HomeThe Politics of Carnival

The Politics of Carnival

Carnaval et politique

Carnaval y política

Transnational, Transhistorical Perspectives

Perspectives transnationales et transhistoriques

Perspectivas transnacionales y transhistóricas

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Published on Thursday, January 22, 2015

Abstract

This international conference on carnival will bring together historians, anthropologists, and sociologists to explore the links between carnival and politics as showcased by carnivals in Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Latin America. The purpose of the meeting will be twofold: (1) discuss the evolution of "carnival studies" since the publication of Bakhtin’s Rabelais and His World fifty years ago; (2) use case studies covering a wide range of geographical areas and historical periods (from the Renaissance to the 21st century) to produce a coherent synthesis of the relationship between carnival and politics.

Announcement

About the Conference

This international conference on carnival will bring together historians, anthropologists, and sociologists to explore the links between carnival and politics as showcased by carnivals in Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Latin America. The purpose of the meeting will be twofold: (1) discuss the evolution of ‘carnival studies’ since the publication of Bakhtin’s Rabelais and His World fifty years ago; (2) use case studies covering a wide range of geographical areas and historical periods (from the Renaissance to the 21st century) to produce a coherent synthesis of the relationship between carnival and politics.

The conference will be held on 13-14 February so as to coincide with the annual ‘promenade de Bœuf-Gras’ (Fat Cow Parade), one of the highlights of the Paris carnival. Led by the Fat Cow herself, musicians and Parisians parade through the French capital’s streets to the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), thus reviving an age-old tradition begun in 1274. For more information, see www.carnaval-paris.org---

Programme

Friday 13 February

9.00 am-9.30 am: Registration and opening address by the conference organizers. Light breakfast 

9.30 am-10.30 am: Keynote Speaker #1

  • Samuel Kinser (Northern Illinois University): “A Bear's Kingdom:  The Politics of Excess, Control, and Laughter” 

10.30 am-10.45 am: Coffee break

 10.45 am-12.30 am: Panel #1: "The Politics of Serious Play I: Resistance, Co-optation, Detour"

Chair: Maria Laura Reali (Paris Diderot University) 

  • Nathalie Gauthard (Université de Nice): “L’hydre carnavalesque niçoise ou les différentes incarnations du politique”
  • Blodwenn Mauffret (Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle University): “La pratique du détour et l'esthétique grotesque au sein du carnaval de Cayenne: expression de la dérision militante créole”
  • Dorothée Chouitem (Lille 3 University): “Entre contestation ritualisée et militantisme politique : retour sur le carnaval uruguayen des années 1973-1985” 

12.30 pm-2.00 pm: Lunch at Buffon restaurant (17 rue Hélène Brion, 13th arrondissement) 

2.00 pm-3.30 pm: Panel #2: "The Politics of Serious Play II: Resistance, Co-optation, Detour"

Chair: Denis-Constant Martin (Sciences Po Bordeaux) 

  • Gustavo Remedi (Universidad de la República, Montevideo): “The Assault on Neoliberal Culture: Interventions within / from the Field of Carnivalesque Theatre in 21st-Century Uruguay”
  • Aurélie Helmlinger (CNRS) : “Steelpan Politics: Revisiting the Early History of Trinidad’s National Instrument”
  • Garth Green (University of North Carolina, Charlotte): “Beyond Bakhtin: Carnival and Resistance in Trinidad and Tobago” 

3.30 pm-3.45 pm: Coffee break 

3.45 pm-5.15 pm: Panel #3: "The Politics of Serious Play II: The Aesthetics of Satire"

Chair : Guillaume Marche (Paris Est Créteil University) 

  • Louis Regis (West Indies University, Trinidad) : “Calypso and the Genesis of Obeah Politics in Trinidad and Tobago”
  • Randy Sparks (Tulane University, New Orleans): “New Orleans Carnivals of 1877 and 2006: Reconstructions I and II”
  • Kim Marie Vaz (Xavier University, New Orleans): “Power in Play: New Orleans Black Carnival Performance Traditions” 

