AUG   31  Intros; syllabus; course policies
                A myth: Watunna
                    Read: Kane, Prologue, Ch. 1

SEP     7  What is myth?  Early approaches to myth
                    Read: Kane, Ch. 2, 3

          14 Myth, ritual, and symbol
                    Read: Ausband, ch. 1, 2

          21 Functions of myth
                    Read: Ausband, ch. 3, 4

          28 Interpreting myth
                    Read: Ausband, ch. 5, 6

OCT     5 Renewal Myth
                       Read:  Kane, ch. 4, 5

         12 Cosmological myth
                       Read:  Kane, ch. 6, 7, epilogue
                       DUE:  Assignment 1

         19 Myth and society
                     Read:  Ausband, ch. 7; Campbell, epilogue

         26 Psychological approaches to myth
                   Read:  May, Part I, II

NOV   2  Myth and text
                    Read: May, Part III, IV

          9  Myth and religion, myth and science
                   Read: Campbell, Part I
                      DUE:  Assignment 2

         15 Joseph Campbell and the myth of the hero
                   Read: Campbell, Part II, ch. 1, 2

         29 Particularity and universality
                  Read: Campbell, Part II, ch. 3, 4

DEC    7 Socially constructed reality
                                DUE:  Assignment 3

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Read = to be read by date shown on syllabus
Due = to be handed in on the day shown on the syllabus
 
 

Texts

• Crace, Jim. Quarantine
• Dundes, A. Sacred Narrative
• Stephen Ausband, Myth and Meaning, Myth and Order
• Walter T. Anderson, Reality Isn't What It Used to Be
• Robert Segal, ed., The Myth and Ritual Theory

Assignments

Generally, we will conduct our grad meeting as a seminar, focused on discussion and student presentation.  Each student will be expected to lead discussion on one of the assigned books or a topic of interest.

Students should read the texts on their own, but must be prepared to discuss a text being dealt with in a given class (we will draw up a schedule that gives everyone adequate notice.)  Insights gleaned from the books should be applied and evident in the written assignments.
 

Assignment 1: Applied Theory

Choose any substantial myth from a sacred text of any religion.  Research your text, using commentaries, ancient or modern; books about mythology, psychology, cosmology, anthropology, or whatever is appropriate; sermons or lectures; similar stories; and so forth.

Write substantively and theoretically on the nature and function of myth, using your text as an illustration and starting point.  Include such factual elements as:

· the chronology of your text, both in mythological and temporal terms
· its assumed genesis
· its function for and interpretation by the people for whom it is a myth
· its similarities to and differences from other myths of its type in other cultures
· known changes it has undergone over time.

Move to a more general discussion of the function and meaning of myth, e.g.:

· the character of metaphor in mythic discourse
· literal and metaphorical interpretive methods
· the "truth" of sacred texts
· the nature of reality as described by myth
· the individualized, psychological model of myth vs. the cosmological model
· the thought of various authors you have read on the nature of myth. Refer to Eliade, Campbell, Jung, and other authors as appropriate to substantiate your theoretical insights.  Be sure to provide enough reflection on these scholars to demonstrate your understanding of their approaches.
· your chosen text as an illustration of mythic discourse
· anything else you think of.
 

To prepare for this theoretical analysis, you should have read Anderson, Ausband, Campbell, and considerable chunks from Dundes and Segal.

Due the last day of class.
 
 

Assignment 2 :  Mythmaking

Read Crace's Quarantine. (If you have the time, energy, and literary tenaciousness, pick up a copy of Robert Antoni's Divina Trace and read it, too.  A heavy read that could be a lot shorter, but a fascinating look at the same topic.)

Prepare a detailed series of notes for a hypothetical lecture on the subject of how myth develops.  Use the novel(s) as your illustration, and build your case using the other materials from the course and your own insights.  Take particular care to note the postmodern perspective discussed by Anderson.  How does this position affect the whole concept of myth and the nature of its genesis?

We will bring these all together in seminar and use them as the basis of our discussion.  Nonetheless, prepare them to be handed in as a written assignment.
 
 

Assignment 3 :  Seminar Presentation

We will draw up a schedule in class for seminar presentations, based on the interest of individuals and topics that come up as we go along.  If you are tuned in to a particular myth, theory, or author, you can use that for your class presentation, though all topics must be cleared with me first.  Another possibility is to read and report on a book from the following list:

• Divina Trace, Robert Antoni
• The Politics of Myth, Robert Ellwood
• Reconstructing Eliade, Bryan Rennie
• A Fire in the Mind: The Life of Joseph Campbell, Robin and Stephen Larsen
• Kerygma and Myth, et al., Rudolf Bultmann

LINKS

STORYFEST
REL 3109 (Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth)
Eliade and Myth
Arthurian Myth
Arthurian Bibliography
Myth Webring
Links to links