An important element of carnival in New Orleans, better known as Mardi Gras, is the appearance of the Mardi Gras Indians. This slide presentation and lecture examines the debate about the historical origins of this carnival spectacle and comments on the complex intercultural relations among Blacks, Indians, and Whites in this unique performance.
Speakers Expertise:
Dr. Annette Trefzer teaches American literature and literary theory at the University of Mississippi. She is the author of
Disturbing Indians: The Archaeology of Southern Fiction (UP of Alabama, 2007) and the co-editor with Ann J. Abadie of several volumes of critical essays on William Faulkner. She is the co-editor with Kathryn McKee of a special issue of American Literature: “Global Contexts, Local Literatures: The New Southern Studies” (Dec. 2006). She is a founding member of the Interdisciplinary Faculty Working Group on the Global South dedicated to new research in Global South studies. As Graduate Director of the Department of English, she teaches “Introduction to Graduate Studies,” a course that focuses on the history of the profession, its theoretical and institutional contours, and various critical and theoretical approaches. She also teaches courses in Literary Theory, American and Native American literature, and Southern literature.
