This lecture aims to introduce students to the concept of popular culture from a historical perspective. After defining popular culture and some of its main characteristics, it will explore and complicate the traditional distinction between high and low culture (popular culture frequently being associated with the latter). The second part of the lecture will subsequently present the European fairy tale as a historical example of popular culture. It will provide a very brief history of the genre and will demonstrate how fairy tales and their modern adaptations reflect and shape socio-cultural values. Using Little Red Riding Hood as a case study, it will analyse different versions and adaptations of this universally known European fairy tale to highlight the relevance and transformative power of both historical and contemporary popular culture.
Kwinten Van De Walle
Kwinten Van De Walle is a lecturer at the School of English Studies. He is a former junior post-doctoral fellow of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation and was a research fellow at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. His research predominantly focuses on eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century literature, illustration, and print culture. His current research focuses on illustrations of Oliver Goldsmith’s literary works (1766-1845).
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