Dr. phil. Katja Gvozdeva

Merry Men: Masculine Order and Carnivalesque Drama in Early Modern France and Italy

The Early Modern carnivalesque cultures in France and Italy are investigated from a comparative perspective, considering them within the dramatic context of performed masculinity. Performed by traditional societies of merry men (compagnies joyeuses/gaie compagnie) institutionally solicited to organize the festive events in urban settings, the carnivalesque drama is perceived in both the narrow sense of a theatrical play as well as in the broad sense of a ritual drama (V. Turner), i.e. not as a universal space of subversion strictly opposed to the official (M. Bakhtin), but as a gendered liminal space of constructing masculinity through a substantial palette of burlesque performances.

Gvozdeva, K. 2014. Savoirs ludiques. Pratiques de divertissement et émergence d’institutions, doctrines et disciplines dans l’Europe moderne. Ed. with A. Stroev, Paris: Champion 2014. pp 303. 

Gvozdeva, Katja and Hans Rudolf Velten. 2011. Medialität der Prozession. Performanz ritueller Bewegung in Texten und Bildern der Vormoderne / Médialité de la procession. Performance du mouvement rituel en textes et en images à l'époque prémoderne. Heidelberg. Winter. 400pp. Online.

In November 2013, K. Gvozdeva co-organized the DramaNet conference Dramatic Experience.
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