Rituelle Inversion und subversive Diskurse. Überlegungen für eine Theorie des Karnevals der Vormoderne aus romanistischer Perspektive

Abstract

Michail Bacthin’s studies have not only established the field of research of the Carnival and the carnivalesque, but have also consistently connected it to various disciplines through linguistic, literary, anthropological and sociological approaches. Their reception therefore concerns very different areas of research and has been proved very fruitful in recent decades. This contribution offers a critical overview of some of the studies on the topic of Carnival and the attempts to distinguish its conceptualisation from related terminology. In particular, I highlight a differentiation between two competing aspects in the interpretation of this phenomenon, namely the ritual inversion, and the subversive discourses that can be addressed in the context of Carnival.