RELST-258 Native American Tricksters
Tricksters are troublemakers, foolish, and their presence often serves as an example of what not to do. Even so, they are responsible for shaping the world and they frequently, if unintentionally, help the People. While their behavior often violates conventional social norms, Tricksters can have liberative effects, as they dramatize imaginative ways of perceiving and acting as a good relative. In this class, we will attend to both difference and similarity through careful, discrete comparative analysis across American Indian traditions. Making use of intercultural oral and written stories, we examine the paradoxical role of Tricksters as guides and teachers, whose buffoonery can sometimes obscure their powerful, creative, life-affirming lessons.
Standard Course (40)
Credits
1