I’m very happy with the way this presentation went! I was worried that people would not want to speak up, and that the discussion would flop, but we got had some really thoughtful and new comments (from Elinor and Helena especially (thanks guys!)) I’m glad I paid attention to my last presentation and wrote the questions on the sheet rather than just speaking them aloud, since I think it helped guide the conversation more to the place I wanted it. The conversation bringing in the grotesque was not something I expected, but was ultimately very happy with too.
I wish I’d been able to find some specific Latin translations, but the book I ordered never made it through the library system (even to today.) I still think the examples I found were good, and filled in the gaps of Bakhtin’s writing, but there could have been some more quotations. Though some of the “blessings” were pretty choice, I had hoped for a whole chunk of text! I think if we had had more specific examples (with real authors too) we could have spoken more about the author’s purpose: whether or not it’s to blow off steam, or if, as “Peasant Fires” suggests, it actually makes participants come back with more respect than before. We touched on it for a moment, but not as much as I’d expected; perhaps though, we can never know the real effects of liturgical parodies, which is why everyone avoided it.
Thanks again to everyone who helped make the discussion fruitful!
