ANTHROP 785 / Myth and the Interpretation of Oral Tradition

3 unit(s)

(cross-listed as RELIG ST 784)

This course will cover the major theoretical approaches used in the anthropological and folkloristic study of orally-transmitted prose narrative. The aims of the course are two-fold. It will provide access for Religious Studies students working with ancient texts to the theoretical tools employed by anthropologists and folklorists in the analysis of comparable contemporary myth and oral tradition materials. In addition, the course aims to provide Anthropology students with a theoretical framework which can be used in the interpretation of prose narratives collected in fieldwork. The course seeks to meet the needs of Religious Studies students from the Biblical and Asian field as well as those majoring in Religion and the Social Sciences