The Summer Program of 'Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic' Illustrates Why Fairy Tale Scholars Study Legends (And Now You Can Too!)

Carterhaugh is where it's at for Summer folklore and fairy tale studies this year! (Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic, that is.) And time is running out to sign up!

Did you just need a little reminder of the awesome awaiting you to complete that registration?

Go directly HERE to sign up BEFORE MIDNIGHT this FRIDAY.

Need some more background before you commit? Happy to help.

We highly recommend CarterhaughSchool's courses but why do we love Caterhaugh's founders and professors, Brittany Warman and Sara Cleto (and their sometimes-guest-lecturer Shveta Thakrar) here at Once Upon A Blog? It's not just because these ladies are passionate about all aspects of fairy tales, combining formidable scholarly-chops and research with accessibly-lovely whimsy and humor (because they most definitely do!), but because they make their courses appeal to a wide range of folks. They're inclusive and lay-friendly, while remaining challenging and engaging for the experienced scholar as well. Their materials combine the best of old world research and resources, with the tech-savvy and visual eye candy that appeals to critical, yet hungry contemporary fairy tale folk. They're fresh yet grounded, and have helpings aplenty of brains and beauty in the presentation and the content. Best of all, they specifically encourage personal development along an individual's chosen 'path' (scholar, writer or artist) for the final assignment so you can make your study relevant to your personal life and journey. Like folklorists tend to do, the study becomes part of the student's actual life and experience.

Here are Sara and Brittany doing some 'field research' for the Legends course about to begin (which they turned into a fun commercial):

These ladies are a hoot! We love that they're prepared to jump into fairy rings!

Image by Comfreak at Pixbay

And may we just say: don't be fooled by all the prettiness coming your way via Caterhaugh. While they admittedly love (and are in favor of) beautiful fairy tale things, these ladies are the real deal and fully qualified to give your brain a good work out too. (They just have also been blessed with good aesthetic taste as well!)

To give you a sense of where it's possible to go with them in discussions and study, we recommend listening to their awesome interview and discussion on inclusivity in fairy tales with the for Hugo Finalist SF/F podcast The Skiffy and Fanty Show. You might be surprised at the depth they go to in the hour long show - which we recommend making time to listen to, even if you have to do it in sections. It's too good to miss and inclusivity is something we need to be especially aware of at this point in time.

But back to Caterhaugh's current offerings - WHICH ARE STARTING UBER-SOON.

This time around these fairy godmothers of folklore and fairy tale studies are bringing us a long course (ten lessons over ten weeks) on LEGENDS. But wait: why are fairy tale mavens teaching a whole course on legends? Legends aren't fairy tales, right?

Ah - but they have so many delectably overlapping features, you'd be hard pressed to find a fairy tale scholar who doesn't also do their fair share of reading and study on legends simply because they can't help themselves! Brittany and Sara wrote a short and delightful article to explain. It's titled:

Scary Fairies, Sexy Vampires, and Techno-Ghosts: Or, 5 Reasons Fairy-Tale Scholars Study Legends Too

And we also highly recommend their 10 Reasons to Study Folklore - (two words: 'ceiling cat') which should provide a good bridge into the upcoming course on Legends as well.

We'll wait while you check it out... *whistling, rocking back and forth on toes, more whistling...*

Arthur Rackham

You're back? Great!

Here's a taste of what's to come:

"We’ll look at supernatural legends, urban legends, and historical legends, leading you through the woods beyond King Arthur’s court and into a fairy’s grotto and out again into the haunted synapses of the internet. "

Now that you're convinced, here's a peek at the (tentative) course schedule, broken into three awesome units:

July 1st – Introduction to Legends

Supernatural Legends UnitJuly 8th – Fairy Legends
July 15th – Vampire Legends
July 22nd – Cryptozoology Legends
July 29th – Sea Legends

Urban Legends Unit
August 5th – Ghost Legends
August 12th – House Legends
August 19th – Internet Legends

Historical Legends Unit
August 26th – British Legends
September 2nd – American Legends & Wrap Up

Do you feel your eyes getting bigger with each section? We do! 

But then we read 'Cryptozoology'. Gah. That settles it. The FT Newsroom Little Leaguers are going to be mighty upset with us if we don't get on board this train! (And if Gravity Falls is mentioned and they're not allowed to participate, there might just be a mutiny!) We'll have to triple check we can do this course on the road. (Brittany tells us: as long as you have regular access to the internet, you can!)

So guess what we've just added to our Summer program?

Just like with the fairy tale long course, you can read a summary of how it works around your personal schedule HERE, with a list of the dates of each set of materials being sent and the lectures and additional teaching material becoming available, as well as your unique Carterhaugh keepsakes (in the form of beautifully designed Grimoire pages for you to build your own magical book of knowledge). 

You can register HERE but it must be by midnight, June 30th 2017, EST - THAT'S THIS FRIDAY MIDNIGHT EST FOLKS!

Here's the info on The Legend long course from the website:

The course will be conducted through video lectures that will be accessible on the dates listed below, but all the materials will be yours to download and interact with whenever you choose (so don’t worry if you can’t play on those specific dates!) The price for this 10 lesson class will be $200, payable in one, two, or four installments. Full payment must be complete by the time registration closes on June 30th at midnight. Aside from the videos you will also receive the PowerPoint presentations featured in the video lectures, a beautifully made PDF “grimoire page” summary of each lesson, and any supplementary reading. This material is yours to keep and download for personal use! 

There will be a final assignment prompt for which you may choose the path of the scholar, the path of the writer, or the path of the artist. Personal feedback on completed final assignments is available upon request – we would love to see what you come up with! 

Dates: July 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, August 5th, 12th, 19th, September 2nd – note that these are simply the dates that materials will be posted! You will be able to download everything and watch whenever is most convenient to you. 

Total Number of Lessons: 10 

What’s Included: Welcome Letter, 10 Video Lectures, 10 PowerPoint Presentations, 10 Beautiful PDF “Grimoire Page” Lesson Summaries, PDFs or Links to Any Supplementary Reading, Personal Feedback on Completed Final Assignment if Desired 

Any Additional Materials Needed: No 

Registration Closes: June 30th at Midnight 

Price: $200 – you can pay in one, two, or four installments! Full payment must be complete by the time registration closes on June 30th.