Tomorrow evening at 21:00 on our YouTube channel we will have the pleasure of hosting prof. Massimo Centini to discuss the legendary corpus concerning one of the most famous mythical characters of Alpine folklore: the Wild Man.
LIVE VIDEO
ABSTRACT
In the various European traditions (and not only) the Wild Man is a sort of primordial being, halfway between man and animal, who lives on the edge of civilization and whose attitudes, seen by "civilized man", have been since ancient times object of fascination and fear, of mystery and of scientific investigation. The Wild Man (โWildermannโ in Central European countries) is generally considered to be the initiator of fundamental activities for the individual microeconomies, in which in fact he plays the role of cultural hero. The narratives of the mountain folklore testify that, after having taught the various techniques of which he was the custodian (dairy art, agriculture, mining), the Wild Man fled into the tangle of the woods, because he was the victim of jokes and misunderstanding of the " civilized man ". And so, since then, this being relegated itself outside of civilization.
That of the Wild Man is a myth that exists at all latitudes and that survives in our traditions and in our folklore even where we do not see it clearly: in the celebrations of the changes of season, in Carnival (no less than in Harlequin), in the fairy tales of children, in art, literature and heraldry. A creature that comes out of the wood but that cannot go too far from the wood, because ancient knowledge resides there and man's first trades were born: making wood, collecting honey, raising and protecting animals ... Maybe it was him to teach us. The Wild Man questions our own idea of โโcivilization, and at the same time supports it. In this live broadcast we will try to discover the paths that the Wild Man travels to seek civilization and escape it, finally preferring to return to live in the mountains and valleys, and the paths that we, "civilized men", travel to follow him.
MAXIMUM CENTINI
Graduated in Cultural Anthropology at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the University of Turin. He has worked on contracts with Italian and foreign universities and museums. Among the most recent activities: under contract in the โEthnographic Artโ section of the Natural Science Museum of Bergamo; he taught Cultural Anthropology at the Design Institute of Bolzano. Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the Popular University Foundation of Turin; teaches "History of Criminology" at the courses organized by MUA - South Tyrolean University Movement - of Bolzano. He has published numerous essays with Mondadori, Piemme, Rusconi, Newton & Compton, Yume, Xenia, San Paolo and others. Some of his volumes have been translated into various languages.
LINK TO PURCHASE THE BOOK
https://www.ibs.it/sulle-tracce-dell-uomo-selvatico-libro-massimo-centini/e/9788898323388
