MYTHS

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE What are myths?

(Monday) What are the stories we are a part of?

(Wednesday—small group) What are the myths that we build and buy into?

(Wednesday / Thursday—small group) What is the purpose of myths?

(Wednesday / Thursday—small group) What are the fundamental elements of a myth?

(Wednesday / Thursday—Movie)

WHAT IS A MYTH?

Mythology is made up of stories people told each

other

to explain death and natural disasters

to justify burial and other sacred rituals

to create a sense of identity for a people

to provide their heroes and their enemies.

Mythmaking process reveals much about how

humanity has coped and is still coping with the

puzzle of being alive.

CATEGORIES OF MYTH: MYTHS OF CHILDHOOD

Myths of childhood:

Fairy-tales: Witches, demons, elves, terrifying landscapes

Ways of teaching children about moral code of their society

How do these still influence your life? What stories do you still remember from your childhood?

Three Little Pigs Sleeping Beauty Cinderella

CATEGORIES OF MYTH: MYTHS AS EXPLANATION

Myths as explanation:

Fanciful explanations of natural events that had to be understood: storms, volcanic eruptions, eclipses, thunder, lightening, and other natural phenomena

How to account for natural phenomena and how to account for all the trouble that seemed to come with life

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/echo07.lan.stories.raven/the-raven-story/

CATEGORIES OF MYTH: ARCHETYPAL MYTHS

Archetypal myths:

Cultures that invent, tell, and pass along stories in which certain characters and certain recurrent themes have influenced the way people understand their existence

How we cope with the enormous and baffling task of being human

Archetypes are characters, symbols, and buried assumptions transmitted from one generation to another, known as a collective unconscious

Star Wars—see excerpt

THE WORLD MYTH OR MONOMYTH: CAMPBELL

The classic hero journey:

1. Departure

2. Initiation

3. The Road of Trials

4. The Innermost Cave

5. Return and Reintegration with Society

MODERN MYTHS Psychological realities that help shape our

experiences and our way of interpreting the world.

We absorb our mythology in the act of growing up—from the culture surrounding us, from our family, from our education, and religion

Myths can be an aid to clear thinking if we learn how to see which myths are shaping our experience and then sit back and select those we find beneficial and cast aside those that hinder critical thought

TODAY’S TASK

Find a myth that you are currently unfamiliar with. See the list of sources to consult on my blog.

Print a myth to bring to class on Wednesday. Be able to answer the following questions about your found myth:

What is the purpose of this myth?

What does it reveal about the culture that it came from?

What type of myth does it fall under?

WEDNESDAY

With your small group, you will work to find

Similarities between your myths

Similarities between your personal myths

What are the stories we are a part of? (Wednesday—small group)

What are the myths that we build and buy into? (Wednesday / Thursday—small group)

What is the purpose of myths? (Wednesday / Thursday—small group)