Dissertation dreams

So, I still have about 35 days left before I return to Uni for my third year at Brunel and already I am clamouring to go back! I miss my friends, the classes, even the work; all this AND I am getting excited about beginning my dissertation project.

The dissertation is a new concept for me, though I have been both looking forward to it and dreading it for a long, long time! Very sad, I'm sure, but it bears the appeal of a new subject to discover, very few boundaries other than word limit (10,000) and the opportunity to write an intelligent document with a higher value than regular essay-assignments. I have chosen to compose my project on the subject of Fairytales as I have never studied them to the extent that I would have liked and would very much like to discover more about the origins and adaptations of the genre.
My particular focus within this very broad subject keeps changing, though these are a few of my initial ideas:

• The changing role of the woman in the Fairytale genre – tracking the changes to traditional fairytales and folktales from around the world as they are influenced by the Feminist movement:
  >> Modern interpretations of classic fairytales and feminist manipulation of certain character roles (e.g. Dahl, Carter),
  >> Analysis of generic character stereotypes, e.g. Fairy godmother, Prince charming, Evil Stepmother, Wicked witch etc…
  
  
• Investigating the earliest traditional European fairytales and contextual examination of their influences on modern culture and society.
  
  
• Delving into the horror element in popular fairytales: Where has the traditional horror disappeared to? Are fairytales still as horrifying as they were meant to be? If not, why not? Is it tru that Walt Disney etc. has extracted the crucial pain and terror from the original stories? Why are modern children not allowed to experience these classic tales as they were intended? Do we really think that today’s children would not cope with such horror? What was the purpose of horrifying elements to a story? Are the stories meaningless without this element?
  
  

And other such theories. I have to admit that the horror theme has me pretty hooked for enthusiasm at the moment, especially as I have googled the keywords on Amazon only to unearth modern takes on the Gothic fairytale genre. It looks good so far, kids!

If I can get an original slant on this project I will have vastly higher marks, as it is one of the significant purposes of the dissertation project (to research a topic in a completely new and original way). I emailed my tutor this evening to explain my new ideas and we'll just have to wait and see what she says about it. I've not been taught by her before, so it's a new experience all round, but she seems really friendly and has been pretty fast to reply to previous introductory emails :o)

Anyway, I think I have been plenty unsociable this evening so far (having disappeared up here to the computer almost as soon as I finished eating), so I shall go mingle with the Fam for a bit.
TaTa4Now xxxx