CSLC 133 Eastern European Myth and Folklore
There are two fundamental philosophical positions that try to describe our relation to others. The one posits that I am different from you. The other assumes the fundamental unity of human and other beings. Both of these positions lead to serious difficulties. If I am fundamentally different from you, I run the risk of alienation, and confront the impossibility of knowledge. If I begin with the assumption of oneness, I encounter the difficulty of distinguishing myself from you, and the impossibility of agency.
Is there a third way that avoids these problems? Could we re-imagine relationships among humans and other beings in a way that preserves a sense of individual selfhood situated within community? Eastern European folklore and mythology give us tools to rethink this contemporary dilemma.
We will focus on myths and folk tales from East Central Europe. We will ground our discussion in the historical context of Scythian female warrior culture and some pre-Indo-European beliefs and practices. These cultural phenomena survive in the myths and epics of the Slavs. We will analyze representations and adaptations of these myths and practices in contemporary literature, film, and art from former Yugoslavia, Romania, Ukraine, and other Eastern European countries.
This course meets the Core Program Regional Focus (CPRF) Requirement.
This course meets the Core Program Pre-1800s Requirement.