Last week we did an overview of the ideas in Leonard & McClure, chapter 1.  This week we want to look at those ideas in more depth.  Respond to at least three of the following discussion topics:

• Euhemerist: Any person or school of thought which looks for a purely natural explanation of myth is known as euhemerist. Many students find the euhemerist approach appealing (although euhemerist approaches became less popular by the 20th century), especially when applying it to other people's myths. Of the various schools and individuals identified in Chapter 1 of Leonard & McClure (and in the history section of Module 2), which ones are euhemerist, and what evidence can be used to identify them as euhemerist?

• Golden Past: Hesiod's Five Ages of Man point to a "golden past" when the world was a better place. What modern examples can you identify of this desire for a return to a "golden past"?

• Middle Ages: The Middle Ages (often called "Dark Ages") are often seen as a time when learning did not take place. During the Middle Ages, however, the church was very influential. How does this characterization of the Middle Ages as "dark" relate to myth? What are the Middle Ages known as the "Middle Ages"? How did the world change after the Middle Ages, and what impact might this have had on the study of myth?

• Nation Building and the Concept of Race: With the shift from empire to nation-states, European culture began to focus more and more on ethnicity, and with the development of a national consciousness also developed the concept of "race." While there had been references to the idea of race prior to the Enlightenment, the differentiation had been based on more general characteristics than just skin color. However, during the Enlightenment, various nations tried to prove themselves superior as the "true descendants of Adam." As evolutionary theory took hold, Darwiniansim was used to buttress the arguments. With this came the development of the "Aryan hypothesis." Biologically, however, all humans are essentially the same, regardless of so-called racial differences. There is only a single living species of human. What impact did the developing idea of race have on the study of mythology? How did the concept of race influence how people studied mythology, and how did the study of myth influence the developing concept of race?

• Volk Theory: Herder's Volk (folk) theory continues to have a significant impact on mythology. How is the idea of the "common man" or ordinary person who, though not educated, is wise because of his/her close association with nature and every day life influential in modern American culture? What impact does the idea of a morally superior folk culture have on the political, religious, and educational elements of modern day American culture?

• The Great Divide: The 19th century is sometimes referred to as the "Great Divide." As a consequence of the ideas of people like Darwin, Marx, Freud, and others, humanity was "dethroned" as special. Humanity was no longer seen as "created in the image of God" but part of nature, which was "tooth and claw," a constant struggle for survival. This theory of naturalism, where the world was seen as operating purely by "natural law" was a much darker place, and, in America, naturalism influenced writers like Jack London, Theodore Dreiser, John Steinbeck, Edith Wharton, Stephen Crane, and others. Humanity was now completely a part of nature, and, in consequence, God seemed so far removed as to be unapproachable or even non-existent. How might this idea affect people's attitude toward myth? How would this idea relate to the "Aryan hypothesis"? What effect might the theory of naturalism have on the value of myth, and is there evidence for this in how myth was studied?

• Binary Oppositions: The concept of binary oppositions argues that, in culture, certain things are privileged and their "opposites" marginalized. What are some of the ways this idea influences modern culture? What are some of the ways in which this idea has influenced the study of mythology?

• Structuralism: The theory of structuralism suggests that meaning is found in the relationship of things to each other and not in the things themselves. As a consequence, structuralist approaches tend to ignore individual meaning and focus on "shared" meaning or "universal" meaning, where "universal" suggests a pattern of meaning repeated in different situations. Based on this, which of the theories we are studying are "structuralist"? What evidence supports that? Which seem to be influenced by structuralism (provide arguments in support)?

• Sacred Space: Based on Eliade's ideas, what are some examples of sacred space in the modern world? What marks them as sacred? How do these places "reconnect us to the moment of creation"? How does Eliade's view that "archaic people had a deeper and closer connection to the world of transcendence" relate to Herder's Volk theory"?

• Contemporary Approaches: Contemporary approaches are mostly eclectic approaches. This is especially true of Doty and Doniger. Doty suggests five approaches to myth: social; psychological; literary, textual, peformative; structural; and political. Doniger suggests two broad approaches: telescopic and microscopic. Take one of these seven categories (one of Doty's five or one of Doniger's two) and identify which of the approaches to myth we have studied fits that category.

Be sure to give well developed responses, and respond to the posts of at least two of your classmates.