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Symbols Stories Legends Images Archetypes Songs Geography Icons. Myths History Heroes Seen by outsiders Economy Culture Identity Language Race. America. Defining Myth. Typically understood by the layperson as a fictional story, a falsehood, or a variety of the ‘old wives’ tale.’
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Symbols Stories Legends Images Archetypes Songs Geography Icons Myths History Heroes Seen by outsiders Economy Culture Identity Language Race America
Defining Myth • Typically understood by the layperson as a fictional story, a falsehood, or a variety of the ‘old wives’ tale.’ • Sometimes understood as a story antithetical to Judeo-Christian belief; ie., a ‘pagan myth’ • Post Freud and Jung, and with influence of Frasier, Eliade, and Campbell, a new, more exansive definition.
Myth: A beginning definition (mine) • A myth is a powerful story that conveys essential truths about a culture, its people, and its understanding of itself. • We’ll explore varieties and nuances relative to this conception of myth. • We will investigate how myth functions within intellectual, literary, and cultural history.