An Interview with Dr. April Henry, Literary Scholar and Medievalist

Dr. April Henry, Lecturer of German Studies and Director of the German Studies Language Program

I sat down for an interview with Dr. April Henry, Lecturer of German Studies and Director of the German Studies Language Program at the Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, and the most recent recipient of the Richard K. Lublin Award in the Humanities for outstanding achievement in undergraduate teaching. In addition to her scholarship in the field of German Studies, Dr. Henry has also created and taught a variety of courses in the study of literature, many of which have been cross listed as English electives and indoctrinated innumerable students into the English Department. I asked Dr. Henry about her work in literature and the curricula she has constructed over the years pertaining to the study of English, before diving into her current coursework and take on the evolution of the study of literature. 

Before we begin discussing your involvement with the English Department, would you describe your work with the German Department as it relates to the field of literature?

Our department, in addition to teaching literature and language, tends to incorporate a number of different departments into courses that we teach. We have a lot of outreach courses — “On Fairy Tales,” “You, Me, and the Machine,” — we also have a German Myths class in addition to a Vikings course taught by Professor Jakob Norberg. And something else to note that might be a little unusual about our department is we have a joint program with UNC in German Studies. Our graduate students get a degree from both Duke and UNC and teach at both institutions, which is unique in comparison to many other universities. It is the only one of its kind with a public and private university working together. 

Although you are a professor of the German Studies Department, as you said, you teach a number of outreach courses that are often cross-listed with English. From your class on Arthurian Literature that I took, to your current freshman course on Science Fiction Literature, you have helped countless students such as myself become invested in the study of English Literature. One of your most well-known courses on campus is “On Fairy Tales,” which you have taught a number of times to many of my peers who later became English majors. Would you talk a bit about that course, and why the study of fairy tales is still relevant today?

First and foremost, fairy tales really influence a lot of the literature we read today. In addition, I would argue that fairy tales are relevant in a lot of ways – in particular, there are always morals behind the stories. When we read these pieces of literature, what is particularly interesting is that many students who I teach – and of course Duke is very international – many of the students from the US, for instance, have a certain view of fairy tales, and it is related often to Disney. One of the parts of the fairy tale course that I enjoy the most is exposing the students to the real stories. They are often very mortified, or are very surprised when they find out, for instance, what happened in Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid in comparison to the Disney adaptation. Or, for instance, if you’re comparing Snow White and Sneewittchen and reading what happens to the Evil Queen. It is interesting, too, because a lot of the tropes that are in fairy tales we still see today in much of the literature that we are exposed to and read. Authors love to retell fairy tales; some authors will even modernize them as ways to address contemporary issues, such as women’s rights. You read fairy tales that often employ stereotypes of women being portrayed as weak, and then you have contemporary authors like T. Kingfisher who create brand new tropes that reverse the old and craft a new drive of the narrative. When you think about it, fairy tales even cross disciplines; Freud did work on fairy tales. I find fairy tales, to this day, still fascinating to read, and I particularly love when I read a newer piece of literature and am reminded of a fairy tale. 

Are more modern stories, like T. Kingfisher’s Nettle & Bone, still considered “fairy tales”?

They fit within the fairy tale, though not entirely; they are based on a fairy tale but there is far too much description. Fairy tales are very bareboned. There are a lot of things going on, but they are non-descriptive. Particularly in works by the Grimm Brothers, you don’t see adjectives used more than two or three times per character and names aren’t often attached to them, while you would read “The Wicked Stepmother,” “The Huntsman,” or even the name “Snow White” as more of a description. With the newer pieces of literature, for instance Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, there are more details; they are based on fairy tales but clearly modernized. 

You also taught a class on Arthurian literature, that I was lucky enough to take, studying the Legend of King Arthur through literature. How do you think the story of King Arthur has evolved over time from its first appearances in the Latin Chronicles in 500 B.C.E. into the contemporary age of literature?

King Arthur is one of the only stories I teach that continues to show up again and again and again; I don’t think we’ll ever see the death of King Arthur in literature. Every time I think it’s done, it comes up again. But how has King Arthur evolved over time? I think the question I would ask instead is: Has it evolved? Of course, the stories that were told from the beginning to today are quite different, since we are looking at chronicles that are more embedded in history. Was there a King Arthur? Perhaps there was a person who was like King Arthur. Early on, the legend was more of a historical chronicle that became stories that were told, though I would argue that those historical chronicles were stories too. They had many details, some of which were historically accurate, with regards to what wars took place and who was involved. But over time, and during the Middle Ages, we really got involved with the Arthurian legend. And that legend is still present today. In films and literature, authors keep taking the story and rewriting it. In some ways, it has evolved simply because it has changed based on the time period in which it was written. 

Take, for instance, the Legendborn series by Tracy Deonn, which is based on Arthurian Literature. This is the first instance in Arthurian legend where we have an African American protagonist, and she deals with many of the same issues that we see in society now — microaggressions, racism, being Othered — and the way the legend has evolved is by making it more relevant to what is happening today. In my course, we look at how the depictions of various characters evolved over time, and how the historical atmosphere influenced these depictions: Who was writing it? For whom was it written? Did they have to take care in depicting X, Y, and Z? Yes, because of who was the king or queen at the time. I do think today, what I have seen, is that the newer literature regarding Arthur is evolving into something that is much more relevant to society now. 

There are other characters that are legends like King Arthur, such as Robin Hood, but we never see them adapted as much as the Arthurian story. Why do you think that is?

