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| Welcome everyone to History 4332: History of Christmas folklore | |
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| This week we will concentrate on the history of Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer and how he managed to drastically rise in social status from a pariah to Santa's favorite in a very short period of time | |
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| So class I intend to begin this course with a brief introduction to the historiography of Rudolph with a brief overview of the various competing schools of thought of the last century | |
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| Let me begin with the Marxist school of though. These historians interpreted Rudolph's rise to power as a triumph of progressive capitalist bourgeoisie reindeer over a class of wealthy feudal elves | |
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| Within the last 50 years, several revisionists have debunked various aspects of the marxist school. Arguing that most reindeer at the time were not capitalists but rather came from many social groups | |
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| Thats all for today, prepare for our next class by thinking about Santa's critical decision in making Rudolph leader of his sleigh. Did he have any other recourse? Was he forced to act only in crisis? | |
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