Tok Thompson - Böcker

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.

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.

Exploring Anthropology through Folklore and Mythology is a comprehensive textbook which examines how people around the world express themselves culturally, and how these practices provide a window into the diversity of human culture. Using a genre-based approach, this book takes a globalized perspective and promotes intercultural exchange and understanding. It presents students with in- depth examples of a wide range of traditions as well as an understanding of how such traditions are studied. In explicating key concepts and applying these to specific practices and performances, we introduce students to the fundamentals in the study of human culture and creativity. Topics include mythology, folktales, legends, dance, music, trance states, magic, the spirit world, internet folklore, festivals, street art, subcultural style, rituals, celebrations, and body art and tattoo traditions.Exploring Anthropology through Folklore and Mythology offers a fascinating display of global cultural diversity and is an essential textbook for students making their first steps into the fields of folklore, mythology, anthropology, and cultural studies.

Exploring Anthropology through Folklore and Mythology is a comprehensive textbook which examines how people around the world express themselves culturally, and how these practices provide a window into the diversity of human culture. Using a genre-based approach, this book takes a globalized perspective and promotes intercultural exchange and understanding. It presents students with in- depth examples of a wide range of traditions as well as an understanding of how such traditions are studied. In explicating key concepts and applying these to specific practices and performances, we introduce students to the fundamentals in the study of human culture and creativity. Topics include mythology, folktales, legends, dance, music, trance states, magic, the spirit world, internet folklore, festivals, street art, subcultural style, rituals, celebrations, and body art and tattoo traditions.Exploring Anthropology through Folklore and Mythology offers a fascinating display of global cultural diversity and is an essential textbook for students making their first steps into the fields of folklore, mythology, anthropology, and cultural studies.

Can a monkey own a selfie? Can a chimp use habeas corpus to sue for freedom? Can androids be citizens? Increasingly, such difficult questions have moved from the realm of science fiction into the realm of everyday life, and scholars and laypeople alike are struggling to find ways to grasp new notions of personhood. Posthuman Folklore is the first work of its kind: both an overview of posthumanism as it applies to folklore studies and an investigation of "vernacular posthumanisms"—the ways in which people are increasingly performing the posthuman. Posthumanism calls for a close investigation of what is meant by the term "human" and a rethinking of this, our most basic ontological category. What, exactly, is human? What, exactly, am I?There are two main threads of posthumanism: the first dealing with the increasingly slippery slope between "human" and "animal," and the second dealing with artificial intelligences and the growing cyborg quality of human culture. This work deals with both these threads, seeking to understand the cultural roles of this shifting notion of "human" by centering its investigation into the performances of everyday life.From funerals for AIBOs, to furries, to ghost stories told by Alexa, people are increasingly engaging with the posthuman in myriad everyday practices, Setting the stage for a wholesale rethinking of our humanity. In Posthuman Folklore, author Tok Thompson traces both the philosophies behind these shifts, and the ways in which people increasingly are enacting such ideas to better understand the posthuman experience of contemporary life.