Spring 2023 Russian UN3230 section 001

Tricksters in World Culture: Mockery, Su

Trickster in World Cultur

Call Number 10509
Day & Time
Location
TR 1:10pm-2:25pm
233 Seeley W. Mudd Building
Points 3
Grading Mode Standard
Approvals Required None
Instructor Mark Lipovetsky
Type LECTURE
Method of Instruction In-Person
Course Description

Tricksters constitute one of the universal themes or tropes in mythology and folklore of many cultures. Through the discussions of ancient Greek, North-American, African, Paleo- Asiatic, Scandinavian, African-American, Muslim and Jewish myths and folklore about tricksters, the course will telescope the cultural functions of the comedic transgression as a form of social critique; it will also highlight cynicism, its productive and dangerous aspects. Then we’ll introduce different historical subtypes of tricksters, such as buffoon, fool, jester, holy fool, kynik, picaro, adventurer, imposter, con artist, female and transgender tricksters, thus moving through premodern and early modern periods. Each type of the trickster is illustrated by literary examples from different world cultures (European and non-European alike) as well as theoretical works of Mikhail Bakhtin, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, and Peter Sloterdijk. Finally, the role of the trickster in modernity will be discussed through the case of Soviet tricksters, who had become true superstars manifesting the resistance to repressive political ideology by the means of “cynical reason”. The course will culminate in the trial of the most popular and important trickster in Soviet culture, Ostap Bender from Ilf and Petrov’s satirical novels. In the course’s finale will discuss the role of tricksters in contemporary politics.

Web Site Vergil
Department Slavic Languages
Enrollment 38 students (40 max) as of 10:06AM Thursday, March 28, 2024
Subject Russian
Number UN3230
Section 001
Division Interfaculty
Campus Morningside
Section key 20231RUSS3230V001