Fairy Tales and Ideology

This week we are discussing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. You will find copies of this and other Oz books on the course resources page. They are also available online if you search. Please read it or another Oz book before coming to class. We will be discussing ideology and specifically how ideology is embedded in the Wizard of Oz in all its various forms. I hope to introduce some of the ideas about media and cultural production advanced by Gramsci and members of the Franfurt School. The 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz will be used to expand the discussion. 

For this week you should have posted your platonic dialogue on the subject of media before class. You can use any medium to present it. For next week, write a fairy tale for a contemporary audience that embeds your own ideology.