Course Description
This course integrates theoretical discussions of myth and ritual (as interrelated cultural dimensions of religion) with analyses of the relatively contemporary medium of film. In each case, a collective artistic experience employs narrative form to evoke, to explain, or even to create meaning. Following the trail of 19th-century anthropology and 20th-century psychology, we will examine the binding connections between myth and ritual, and we will also seek out their secular analogues in literature and drama on our way toward film as an integrative multi-media form of cultural expression. The course includes discussion, video, and a.m.ateur film making.