RELGST 1610 - MYTH, SYMBOL AND RITUAL

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
Are myths only a thing of the past, or are there contemporary 'myths' that we live by? To what extent are football games and shopping trips "rituals"? How do plants and animals, the cosmos and the human body, or things we associate with bad luck or good health, function as symbols? This course offers a look at how myths, symbols and rituals, in their traditional and contemporary garb, constantly renew themselves as a way for different cultures to give significance to human life. By understanding these three basic forms of human expression we can gain understanding of a wide range of social and religious phenomena. We start with comparative exploration of myths on the origin of the world, humanity, and the gods, and with such rituals as rites of passage, festivals, and pilgrimages, as well as the theories of these expressions and their significance. The course then moves to observations of and reflections on the role of myth, symbol, and ritual in contemporary life, and their relation to such forms of human expression as literature, art, film and our own dreams.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: LG/SNC Elective Basis

Click here for class schedule information.

Add to Portfolio.

Close Window