“We do not know to whom a proverb, a tale, a custom, a myth owes its origin. [so we are going to say] it originated among the folk.” –Joseph Jacobs.
The course explores folk narrative and its transmission across time and space. In particular it will focus on the stories involving a character who is known for his magical powers; as a culture hero he can be located at the origin of life. Then again, he is an eternal shapeshifter getting involved in all sorts of pranks. One label assigns to him characterizes him as a trickster who is simultaneously an omniscient creator and an innocent fool. He is a destroyer and a preserver. We will consider this character as a folkloric scapegoat onto which our fears, failures, and unattained ideals are projected.
The course interrogates the trickster figure to further ask: Why do we need to experience the deception of a trickster and his tricks? Do we need a “lie,” the trick” to know the “truth”? Is being tricked essential to our survival? How does this survival motif form an archetype? What is trickster archetype?