A question from a novice

Introducing people of all ages to mythology... in pre-college educational curricula, youth orgs, the media, etc. Share your knowledge, stories, unit and lesson plans, techniques, and more.

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Heliacon
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A question from a novice

Post by Heliacon »

Hello everyone! This is my first post; please be kind. :D

So, I'm at an odd place in life. I've always had a love of mythology. That being said, I never realized that there was a discipline of study that devoted time to comparing myths from different cultures until about a year ago. I fell in love with Joseph Campbell's work once I was introduced to The Power of Myth in community college course on mythology. His words helped guide me to a very important decision in my life; I will do my best to promote comparative mythology as a necessary academic discipline. That part was easy. The oddity comes more from the daunting nature of this challenge. I have another 29 months of college that will be paid for by the GI Bill and I would like to get the best use of my time. Is there anyone in Virginia who can give me some advice on how to best take advantage of this wonderful opportunity? There are no majors in mythology, from what I can see. There're hardly any courses at any of the major universities here that deal with the subject. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Hello Helicon; and welcome here.

Your questions can probably be best addressed by one of the forum moderators but please know you are among friends; many of who may have had similar experiences of uncertainty. I think for many of us this is part of the process or journey that we travel as we grapple with our own individual conundrums in trying to figure out what our next step may be. Your goals sound like a worthy and challenging adventure ahead as you chart your course. Perhaps there may be ideas or thoughtful suggestions within the forums that may help provide some sort of assistance. In the meantime make yourself comfortable and explore some of the various resources available such as the different link areas within the foundation homepage; the bookstore; as well as the many varied forum discussions. The associates here are all fine and helpful folks and someone should be by to check in on you.

Cheers :)
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Cindy B.
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Re: A question from a novice

Post by Cindy B. »

Heliacon wrote:Hello everyone! This is my first post; please be kind. :D

So, I'm at an odd place in life. I've always had a love of mythology. That being said, I never realized that there was a discipline of study that devoted time to comparing myths from different cultures until about a year ago. I fell in love with Joseph Campbell's work once I was introduced to The Power of Myth in community college course on mythology. His words helped guide me to a very important decision in my life; I will do my best to promote comparative mythology as a necessary academic discipline. That part was easy. The oddity comes more from the daunting nature of this challenge. I have another 29 months of college that will be paid for by the GI Bill and I would like to get the best use of my time. Is there anyone in Virginia who can give me some advice on how to best take advantage of this wonderful opportunity? There are no majors in mythology, from what I can see. There're hardly any courses at any of the major universities here that deal with the subject. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hey, Heliacon, and welcome!

Clemsy, the board administrator, will likely know better, but I'm reasonably sure that if you want a specific degree in mythology, you're looking at Master's and Ph.D. programs. There are several such programs sprinkled across the States, but whether or not Virginia universities offer these graduate programs I don't know. If your interest is in undergraduate studies, check out individual courses offered by the schools' religion and literature departments, too, to see what's available in terms of mythology. In the meantime, hopefully Clemsy will be able to offer more information.

Good luck!

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

Hi Heliacon and welcome to the JCF Forums! Apologies for not getting back to you sooner.

I really don't have much to add to Cindy and James, except to mention that Campbell had a degree in Comparative Religion. No reason not to think of it as Comparative Myth! And then there are graduate programs elsewhere. But that might get you started.

Let us know what you find!

Cheers,
Clemsy
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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