Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and Cherbourg

Carnival as a research object has been studied from a multiplicity of perspectives: folklore studies, European ethnology, social and cultural anthropology, history, sociology, etc. Each of these disciplines has enriched the literature by focusing on different aspects of the event, such as its partic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Monika Salzbrunn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online 2020-11-01
Series:Journal of Festive Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/50
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849735351137992704
author Monika Salzbrunn
author_facet Monika Salzbrunn
author_sort Monika Salzbrunn
collection DOAJ
description Carnival as a research object has been studied from a multiplicity of perspectives: folklore studies, European ethnology, social and cultural anthropology, history, sociology, etc. Each of these disciplines has enriched the literature by focusing on different aspects of the event, such as its participatory nature, its transformative potential (at an individual or collective level), and its political dimension broadly conceived. The present article reviews this scholarship and uses it to analyze the contemporary Parisian Carnival, which has tried to revive the nineteenth-century Promenade du Boeuf Gras tradition on a local and translocal level through its creative collaboration with the carnival of Cherbourg, Normandy. I argue that, through satire and other politicized carnival rituals, the recent protagonists of Parisian Carnival (Les Fumantes de Pantruche) have reinvented the festivities and influenced Norman Carnival, thus extending the boundaries of belonging in both cities.
format Article
id doaj-art-9ce877fe2a034e4e856efff1f741eef9
institution DOAJ
issn 2641-9939
language English
publishDate 2020-11-01
publisher H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online
record_format Article
series Journal of Festive Studies
spelling doaj-art-9ce877fe2a034e4e856efff1f741eef92025-08-20T03:07:35ZengH-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences OnlineJournal of Festive Studies2641-99392020-11-012110512710.33823/jfs.2020.2.1.5020Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and CherbourgMonika Salzbrunn0University of LausanneCarnival as a research object has been studied from a multiplicity of perspectives: folklore studies, European ethnology, social and cultural anthropology, history, sociology, etc. Each of these disciplines has enriched the literature by focusing on different aspects of the event, such as its participatory nature, its transformative potential (at an individual or collective level), and its political dimension broadly conceived. The present article reviews this scholarship and uses it to analyze the contemporary Parisian Carnival, which has tried to revive the nineteenth-century Promenade du Boeuf Gras tradition on a local and translocal level through its creative collaboration with the carnival of Cherbourg, Normandy. I argue that, through satire and other politicized carnival rituals, the recent protagonists of Parisian Carnival (Les Fumantes de Pantruche) have reinvented the festivities and influenced Norman Carnival, thus extending the boundaries of belonging in both cities.https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/50carnivalboeuf grasparischerbourgpolitical anthropologyfolklore studies
spellingShingle Monika Salzbrunn
Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and Cherbourg
Journal of Festive Studies
carnival
boeuf gras
paris
cherbourg
political anthropology
folklore studies
title Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and Cherbourg
title_full Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and Cherbourg
title_fullStr Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and Cherbourg
title_full_unstemmed Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and Cherbourg
title_short Twenty-First-Century Reinvention of Carnival Rituals in Paris and Cherbourg
title_sort twenty first century reinvention of carnival rituals in paris and cherbourg
topic carnival
boeuf gras
paris
cherbourg
political anthropology
folklore studies
url https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/50
work_keys_str_mv AT monikasalzbrunn twentyfirstcenturyreinventionofcarnivalritualsinparisandcherbourg