiding van die fases en motiewe van 'n gekose sprokie, vorm die basis vir die skep van musiek vir die musiekblyspel. Die wedersydse ondersteuning wat tussen die sprokie en die musiek tot stand kom, verhoog die opvoedkundige waarde van hierdie projek. Die skep van hierdie musiekblyspel bied moontlikhede vir suksesvolle kurrikulum-integrasie. ENGLISH: In this study a proposal is made for the creation of an interdisciplinary musical for the senior phase (Grades 7-9). The point of departure for this musical is the dynamic interaction that exists between fairy tales and music. In preliminary research by the writer, this interaction is formulated as the theory of integration. In This MMus dissertation the theory of integration is linked to the curriculum by means of storytelling. The narrative elements of film music are examined. The work of the film producer, Walt Disney, as synonym for the combination of music, fairy tales, film and storytelling, serves as an example for the creation of the musical. Improvisation material, in terms of the phases and motifs of the chosen fairy tale, forms the basis for the creation of music for the musical. The mutual support that comes about between the fairy tale and the music, enhances the educational value of this project. The creation of this musical presents possibilities for successful curriculum integration. / Dissertation (M Mus (Music Education))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

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The field of research of this thesis covers three main areas: the novels of Charles Dickens; fairy tales and storytelling; and notions of women as reflected in feminist literary theory. A reading of selected novels by Dickens provides the primary source. That he copiously drew on fairy tales has been explored in such notable works as Harry Stone's, but the thesis concentrates on Dickens 's propensity in his creation of female protagonists to give them a voice which is vivified through fairy tale. The analysis of fairy story through narrative theory and feminist literary theory functions as the basis of an exploration of the role female narrative voices play in a reading of the novels which reveals a more sympathetic vision of the feminine than has been observed hitherto. The context of this study is Victorian attitudes to women and that modem criticism has not sufficiently acknowledged Dickens's insight into of the condition of women; much of this is discovered through an examination of his use of fairy tale wherein the woman is bearer of imaginative and emotional capacities magically bestowed. The research aims to counter the view of Dickens's novels as being sexist, through the iIluminatory characteristics of fairy tale. Dickens activates his women characters by means of their often being tellers of tales replete with fairy tale imagery, and their tales are almost always seminal to the novelist's moral purpose.

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‘Becoming Animal’: Motifs of Hybridity and Liminality in Fairy Tales and Selected Contemporary Artworks serves as a theoretical examination of the concept of the hybrid. My research unpacks the liminal aspect of hybridity, locating the hybrid in the imaginative world of popular fairy tales, folk lore and mythology. In my accompanying MFA exhibition, Becoming(s), I explore these motifs through an installation of mixed-media sculptures which are based on the hybrid creatures that populated the fantasy world of my childhood. The written component of my MFA submission will relate directly to my professional art practise, developing it further and situating it within a relevant context. In my mini-thesis I will consider the liminal in relation to the ‘animal turn’ in contemporary art, with a particular focus on relevant artists working with the motifs of hybridity, such as Nandipha Mntambo, Jane Alexander and Kiki Smith. The ‘animal turn’ is a term used by Kari Weil (2010: 3) to describe a contemporary interest in issues of the nonhuman, and in the ways that the relationship between humans and nonhumans is marked by “difference, otherness and power”. Of key concern to my research will be Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s concept of ‘becoming animal’. Rather than describing a transition from one stable state to another, ‘becoming animal’ suggests a radical dissolution of boundaries – not just between species (such as ‘human’ and ‘animal’) but between any essentialising binaries. As such, ‘becoming animal’ suggests a conception of identity as being fluid and mutable, rather than stable and fixed.