Six stories to make young and old travel through history, the imaginations of Africa. The myth of Shango, the legend of the buffalo woman, the legend of the mother of the Tuaregs, the story of King Agokoli, then that of the Amazons of Dahomey and finally that of the Ablafo
This volume proposes new insights into the uses of classical mythology by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, focusing on interweaving processes in early modern appropriations of myth. Its 11 essays show how early modern writing intertwines diverse myths and plays with variant versions of individual myths that derive from multiple classical sources, as well as medieval, Tudor and early modern retellings and translations. Works discussed include poems and plays by William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and others. Essays concentrate on specific plays including The Merchant of Venice and Dido Queen of Carthage, tracing interactions between myths, chronicles, the Bible and contemporary genres. Mythological figures are considered to demonstrate how the weaving together of sources deconstructs gendered representations. New meanings emerge from these readings, which open up methodological perspectives on multi-textuality, artistic appropriation and cultural hybridity.
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The twin towers of the World Trade Center were blown up on behalf of the US government. Vapour trails in the sky contain chemicals that cause disease. The moon landing never took place; it was staged in a studio. Many people believe in conspiracy theories: supporting evidence can seem plausible, until you look closely. To refute conspiracy theories often requires scientific and technical knowledge. Dr. Holm Gero Hümmler has precisely this sort of knowledge, and he is able to communicate it clearly for laypeople. In his book “Conspiracy Myths” he provides guidelines on how to deal with questionable facts. He gives valuable tips for personal research and shows how to deconstruct well-known conspiracy theories – from 9-11 to the “earthquake machine” HAARP, to chemtrails and “Nazi UFOs”. Sometimes, refutation is easy: you only need a sand pit and game pieces ...
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The debate about the Empire dealt in idealism and morality, and both sides employed the language of feeling, and frequently argued their case in dramatic terms. This book opposes two sides of the Empire, first, as it was presented to the public in Britain, and second, as it was experienced or imagined by its subjects abroad. British imperialism was nurtured by such upper middle-class institutions as the public schools, the wardrooms and officers' messes, and the conservative press. The attitudes of 1916 can best be recovered through a reconstruction of a poetics of popular imperialism. The case-study of Rhodesia demonstrates the almost instant application of myth and sign to a contemporary imperial crisis. Rudyard Kipling was acknowledged throughout the English-speaking world not only as a wonderful teller of stories but as the 'singer of Greater Britain', or, as 'the Laureate of Empire'. In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the Empire gained a beachhead in the classroom, particularly in the coupling of geography and history. The Island Story underlined that stories of heroic soldiers and 'fights for the flag' were easier for teachers to present to children than lessons in morality, or abstractions about liberty and responsible government. The Education Act of 1870 had created a need for standard readers in schools; readers designed to teach boys and girls to be useful citizens. The Indian Mutiny was the supreme test of the imperial conscience, a measure of the morality of the 'master-nation'.
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Myth Made ManifestOver 4000 years ago in ancient Sumer, some of the first mythographers inscribed the stories and myths of the Goddess Inanna on clay tablets in cuneiform. These incredible findings were unearthed, and the fragments were painstakingly pieced together and translated. What they discovered were the ways Inanna was heralded as a goddess who embodies polarities: impatient and deliberate, an attentive lover and fierce warrior, connected to fertility as well as death-making her an accessible, relatable, and inspiring representation of the Divine Feminine as she stands in her power and multidimensionality. The Way of Inanna is a field guide to heart-centered living through the wisdom of the Sumerian Goddess of Love. Each chapter deconstructs sacred narratives in which the Goddess navigates the seven gates of her soul's journey from awakening to ascension. More than a simple retelling, the book is myth made manifest in which Inanna becomes a means to accessing our own ascension and alchemical magic within our modern, contemporary context.
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This collection draws together original scholarship from international contributors on a range of aspects of professional and semi-professional medical work and its relations to British culture. It combines a diverse spectrum of scholarly approaches, from medical history to book history, exploring literary and scientific texts, such as satiric poetry, essays, anatomies, advertisements, and the novel, to shed light on the mythologisation and transmission of medical (mis)information through literature and popular culture. It analyses the persuasive and sometimes deceptive means by which myths, as well as information and beliefs, about medicine and the medical professions proliferated in English literary culture of this period, from early eighteenth-century household remedies to the late nineteenth-century concerns with vaccination that are still relevant today.
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Noah's Flood is one of the Bible's most popular stories, and flood myths survive in many cultures today. This book presents the first comprehensive examination of the incorporation of the Flood myth into the Anglo-Saxon imagination. Focusing on literary representations, it contributes to our understanding of how Christian Anglo-Saxons perceived their place in the cosmos. For them, history unfolded between the primeval Deluge and a future - perhaps imminent - flood of fire, which would destroy the world. This study reveals both an imaginative diversity and shared interpretations of the Flood myth. Anglo-Saxons saw the Flood as a climactic event in God's ongoing war with his more rebellious creatures, but they also perceived the mystery of redemption through baptism. Anlezark studies a range of texts against their historical background, and discusses shifting emphases in the way the Flood was interpreted for diverse audiences. The book concludes with a discussion of Beowulf, relating the epic poem's presentation of the Flood myth to that of other Anglo-Saxon texts.
