Ontological Liminality of Ghosts in Vernacular Interpretations: the Case of a Haunted Hospital in Tartu, Estonia
UW Sterling Hall 475 N. Charter St. , Madison, Wisconsin
Please join us next Tuesday, November 17, at 4:00 pm in 1313 Sterling Hall for a lecture given by Ülo Valk, Professor of Estonian and Comparative Folklore at the University of Tartu in Estonia. Professor Valk's lecture, "Ontological Liminality of Ghosts in Vernacular Interpretations: the Case of a Haunted Hospital in Tartu, Estonia," discusses contemporary Estonian ghost-lore on micro-level, focusing on the narrative tradition of an old maternity hospital in Tartu. In 2008 a new medical center was opened and the employees of the hospital were getting prepared for moving to the new building. At this time the ghost-lore of the hospital was re-activated and several employees had uncanny experiences. Interviews with them revealed a variety of points of view towards the supernatural and speculations that address the basic question: how to make sense of ghosts – supernatural entities who had a firm place in traditional folk belief but whose presence can hardly be explained within the rational environment of a modern medical center. The variety of controversial views about ghosts delineates a state of existence that could be characterized as ontological liminality between shared, social reality, the realm of traditional legends and extraordinary experiences with a personal and imaginary flavor.
The Speaker:
Ülo Valk is professor of Estonian and comparative folklore, University of Tartu. During 2000 and 2001 he served as visiting professor of folkloristics at the University of California, Berkeley, from 2005 until 2009 he was the president of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR).His publications include the monograph “The Black Gentleman: Manifestations of the Devil in Estonian Folk Religion” (Academia Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki, 2001), a co-edited volume “Vernacular Religion in Everyday Life: Expressions of Belief” (Routledge, 2012) and other works on folk narratives, folk belief, demonology, history of folkloristics and folklore in social context.
This lecture is sponsored by the Department of Comparative Literature and Folklore Studies and CREECA.