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Events - 14.01.2016 - 00:00 

Schnitzelbängg: tradition or embarrassment?

The HSG, PHSG and FHS jointly invite the general public to the Science Café in the St.Gallen Textile Museum. On Wednesday, 20 January 2016, at 5.30 p.m., the topic will be debated that fits in with the time of year – Carnival: “St.Gallen Schnitzelbängg: between tradition and embarrassment”.

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12 January 2016. The cacophonous Guggen bands, the Carnival Parade, the Föbü-Verschuss (in which a local personality with “courage, heart and humour” is cleansed of the last traces of philistinism with a blast from a confetti cannon) and the Schnitzelbängg are all features of St.Gallen’s carnival. The Schnitzelbängg, in particular, have had an impact on the image of carnival: Papagallus, Lästerzungen, Gallyriker and Louis de Saint-Gall are among the old hands, whereas younger performers come and go.

Schnitzelbängg in the casting show era

In these satirical rhymes, the powers that be are attacked with humour, irony and mockery. Yet not everything that rhymes is good verse. Is St.Gallen developing a tradition of its own or, in the era of the casting show, will it remain stuck in short-term self-presentation, including selfies?

Guests will be able to talk to old St.Gallen carnival hands: Cantonal Finance Minister Martin Gehrer (Schnitzelbängg producer/performer), Prof. Dr. Kuno Schedler (Schnitzelbängg producer/performer), Hans-Peter Trütsch (journalist and 41st Honorary Philistine in 2014) and Jörg Krummenacher (Eastern Swiss correspondent of the NZZ and co-founder of the St.Gallen Carnival Society). Prof. Dr. Titus Guldimann, Vice-President of the Pädagogische Hochschule St.Gallen, will moderate the evening in the Textile Museum.

The Science Café deliberately eschews lectures. Instead, the focus will be on discussions with guests over a cup of coffee. On a further evening, experts from the Pädagogische Hochschule, the Fachhochschule and the University of St.Gallen will debate trends in education and the value of the Maturität certificate with guests.

Everyday culture in St.Gallen’s Main Post Office

All the discussion will take place in the St.Gallen Textile Museum, Vadianstrasse 2. The Science Café is part of an SNSF project entitled urban traditions, and this is exactly what will be on show in an interactive video exhibition in the Municipal Library in St.Gallen’s Main Post Office from 16 January to 27 February 2016. 14 people from all over Switzerland – ordinary citizens, as well as researchers from the field of ethnology and the Federal Office of Culture – will relate how they live out everyday culture and why it is important. In addition, the audience will have an opportunity to present their own urban traditions.

Science Café in St.Gallen: topics and dates

  • Wednesday, 20 January 2016, 5.30 to 7 p.m. | St.Gallen Schnitzelbängg: between tradition and embarrassment?
  • Wednesday, 6 April 2016, 5.30 to 7 p.m. | What is the Maturität certificate worth today?

All the discussions will take place in the St.Gallen Textile Museum, Vadianstrasse 2.

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