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The adventures of Odysseus are not just a classic literary epic but also shine a light on intriguing questions for geography, archaeology and biology. Phenomena like the Cyclops and magic potions were only understood in recent decades thanks to phytochemical and pharmacological research that enabled new insights into the effect of plant substances on the mind and body. Monika Niehaus and Michael Wink embark on an enjoyable excursion in their book on a scientific foray for knowledge – from ancient myths to medieval drug excesses and the world of comics.
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Tabi Po tells the story of Elias, a neophyte aswang (flesh-eating humanoid creature). Born from a tree during the country’s Spanish era, Elias embarks on a journey with two older aswangs in the quest to understand their true nature. Along the way, Elias meets Salome, a sex slave of the friars, and falls for her. In the middle of a rising revolution, Elias is forced to face his own battles– his love for Salome and her pursuit of vengeance versus his hunger for flesh, the growing rift between himself and his two aswang mentors, the society’s stigma with their kind, and the battle with his own inner demons.
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Huangdi Catches the Beast was recounted by children's literature writer Zhou Jing and contemporary painter Pang Xianjian, the latter recarving stories and characters in the style of Chinese painting. The integration of the poetry of the text and the richness of the painting is a wonderful interpretation of ancient myths, which expresses the unique Chinese charm and Chinese spirit. This book starts from the traditional myth story of Huangdi warred Chiyou, examines this myth story from the perspective of modern values, and raises the question of whether various lives matter to different extent. The ups and downs of the fate and value of a beast go through the story, illustrated with rich picture details and harmonious colors.
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Many children wet the bed. This comic storybook takes us on the journey of Kizere trying to overcome it. Gladly, with the help from parents and friends, she overcame it.
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Set in a post-apocalyptic Philippines, Naermyth tells of a world plagued by the monsters of myth and legends who have stepped out of their storybook shadows to assume world dominion. They are the Naermyth (a word play on “never myth”) and have forced the human race close to extinction and fodder for the growing supremacy of these creatures. Among the survivors is Aegis, a seasoned soldier, and her story takes a dark turn when she rescues a stranger with mysterious abilities. Clearly, he is not human, and saving him triggers a series of revelations that challenges the meanings of monstrosity, heroism and family.
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The book analyses more than 20 Russian myths fabricated to legitimise the annexation of Crimea. The annexation of the Ukrainian peninsular of Crimea by Russia in 2014 caused the largest political crisis in Europe since the Second World War. It also gave rise to the unprecedented growth of propaganda to justify the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation in the eyes of the world. Is Crimea really an original Russian land? Is it true that the Crimean Tatars are all traitors? Was the peninsula really integrated into Ukraine illegally? And what, after all, were the events of February–March 2014–the illegal occupation of the foreign territory or the “restoration of historical justice”?
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An exhilarating journey exploring the relation-ships between myth, magic, humans, and nature through the symbol of the dragon.
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Colonial war played a vital part in transforming the reputation of the military and placing it on a standing equal to that of the navy. The book is concerned with the interactive culture of colonial warfare, with the representation of the military in popular media at home, and how these images affected attitudes towards war itself and wider intellectual and institutional forces. It sets out to relate the changing image of the military to these fundamental facts. For the dominant people they were an atavistic form of war, shorn of guilt by Social Darwinian and racial ideas, and rendered less dangerous by the increasing technological gap between Europe and the world. Attempts to justify and understand war were naturally important to dominant people, for the extension of imperial power was seldom a peaceful process. The entertainment value of war in the British imperial experience does seem to have taken new and more intensive forms from roughly the middle of the nineteenth century. Themes such as the delusive seduction of martial music, the sketch of the music hall song, powerful mythic texts of popular imperialism, and heroic myths of empire are discussed extensively. The first important British war correspondent was William Howard Russell (1820-1907) of The Times, in the Crimea. The 1870s saw a dramatic change in the representation of the officer in British battle painting. Up to that point it was the officer's courage, tactical wisdom and social prestige that were put on display.
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Kuafu Chased the Sun recounts ancient myths by children's literature writer Zhou Jing and contemporary painter Ye Xiong, the latter recarving stories and characters in the style of Chinese ink painting. The integration of the poetry of the text and the richness of the paintings is a wonderful interpretation of ancient myths, expressing the unique Chinese charm and Chinese spirit. Kuafu Chased the Sun is a classic Chinese myth that every child should know. In this book, Kuafu is brave and fearless, passionately loving nature from his heart, and devotes all his energy to pursuing his dreams, and finally gains lightness and happiness like never before. Through the interpretation of the author and the painter, the story became vivid on the paper.
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In recent years there has been a significant growth in interest of the so-called "law in context" extending legal studies beyond black letter law. This book looks at the relationship between statute law and legal practice. It examines how law is applied in reality and more precisely how law is perceived by the general public in contrast to the legal profession. The authors look at a number of themes that are central to examining ways in which myths about law are formed, and how there is inevitably a constitutive power aspect to this myth making. At the same time they explore to what extent law itself creates and sustains myths. The book will be of general interest to a number of different disciplines such as legal theory, general law, criminology and sociology.
