The Truth of Myth: World Mythology in Theory and Everyday Life

by Tok Thompson, Gregory Schrempp

Overview

The Truth of Myth is a thorough and accessible introduction to the study of myth, surveying the intellectual history of the topic, methods for studying myth cross-culturally, and emerging trends. Readers will encounter insightful commentaries on such questions as: What is the relation of mythology to religion? To science? To popular culture? Did the events recounted in myths actually occur? Why does the term "myth" have so many contradictory definitions and connotations? Offering serious students with an intellectual "toolkit" for launching into this fascinating field, the book is especially useful in conjunction with case studies of individual mythological traditions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190222802
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/02/2020
Series:	World Mythology in Theory and Everyday Life
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Tok Thompson is Associate Professor of Teaching, Anthropology, and Communications at the University of Southern California.

Gregory Schrempp is Professor of Folklore at Indiana University.

Table of Contents

Prologue
Introduction

Chapter 1: Definitions and Starting Points
Chapter 2: Highlights in the History of Mythological Research
Chapter 3: Studying Mythology Comparatively
Chapter 4: Some Current Trends

Conclusion
Glossary
Works Cited
Index

Editorial Reviews

"A sketch of the history of mythological research and encouragement to study myths comparatively makes this study of mythology interesting to scholars and accessible and intriguing to students—an excellent text (and series!) for classroom work.... Highly recommended." — CHOICE

"This is an excellent book on the study of mythology and provides a lot of fresh impetus for comparative mythology in a wider sense. All of us who dabble in cross-cultural comparison would do well to take notice!... Tok Thompson and Gregory Schrempp write with wonderful clarity and offer a number of original ideas alongside with a firm command of modern scholarship on myth... As a scholar of Indo-European mythologies I find the book a most useful resource. We can learn from a more inclusive approach to mythologies globally and employ methods from anthropology and indigenous studies to enrich our understanding of Indo-European cultures." — Kreimir Vukovic, Universität München, The Journal of Indo-European Studies

From the Publisher