Abstract
The current social and political climate has forced many fairy-tale scholars to face the question “What is practical about studying fairy tales?” While it is easy to dismiss these stories as unmoored from contemporary issues, this article foregrounds the impact of fairy tales in the classroom by arguing that they can provide a bridge between the familiarity of “relatability” and the horizon of empathy. Discussing three course readings and a corresponding assignment, we demonstrate how fairy tales can be both deeply relevant to our students’ own lives and move beyond relatability to allow access to unfamiliar identities and experiences.
Recommended Citation
Cleto, Sara and Warman, Brittany. "Teaching with Stories: Empathy, Relatability, and the Fairy Tale." Marvels & Tales 33.1 (2019). Web. <https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/marvels/vol33/iss1/7>.
