The Bloomsbury Reader in the Study of Myth

Description

What is myth? Why do myths exist? What do myths do? Where are myths going? This reader is organized into 4 parts which explore these questions. Drawing on over 10 years of experience teaching myth in religious studies and anthropology departments in the UK, USA and Continental Europe the editors have brought together key works in the theory of myth. Key features include: - a general introduction to the reader that outlines a comparative and interpretative framework - an introduction contextualizing each part and sub-section - an introduction to each reading by the editors - a companion website that provides discussion questions and further reading suggestions, including primary sources. From functionalism to feminism, nationalism to globalization, and psychoanalysis to spatial analysis, this reader covers the classic and contemporary theories and approaches needed to understand what myth is, why myths exist, what they do, and what the future holds for them.

Jonathan Miles-Watson is Associate Professor of the Anthropology of Religion at Durham University, UK. He is the author of Welsh Mythology: A Neo-structuralist Analysis (2009) and co-editor of both Ruptured Landscapes: Landscape and Identity in Times of Social Change (2015) and Theories of Religion: A Reader (2006). Vivian Asimos is a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Religion and Theology at Durham University, UK.

Miles-Watson and Asimos (both, Durham Univ., UK) offer a rich collection of readings to aid in the study of "the origin, form, function, and future of mythology" (p. 3) ... Appropriate for those new to mythology and for those teaching it, this reader will be an invaluable tool for study of mythology. Summing Up: Essential. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; faculty. * CHOICE * This is a judicious, thoughtful and well-balanced selection of scholarly studies on mythology. The editors include classic essays by famous thinkers, as well as synopses and critiques from a contemporary standpoint. They also helpfully organize the volume into clusters that provide robust intellectual and pedagogical guidelines for teachers and students. * Andrew Strathern, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, USA and Pamela J. Stewart, Senior Research Associate and Co-Director Cromie Burn Research Unit, University of Pittsburgh, USA * This is an eminent collection on myth and the study of it - with breadth and variety. The contributions range from the indispensable classic must-reads to new, creative and constructive submissions to the ongoing discussions in a notoriously complicated field in the humanities. * Jeppe Sinding Jensen, Emeritus Senior Lecturer, Aarhus University, Denmark and author of What is Religion? (2014) *