Fall 2013-2014
MCS-555
MYTH, LEGEND, AND FAIRY TALE
Tuesday 09:40-12:30
Instructor: Dr. Anastasiia Zherdieva
zherdiev@metu.edu.tr
Office Hours: by appointment
Course Description:
This course will introduce students to the study of myths. A myth is the most ancient idea of the
world, but it has been transformed through different cultures throughout time and still exists in
many forms of modern culture. The goals of the course are i) to compare ancient myths to
current myths (and its forms: legend and fairy tale) and ii) to examine how different societies
adapt myth to express their own meanings and how myths support traditional values. Students
will have an opportunity both to analyze myths comparatively and to create their own modern retold myth.
Course Requirements:
Course requirements include a mid-term paper based on a small field work (due November 17)
and a final paper (due January 17). Students are expected to do the field work in terms of
contemporary myths and legends. The mid-term paper includes recording at least three
narratives, creating a transcript (a text version of the record), and their analysis. The alternative
is to create new mythological texts or to find examples of new mythology in Turkish massmedia. Final paper topics are devoted to mythological system in modern fairy tales, such as
“Harry Potter” or “The Lord of the Rings.”
Participation and Attendance:
Students are expected to do the readings and actively participate in class discussion.
Presentation and Discussion:
Every week a group of students will lead the class discussion. The responsibilities of the leader
will include making a summary of the readings, presenting key ideas, offering questions to other
students, and creating a discussion platform.
Grading:
Attendance and participation in class
Presentation
The mid-term paper
The final paper
20 %
20 %
30 %
30 %
Readings:
All readings will be available on the website. Readings are to be completed by the beginning of
class period for the dates listed below.
WEEK 1 – Introduction
● Bascom W. 1965. “The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives,” Journal of American
Folklore No.78:3–20.
● Folklore: an Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art. 1997. T.A.
Green (ed.). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Texts
● Bring to class an example of each: myth, legend, and fairy tale.
I.
MYTHICAL THINKING
WEEK 2 – Mythical thinking and its properties
● Levi-Strauss C. 1966. “The science of the concrete” in Savage mind. London:
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1–40.
● Cassirer E. 1955. “Particular categories of mythical thinking” in Philosophy of
symbolic forms. V.2. Mythical thought. New Haven; London: Yale University Press,
60–70.
Texts
● Bring to class modern examples for mythical thinking.
WEEK 3 – Miracle
● Levi-Bruhl L. 1935. Primitives and the supernatural. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.,
INC, 19–37.
● Lévi-Strauss C. 1963. “The sorcerer and his magic” in Structural Anthropology. New
York: Basic books, 167–185.
● Durkheim E. 1995. The Elementary forms of religious life. New York: The free press,
22–26.
Texts
● Bring to class examples of modern notion of miracle.
WEEK 4 – Primitive beliefs
● Lévi-Strauss C. 1991. “The totemic illusion” in Totemism. London: Merlin press, 15–
32.
Texts
● Bring to class examples of primitive beliefs such as totemism, animism, fetichism,
and cult of ancestors.
WEEK 5 – Myth and Magic
● Frazer J. 1954. “Sympathetic magic” in The Golden Bough: a Study in Magic and
Religion. London: Macmillan, 11–48.
● Malinowski B. 1948. “The art of magic and the power of faith” in Magic, science and
religion and other essays. Boston: The free press, 50–71.
Texts
● Bring to class modern examples of magic.
●● Midterm Papers Due – November 17 ●●
II. MYTH
WEEK 6 – Myth in ancient time
● Malinowski B. 1948. “Myth in Primitive Psychology” in Magic, science and religion
and other essays. Boston: The free press, 89–124.
WEEK 7 – Classical mythologies
● Frazer J. 1954. The Golden Bough: a Study in Magic and Religion. London:
Macmillan, 362–377; 385–392.
● Morales H. 2007. Classical mythology. A very short introduction. New York: Oxford
U.P.
Texts
● Ovid. 2004. Metamorphoses. London: Penguin, 91–128.
WEEK 8 – Mythology of monotheism
● Frazer J. 1919. “The creation of man” in Folklore in the Old Testament: Studies in
Comparative Religion, Legend, and Law. London: Macmilllan and Co, 3–44
● Frazer J. 1919. “The covenant of Abraham” in Folklore in the Old Testament: Studies
in Comparative Religion, Legend, and Law. London: Macmilllan and Co, 391–428.
Texts
● Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments. 1957. New York: American
Bible Society.
● The Koran. 1955. New York: Macmillan.
WEEK 9 – Myth today
● Barthes R. 1972. Mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang, 29–33; 36–38; 41–42; 47–
49; 58–64; 68–70; 91–93.
● Barthes R. 1972. “Myth Today” in Mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang, 142–159.
Texts
● Bring to class an example of “modern” Turkish mythology (details to follow).
III. LEGEND
WEEK 10 – Mythological legend
● Georges R. 1971. “The General Concept of Legend: Some Assumptions to be
Reexamined and Reassessed” in W.D. Hand (ed.) American folk legend: a
symposium. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1–20.
● Boratav P. 1973. “Efsane” in P. Boratav Türk halkbilimi. 100 soruda türk halk
edebiyatı. İstanbul: Gerçek Yayınevi, 98–108.
Texts
● Önder M. 1966. Anadolu Efsaneleri. Ankara: Türk Kültürünü Araştırma Enstitüsü.
WEEK 11 – Contemporary legend
● Brunvand J. 2003. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their
Meanings. New York; London: W.W. Norton, 2–17.
● Degh L. 1997. “The "Belief Legend" in Modern Society: Farm, Function, and
Relationship to Other Genres” in W.D. Hand (ed.) American folk legend: a
symposium. Berkeley: University of California Press, 55–68.
● Tangherlini T. 1990. “"It Happened not Too Fare from Here…": A Survey of Legend
Theory and Characterisation,” Western Folklore. Vol. 49: 371–390.
Texts
● Brunvand J. 2003. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their
Meanings. New York; London: W.W. Norton, 24–40; 90–98.
● Bring to class an example of “modern” Turkish urban legend (details to follow).
IV. FAIRY TALE
WEEK 12 – Fairy tale
● Propp V. 2009. Morphology of the Folktale. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press.
● Propp V. 1984. Theory and History of Folklore. University of Minnesota: University
of Minnesota Press, 100–124.
● Dundes A. 2006. “Mitte İkili Karşıtlık: Geçmişe Bakışta. Propp/Levi-Strauss
Tartışması,” Milli Folklor Yıl 18, Sayı 69: 110–117.
Texts
● Grimms' Fairy Tales. 1996. New York: Penguin Books.
● Russian Folk tales from Alexander Afanasiev's. Collection in English in http://russiancrafts.com/russian-folk-tales.html
● Boratav P. 1969. Az gittik, uz gittik. Yenişehir, Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi.
WEEK 13 – Modern fairy tale
● Film “The Lord of the Rings” (2001–2003).
● The Harry Potter film series (2001–2011).
● TV Series “Once Upon a Time” (2011–).
WEEK 14 – Wrap up and discussion of final paper
●● Final Papers Due – January 17 ●●