Supernatural Stories: Life, Death, and Community in Contemporary Russian Villages

If you visit Russian villages, you will often hear two types of stories about people’s interactions with the supernatural world:  tales about harmful magic and accounts of ancestors who visit from beyond the grave.  Dr. Osterman, who has been doing ethnographic fieldwork in Russia and Bulgaria for 40 years, will explore the logic and purpose of such stories.

Note:  The Global Village Museum is delighted to host excellent speakers for the Russian Retrospective program series.  The flip side, however, is that the program room is filling to the brim for these educational presentations.  Going forward, we will be opening the program doors one hour before the scheduled start time, so we suggest you arrive early to secure a seat.  Because we do not take reservations, seating is on a first come, first serve basis.