Myths in our Life - стр. 2
Methodological background of the research consists of the scientific researches of the following authors: V. Anikin, C. Levi-Strauss, V. Propp, A. Veselovsky.
Theoretical significance of the research consists of the necessity of culturological development of conceptualization and mythology.
Practical significance of the research is defined by the possibility of using its material during reading the classes of culture and philology.
The methods of the research are the following: method of the philological description of the mythologemes, method of contrast and regimentation (typology), method of analysis and the following synthesis.
Key concepts of the research are: culture, myth, mythology.
The course of the research is the comparative culturology. The research regards the peculiarities of the modern culture of two countries: Russia and the USA.
The structure of the research. The bachelor research consists of introduction, in which aim and tasks of the research are shown, three chapters, revealing the particularity of the intercommunication of myth with different aspects of social culture and psychology of an individual existing in this society, conclusion where the results of the research are generalized, bibliography and appendix, in which the schemes sustaining the theoretical basis of the research are given.
Chapter 1. The concept of "myth" in scientific and cultural context
People have always longed to perceive nature, have endevoured to explain for themselves world that surrounded them and to recognize their place in it. The primitive viewed everything as novelty. Trying to understand eternal principles, mankind began to create myths. This process has been continuing even till this day.
1.1. Definition of the concept of "a myth" in scientific literature
The word "myth" inevitably evokes associations with antique sagas about gods and heroes. Herewith it is believed that a myth belongs to the past and is not available to exist in the present. To seize the essence of this conception we shall examine the statements about a myth given in the scientific literature. In the most general aspect myth is considered as "the way of the human being and attitude, entirely based on the notional linkage of a person and the world; the person perceives here psychological meanings by the way of the elementary features of the material, and regards and considers natural phenomena as animated creatures" [Cultural Study 2001: 100]. In this definition myth is viewed as psychologically-culturological category, determining relationship of the human conscience to the world that surrounds it, at that this relationship is characterized in myth with convergence vector up to complete identification. It is specified further that such a perception of the unity of oneself with the world, such a personification of reality is not confined by temporary framework by early cultural epochs, since myth is eternal: "for mythological mensuration assists in each culture and mythological images and experiences are rooted in unconscious elements of the human soul (compare Jung"s conception of archetyps – N. Sh.)" [Ibid.]. Therefore there is no surprise that myth is present even in modern reality, affecting the unconscious of individuals and aiding the mythologization of their conscience.