Project Idea: Tricksters

You will find trickster figures, both human and animal (and even some trickster gods) in the myths and folklore of cultures around the world. For this project, you could zoom in on a specific trickster (Brer Rabbit, for example), or the tricksters of a region (tricksters in India), or a project that brings together tricksters from completely different traditions.

Research Tip: Start with the Wikipedia article about Tricksters, which has a list of tricksters (scroll on down for the list); those links will take you to individual articles about some of the most famous trickster figures like Reynard the Fox, Till Eulenspiegel, Nanabozho, etc. Here in the UnTextbook, look at the Anansi from West Africa and from Jamaica. For Brer Rabbit, check out the two Brer Rabbit units. For the Coyote trickster of Native American legend, check out the Apache unit, the Pacific-Northwest unit, and the Southwest unit. You can also search the UnTextbook for trickster and find lots of stories you might like!

Past Projects:

• The Trickster of OU
• The Sentencing of Trickster Rabbit
• Till Eulenspiegel: Adventures and Conceits
• Native American Tricksters