5.15 pm-5.30 pm: Coffee break 

5.30 pm-6.30 pm : Keynote Speaker #2

  • Gilles Bertrand (Grenoble University): “Le carnaval de Venise: un modèle de rituel politique au coeur de la vieille Europe” 

8.00 pm: Dinner at Hugo's (12 rue Papillon, 9th arrondissement) 

Saturday 14 February

9.00 am-9.30 am: Light breakfast 

9.30 am-11.30 am: Panel #4: "The Politics of Identity I: Religion/Ethnicity"

Chair: Aurélie Godet (Paris Diderot University) 

  • Milla Cozart Riggio (Trinity College, Connecticut): “Playing and Praying: The Politics of Race and Religion in Trinidad Carnival”
  • Helen Regis (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge): “‘Paseos por New Orleans’: Transforming Carnival Geographies of Power in New Orleans”
  • Olivier Esteves (Lille 3 University): “Reclaiming the Home Country: The Early Years of the Notting Hill Carnival” 

11.30 am-11.45 am: Coffee break 

11.45 am-1.15 pm: Panel #5: "The Politics of Identity II: Ethnicity/Gender"

Chair: Michel Prum (Paris Diderot University) 

  • Géraldine Chouard (Paris Dauphine University): “Carnival Politics: Eudora Welty's Mardi Gras Photographs in New Orleans (1930s)”
  • Monika Salzbrunn (Lausanne University): “La promenade du Bœuf-Gras à Paris: une nouvelle arène politique ?”
  • Lionel Arnaud (Toulouse 3 University): “L’action politique des groupes carnavalesques: une comparaison Guadeloupe / Martinique” 

1.30 pm-2.30 pm: Buffet lunch 

2.30 pm-3.00 pm: Presentation of a Documentary Film on New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians by its two directors, Edith Patrouilleau and Jo Béranger (Paris 13 University) 

3.00 pm-4.30 pm: Panel #6: "The Politics of Identity III: From the Local to the Global"

Chair: Bénédicte Deschamps (Paris Diderot University) 

  • Laure Garrabé (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria): “Esthétique, différence et colonialités du pouvoir dans le carnaval de Recife”
  • Julie Lourau da Silva (Universidade Católica do Salvador) : “Identités locales, identités globales : le cas du carnaval de Salvador de Bahia”
  • Nicole Ferdinand (King’s College, London): “Notting Hill Carnival and the Politics of Tourism in the 21st Century” 

4.30 pm-4.45 pm: Coffee break 

4.45 pm-5.45 pm: Keynote Speaker #3

Claire Tancons (curator, New Orleans): “Carnivalscape: A Circum-Atlantic Genealogy of Carnival” 

5.45 pm-7.00 pm: Closing Roundtable Discussion on the Politics of Carnival

 

Paris Diderot University
Buffon Lecture Hall
15 rue Hélène Brion 75013 PARIS                  

Co-conveners

(Paris Diderot University)

  • Aurélie Godet and
  • Maria Laura Reali . 

Website: www.carnavaletpolitique.fr

Places

  • Université Paris Diderot, Amphithéâtre Buffon - 15 rue Hélène Brion
    Paris, France (75013)

Date(s)

  • Friday, February 13, 2015
  • Saturday, February 14, 2015

Attached files

Keywords

  • carnaval, politique, fête

Contact(s)

  • Maria Laura Reali
    courriel : reali [dot] laura [at] googlemail [dot] com
  • Aurélie Godet
    courriel : augodet [at] yahoo [dot] com

Reference Urls

Information source

  • Maria Laura Reali
    courriel : reali [dot] laura [at] googlemail [dot] com

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« The Politics of Carnival », Conference, symposium, Calenda, Published on Thursday, January 22, 2015, https://doi.org/10.58079/rur

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