동화를 활용한 비판적 읽기교육: 여성상에 초점을 맞춘「라푼젤」과 「헨젤과 그레텔」수업

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Critical Literacy Education through Fairy Tales

Images of Women in “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Grethel”

Park, Seong-ha Advisor: Prof. Lee, Jung-Hwa, Ph.D Major in English Education Graduate School of Education, Chosun University

This thesis presents a classroom experience of teaching two fairy tales, "Rapunzel" and "Hansel and Grethel," to foster critical literacy, focusing on images of women. A class of 22 middle school students in their third year read the two fairy tales for 6 class hours. According to studies on critical literacy, texts are written from a gendered perspective. We are led to accept what is presented in texts as normal, natural, and typical. Children’s literature, and fairy tales in particular, contains many examples of female stereotypes. I demonstrate how female stereotypes are presented in the two fairy tales--first in “Rapunzel,” and second, in “Hansel and Grethel.” In terms of images of women, both tales present two distinct female stereotypes. Generally the positive female stereotype is described as beautiful, good, warm-hearted, passive, and poor. And the negative female stereotype is described as ugly, bad, active, and mean. The most important part of reading classes designed to foster critical literacy is to create student-centered activities so that students could raise questions instead of passively internalizing what texts describe as desirable. After reading the two fairy tales, students could question the ways in which a witch and a step-mother are described in the fairy tales and critically reconsider their own cultural assumptions concerning images of women.