Carnival!

[osprey_archer]

I'm taking a course on American Sacred Space, broadly defined, and my term-end assignment is to design an undergrad course which interacts in some way with the theme of sacred space. So here's what I'm thinking: what could be cooler than a class on the spirit of carnival in America? Not carnival in the elephant ears and Ferris wheels sense (though I might devote one class period to it. Oh, I know! Field trip!), but carnival as a time when social norms are temporarily overturned.

Naturally, I'd want to start out with an overview of what carnival means. Hopefully including Venice, because Venice is so cool and this will give me an excuse to read about it.

(You guys, I have time to read nothing but classwork this term. And Pilgrim's Progress on the side. It's super sad.)

I think going back all the way to Saturnalia might be a little too inclusive, but on the other hand if there's a really nice article I should read about it, I will not say no.

But moving on! Clearly there should be a class period devoted to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. (This is also an opportunity to introduce the idea of American regional cultures, which I think ought to be more prominent in American history. I read the most interesting book about it this summer, Colin Woodard's American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America, which probably overgeneralizes some but was nonetheless quite interesting.)

Also masquerade balls, which were quite popular in New York - and eventually became drag balls for the city's burgeoning gay culture. You could do fascinating things with that, all the more because the biggest and best drag ball was in Harlem - concurrent with the Harlem Renaissance.

Moving back in time: I'd want to do Barnum & Bailey's Circus, obviously, and probably a separate class devoted to freak shows, which are interesting in themselves and also a good time to discuss historical perspective, given that the general modern reaction to freak shows seems to be "SO GROSS." Clearly we'd want to unpack that, and also discuss applying moral judgment to history. On the one hand, it's inevitable and proper that we will judge; but on the other, disgust precludes understanding.

But this is a longer topic for another time.

Coney Island! Coney Island is so interesting, you guys. Possibly a follow-up with Disneyland? I'm not sure Disney actually fits. Certainly it would be instructive to compare Coney Island and Disney, though.

I might need a few more topics, perhaps. But I'd wrap it up with gay pride parades, which are like the old spirit of carnival in that they temporarily overturn social norms...but unlike traditional carnival in that they have a revolutionary character: they aim to make this overturn permanent.

And I think that would be a good cap on the course, because there is this theme of queerness that runs through Carnival: cross-dressing, bearded ladies...

Any thoughts? Articles/books I really ought to read on any of these topics - or topics I haven't thought of yet that I absolutely must pursue?

Comments

[bogwitch64.livejournal.com]

I want to take that course! If I think of anything to add, I'll let you know. My brain is tumbling with what you already have!

[goldjadeocean.livejournal.com]

Would you talk about Halloween? The original nature of "trick or treat"?

[artemis_wandering]

I know next to nothing about the topic so can't recommend anything (beyond, have you seen HBO's Carnivale? BRILLIANT.), but it sounds fascinating, so I think you're on the right path.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Yes! Halloween would work! If it were a fall class, I could totally do a theme day with candy...

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I haven't! Perhaps I should add it to my endlessly long list of shows I should watch.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Ha, I could do, like, internet courses.

Seriously, if you guys are very unlucky, I will probably regurgitate most of the books I read on this journal. Probably with arm flailing.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Whoa, Osprey Archer, that is a huge, huge topic. But very, VERY cool, and I think it could be great.

I don't have *any* useful advice--though one thing that occurs to me is the intersection between carnival and fairs--because you often get them combined in small towns: you have the county fair or the town fair, and a traveling carnival comes through and enhances it. What's that about? When did it start?

And what about the peep show element in carnivals--how does that fit in with your queer theme, I wonder? Sexual liberation/permissiveness during the period of time the carnival is in town? But there's also the exploitation element--which gets back to what you were saying about freak shows and attitudes.

But this is closer to the circus element, the sort of carnival you're **not** talking about.

Anyway, wherever you draw the boundaries, it would be a fascinating course.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering how much a county fair fits into this schema. That's a place where people go with their families, which cuts down on the sense that the social order has been overturned - especially given that, while fairs usually do have a Midway, they're also very much concerned with showing off produce, farm equipment, etc. - the products of the workaday world. It's a celebration of everyday life rather than an escape from it.

But often there is also an element of transgression within the wider fair - as you say, the peep show element. IIRC Bill Bryson mentions a stripper tent at the state fairs of his childhood in his memoir.

I think I may need to narrow my theme down a bit: it's spinning out of control.

I had another idea for this class, actually - spaces that are fantasies of international brotherhood. Starting with the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, moving through World's Fairs and Olympics, and ending perhaps with the UN and Disney's Epcot World Showcase (which is like a permanent World's Fair). It's a little bit more focused. Perhaps I'll write a post about that one, too.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

That *is* a more focused project and I think one you could get a grip on more easily and yet still have plenty to say. Plus, people have talked a lot about carnival(e) as an upending of social order, but this topic of fantasy of international brotherhood seems more fresh. (Not that I didn't like the first topic, just that it is so huge, and *has* a long history of being discussed, whereas this one is new--to me, at least.)

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I don't think the fact that there's a long history of discussion is a problem - after all, this is a syllabus for an undergrad course, so though carnival is not new, it would be new to most of the students.

But the focus thing seems like more a problem. So does the fact that most of my spirit of carnival examples are temporal rather than spatial. I suppose many of my 'international brotherhood' examples are as well, especially the Olympics - but I think most of them have a heavy emphasis on space too. You always read about the architecture of the Great Exhibition and the World's Fairs.

[artemis_wandering]

Yes, you absolutely should! Sadly, there is no resolution because they canceled it after the second season but it is brilliantly crafted, acted, the story telling is dark and amazing...it's brilliant.