Kantor, V. (2019). Demythologisation of Russian culture. Moscow, St. Petersburg: Tsentr gumanitarnykh initsiativ. (In Russ.)

Vladimir Kantor’s new book Demythologisation of Russian culture is concerned with interaction of world cultures and the turning points in the world history — the fall of the Roman Empire, World War I, Russian Revolution of 1917, etc. What drives the masses in times of war and revolutions; how mob mentality takes over society, and how the truth known to an individual defies widespread delusion; what is the nature of the myth and of the two principal events of world history — ‘the life and death of a living being’ — each of these questions receives an answer in seventeen essays on key figures of Russian culture: Peter I, A. Pushkin, I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, A. Chernyshevsky, M. Katkov, A. Kerensky, M. Gorky et al. Published as an addendum to the book is Kantor’s short story ‘The death of a retiree’ [‘Smert pensionera’], supplied with a dedicated article ‘On the event of death’ by K. Barsht.

Anthropophagy of the Werewolf

Lycanthropic anthropophagy is the main concern for Justine Larbalestier’s novel Liar (2009). The novel is about the mysterious killing of highschool teen, Zach, in contemporary New York City. Zach’s girlfriend Micah, notorious for being a pathological liar and an outcast, is considered highly suspect as the murderer, particularly by her parents who know she is secretly a werewolf. The werewolf is both exceptional for its special abilities yet also cursed with uncontrollable, bloodthirsty urges at each full moon. This article argues that anthropophagy of the werewolf is metaphorically an act of social taboo when one lives and behaves in opposition to the socially prescribed. Through Micah’s surreal and unstable narration Larbalestier explores contemporary issues such as authority over the individual, gender non-conformity, and mob mentality, in order to criticise popular opinions that ostracise people perceived as outsiders. This article will explore these themes in greater detail and prove the ways in which Larbalestier uses eco-feminist fiction to communicate these criticisms.

Rumors on the Net: A Brackish Suspension of Speech and Hate

The legitimacy of public memory and socially normative standards of civility is questioned through rumors that abound on online social media platforms. On the Net, the proclivity of rumors is particularly prone to acts of bullying and frameworks of hate speech. Legislative attempts to limit rumors operate differently in France and throughout Europe from the United States. This article examines the impact of online rumors, the mob mentality, and the politicization of bullying critics within a cyber culture that operates within the limitations of law.