The Seven Story Tower: A Mythic Journey Through Space and Time

by Hoffman, Curtiss

• ISBN13: 9780306460043
• ISBN10: 0306460041
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-01
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

What is significant about the role of myth in all human societies and how can these legendary notions be translated into a unique understanding of ourselves and our place within our own culture? In a world so devoted to scientific and technological development, the demand for the investigation into the power of myth has taken on a folkloric dimension. Why explore ethereal notions when science produces tangible results?InTHE SEVEN STORY TOWER, noted anthropologist Curtiss Hoffman provides us with an introduction to the fascinating world of myth, exploring it in a cross-cultural context. This intriguing book provides the reader with the conceptual tools to analyze and appreciate myth as a vital function of human cultural expression. Organized around seven key "stories"representing the Irish, Greek, Sumerian, Indonesian, Amazonian, and Inuit cultures, and the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkieneach chapter introduces specific structures that occur within myths, and builds on these to broaden the perspective.Curtiss Hoffman, a noted archaeologist and anthropologist, guides the reader on this journeycombining the insights of cultural anthropology and analytical psychology to lend a social science perspective to the subject.The SEVEN STORY TOWERinvestigates myth from a multifaceted perspective: positing each myth within its specific cultural context in juxtaposition with myths from different cultures around the world. Hoffman weaves these elements through chapters based on thematic similaritiesultimately crafting an insightful vision into the power of myth in the framework of our own lives.THE SEVEN STORY TOWERreveals how and what myth can tell us about ourselves and our relationship to the world. Hoffman illustrates that myths from many places and times offer us a way to come to terms with who we are and how we can transform ourselves and our society. Anita Spencer, author ofCrisis of the Spiritexplains, "by reflecting on the meaning of our mythic journey through space and time, Hoffman explains how the universal truths contained in these ancient stories can provide a road map for social and personal transformation and regeneration."

Author Biography

Curtiss Hoffman, Ph.D., is Full Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
List of Figures	p. xix
The Broken Circle: a Dialogue Between Myth and Science	p. 1
Approaches to Mythological Analysis	p. 23
The Pursuit of the White Stag	p. 43
At the Water's Edge	p. 59
The Measure of All Things	p. 75
Worthy is the Yam That Was Slain	p. 113
A Bride Too Far	p. 133
A Breed Too Near	p. 167
Master of Fate	p. 199
Closing the Circle: Myth in the Modern World	p. 221
Bibliography	p. 243
Endnotes	p. 255
Glossary	p. 275
Index	p. 287
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