Myth, Ritual, and Symbolism

Catalog description

This course aims to explore the overlapping categories of myth, ritual and symbol and understand their role in creating systems of meaning, both local and cross-cultural. We ask questions about the ways these categories function to integrate or disintegrate individual personalities, authorize and undermine social hierarchies, and shape the way we think and act in ways that are often hidden. Above all, we seek to comprehend the ways in which myth, ritual and symbol do not belong solely to ancient or non-industrial cultures but are present and active in almost every aspect of our world today.