I don’t know everything that’s out there, but every time I come across a new version of Arthur, it is amazing how much it has been adapted. This doesn’t really happen with any other major literary characters through time. He really – and not just him but the secondary characters – also evolve, and why? That’s the question I am always asking myself: why is it that King Arthur is the one who has survived? I think we could find Arthur in everything. Not just in literature, not just in film, but in the everyday. It is quite interesting that he is The One. I think it also has to do with the fact that King Arthur spans not just England, but he is found in many other countries. His character has evolved, and he is depicted in so many different ways; he is universal. 

You are also teaching a Science Fiction Literature course for freshmen this semester, instructing on a wide variety of literary pieces spanning the genre. What can studying Sci-Fi in 2024 tell us about the present and the future?

That is exactly why I wanted to teach this class. In this course, called “The Artificial Self in Science Fiction,” we are exploring the ethical implications of our present day and the future. Specifically, we’re looking at robots, chat-bots, cyborgs. While some of this is not necessarily relevant yet, it is the future that is most likely to come. We are discussing a lot the aspect of: What does it mean to be human? What makes us human? Is it biological, or is there more to it? Is it something intangible? Is it the body? Is it organic or inorganic? And where do we draw the line between what is human and what is not human? How do we treat artificial beings? 

We also are questioning the students’ relationship with technology. Recently we discussed the book, The Ship Who Sang, by Anne McCraffey. This novel is about a female figure who is a brain encapsulated in a spaceship. This character is born with extensive physical disabilities, and the choices presented are either to euthanize her or make her in charge of a ship. The choice is given to her parents, and the parents have to choose if the child becomes a “brainship.” We talked a lot about the ethical inquiry there: What are the ethical implications of parents being forced to make this decision? But more importantly, living in this idea, ableism is such a big question, and who is to say that her life would not have been as good if she had lived in the body she was born with? Are we saying that she is a “better” entity now that she is in charge of a ship? 

Along with this, we were discussing students’ own relationships with technology. This particular character is distant from humans because she does not have any tactile abilities; she can’t physically touch people or cry. I argued with the students about how technology has also distanced them from interacting with humans, and I gave examples like sitting across from one another on the bus and texting each other. We no longer communicate in the way that we used to. Technology has a huge impact on our social interactions with each other. It is also hindering our ability when we write a text or send an email; emotions cannot come across – they lack empathy. We discussed how being a human is being able to be empathetic, and if you have empathy, that is what makes you human. And I argue, do you always display empathy? Because technology often removes us from being able to be empathetic, and in a lot of ways, I do understand that it is enhancing us. It is helping people to experience life better — pacemakers, hip replacements, cochlear implants — I don’t argue that this is a bad thing, but at what point do we draw the line? 

We started with robots, now we’re discussing cyborgs, and when you’re talking about cyborgs — they are human. Humans that have been somehow enhanced. A lot of our discussions are also about the government’s role in that transformation, and making decisions. And looking at the various artificial beings in these texts helps us question technology’s impact on our society. Where are we headed? Where are we now? And how do we draw the line between what is okay and what is not? 

Speaking of science fiction, a lot of courses at Duke have been dealing with AI, and tangential developments such as ChatGPT. How has that started to factor into your courses more? Is it something you really have to pay attention to now in your coursework? 

It is, unfortunately. In my science fiction class, I am giving them two papers to write, but we have an in-class essay exam. And it’s going to be handwritten. They are not even going to be writing on a computer. When I was putting together these assignments, I had to think about which ways I could avoid ChatGPT. I do think that the faculty at Duke and all institutions need to figure out a way to work with it. We can’t work against it, because it is the future and it will continue to evolve. 

For instance, we did a mini prep-work for the first essay in class, and I made students give their essay questions to the person next to them, and they gave each other feedback face-to-face. And their interactions in class were amazing; they were smiling and laughing, and afterwards said it was extremely helpful. 

Something that I’ve noticed you do in your literature classes, in order to hear students' voices more, is to assign creative projects at the end of the term in lieu of a final exam. What are some of the best projects that you’ve seen over the years, and what are some of the projects you have assigned? 

In the fairy tale course, I love to have students write their own fairy tale. Some are modernized, which is great, especially because they take the fairy tale and make it a contemporary issue addressing current events. Particularly in your Arthurian literature class — was it you that did the Saturday Night Live skit? That still stands out as one of the best. That is the one that has always stood out, making King Arthur a skit; King Arthur has suddenly appeared in the future in our time, and he is very confused about what is going on, and the conversation he has with various characters who are on SNL. What I like about these projects is that they give the students the opportunity to demonstrate what they learned over the course of the semester about whatever literature or topic we were talking about. And they can show it in a very creative and interesting way. I don’t know where these students are headed after they take my class; I don’t know what their future holds. But I do think creativity and innovation is extremely important across the board. 

What is something you want your students to walk away with after taking one of your literature courses? Do you want them to have a more creative mindset, or apply literary knowledge to the real world? 

A lot of times students – especially today and particularly here at Duke – major in Economics or Computer Science or Engineering, and a lot of times students don’t see the value in literature. My goal is often for them to leave my course seeing how what they learned in analyzing literature and asking bigger questions intersects with the world they are in now and the future; whatever it is they might do, literature will apply. If you are studying engineering, you need to think about the ethical implications of whatever you are creating. Students often don’t realize that reading a story isn’t just reading a story – it’s analyzing that story, applying whatever it is you’re learning about to the present and the future. Thinking about things in a more analytical way. That is my ultimate goal, that they leave the course wanting to know more, and knowing that they don’t have the complete answer to things. Creativity is essential in our education, and in our future. And literature can really help minds be more creative.