Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth / Edition 1

by Alan Dundes

Overview

Alan Dundes defines myth as a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humanity came to be in their present form. This new volume brings together classics statements on the theory of myth by authors such as William Bascom, Jan de Vries, G. S. Kirk, James G. Frazer, Theodor H. Gaster, Mircea Eliade, Bronislaw Malinowski, C. G. Jung, and Claude Lévi-Strauss.

Rather than limiting this collection to classical Roman and Greek mythology, Dundes gives the book a worldwide scope. The twenty-two essays by leading experts on myth represent comparative functionalist, myth-ritual, Jungian, Freudian, and structuralist approaches to studying the genre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520051928
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	11/15/1984
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Alan Dundes is Professor of Anthropology and Folklore, University of California, Berkeley, and author of numerous books on folklore, including La Terra in Piazza: An Interpretation of the Palio of Siena (California, 1975, 1982).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

The Forms of Folklore:
Prose Narratives WILLIAM BASCOM

Theories Concerning
"Nature Myths" JAN DE VRIES

The Problem of Defining Myth LAURI HONKO

On Defining Myths  G.S.KIRK

Slippery Words: Myth J.W. R0GERS0N

The Fall of Man  JAMES G. FRAZER
The Truth of Myth RAFFAELE PETTAZZONI

Myth and Story THEODORE H. GASTER

Cosmogonic Myth
and "Sacred History" IRCEA ELIADE

An Ideological Dichotomy:
Myths and Folk Beliefs
Among the Shoshoni AKE HULTKRANTZ

The Creation Myths of
the North American Indians ANNA BIRGITTA ROOTH

The Cultural-Historical
Background of Myths on
the Separation of Sky and Earth K. NUMAZAWA

The Role of Myth in Life BR0NISLAW MALIN0WSKI

The Plasticity of Myth:
Cases from Tikopia RAYM0ND FIRTH

The Flexibility of Myth TH.P.VAN BAAREN

The Mythic ERIC DARDEL

The Psychology of the Child Archetype C. G. JUNG

Joseph Campbell's Theory of Myth ROBERT A. SEGAL

Earth -Diver:
Creation of the Mythopoeic Male ALAN DUNDES

The Story of Asdiwal CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS

The World Conception
of Lajos Ami, Storyteller SANDOR ERDESZ

The Myth of Washington DOROTHEA WENDER

Suggestions for Further Reading
in the Theory of Myth

Index