21A.212 Myth, Ritual, and Symbolism (MIT)
Human beings are symbol-making as well as tool-making animals. We understand our world and shape our lives in large part by assigning meanings to objects, beings, and persons; by connecting things together in symbolic patterns; and by creating elaborate forms of symbolic action and narrative. In this introductory subject we consider how symbols are created and structured; how they draw on and give meaning to different domains of the human world; how they are woven into politics, family life, and the life cycle; and how we can interpret them.The semester will be devoted to a number of topics in symbolism.Metaphor and Other Figurative LanguageThe Raw Materials of Symbolism, especially Animals and The Human BodyCosmology and Complex Symbolic SystemsRitual, including Symbolic Curing and MagicNarrative and LifeMythology
- Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Language: English
- Author: Howe, James
- Lisence Terms: Content within individual OCW courses is (c) by the individual authors unless otherwise noted. MIT OpenCourseWare materials are licensed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike). For further information see http://ocw.mit.edu/terms/index.htm
- Tags: anthropology, myth, ritual, symbolism, animals, symbolic system, meaning, life cycle, metaphor, figurative language, human body, cosmology, ritual, magic, narrative, mythology, patterns, culture, sign, tropes, classification, interpretation, folktale, power, passage, persuasion,
- Course Publishing Date: Aug 26, 2004
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