
The Truth of Myth
World Mythology in Theory and Everyday Life
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 22. April 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-0-19-022280-2 (ISBN)
Description
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.
Reviews / Votes
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, Universitaet Muenchen, The Journal of Indo-European Studies * The Truth of Myth is an excellent first book to begin the academic study of, or the appreciation of the study of, mythology. Even for the seasoned mythologist, though, it is nice to see some of the contemporary interdisciplinary issues of the humanities and social sciences brought up against the age-old debate over what myth is and what myth means. * Antone Lanata Minard, Routledge * The Truth of Myth aims to be "an intellectual travel guide for scholars, students, and everyone interested in expanding their knowledge of how humans narrate their most fundamental beliefs in strikingly diverse and exotic ways" * Steven Merell, Western Folklore *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
273 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-022280-2 (9780190222802)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
06/2020
Oxford University Press Inc
€164.80
Shipment within 15-20 days

E-Book
02/2020
OUP eBook
€11.99
Available for download

E-Book
02/2020
OUP eBook
€11.99
Available for download
Persons
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.
Gregory Schrempp is Professor of Folklore at Indiana University.
Content
- 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