Mythology and Folklore

For the first section of reading I chose part A of Arabian Nights , which is told by Andrew Lang. I chose this because portions of it relate to my storybook topic. I think that the organization of this set of stories is pretty unique, and resembles the movie Inception , considering that it is a story within a story within a story. What most people think of when they hear the term 'genie', obtained from needpix ) The first story- the story of Scheherazade really captured my attention. I thought that it was a very interesting concept that the main character, Scheherazade, essentially tricked the antagonist of the story, the Sultan, into keeping her alive day after day. I think that adding a modern twist would be an interesting way to retell this story in my own words. Perhaps, instead of Scheherazade waiting to finish the story each morning, she and her husband could be watching a television series that they are engrossed in. Each night, they watch an episode, and she convinces h...

For my storybook, I plan to explore how certain mythological creatures are portrayed in popular culture. The primary way in which I plan to explore this is through the popular television show Supernatural . Some of the possible mythological creatures I want to explore are the Djinn (or genie), Tricksters, Vampires, Witches, Werewolves, Changelings, and possibly simple ghosts.  I think I will re-watch a handful of Supernatural  episodes as part of my research, including "What Is and What Should Never Be", "The Kids Are Alright", "Tall Tales", and "Live Free or Twihard".  As of right now, I think that my storybook will be more like separate stories and ideas rather than one intertwining story.

  Mythology and Folklore Portfolio (Image Credit: pxhere )

For my storybook, I would like to explore the similarities and differences between the original mythology stories and those that are used in popular television. Specifically, I was thinking about how the creatures and myths are portrayed in the popular television show Supernatural . I chose this show because the whole premise of it is supernatural creatures and myths, so you would think they did their research and made it as accurate as possible. I would like to pursue this by finding episodes of the show that focus on one specific supernatural creature or myth, and watching it. After watching it I would read the original myth and see how the two compare.  One possible example is the Djinn, or Jinn, or Genie. Season 2, episode 20 of Supernatural is titled "What Is and What Should Never Be". It explores the Winchester brothers hunting a Djinn, or supernatural creature that will fulfill your greatest wish. It shows that sometimes what we wish for isn't all that it's cr...

Current version at  my portfolio name is Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Once, long ago, I had heard rumors of a young mortal girl in the village of Maeonia who thought that she was the most skilled weaver to have ever lived. She went by the name Arachne, and -to be quite frank- was nothing all that special- the definition of a mere mortal. She did not come from a noble family, nor did she have much money. She was good at weaving, I will give her that, but definitely not good enough for her to claim that no one else could compete with her. As you likely already know, I myself am quite skilled in the art of weaving. I can depict beautiful scenes with the yarn in a fraction of the time that it would take most mortals. One day, I decided that I had had enough of her attitude. So I left my home on Olympus and went to pay Arachne a little visit. Of course, I could not let her know who I was before I challenged her, as anyone with a brain would refuse such an unfairly weighted game. ...

I really enjoyed all of the stories about Persephone and Hades , as well as all of the stories about Arachne . Both of these stories are taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses, which was translated by Tony Kline. Both of these are stories I have heard before, but catch my attention every time nonetheless. Because they always catch my attention, I think that these would be very interesting stories to retell in a more modern way. I like that all of these stories focus a lot on imagery and setting of the scene. For the stories of Persephone and Hades, I would use more modern language, and spend some more time introducing the characters. I kept getting confused about who was who and where they fit into the story. A big part of the reason I kept getting confused about the characters is the fact that they are using their Roman names. I would probably change it to their Greek names. For the stories of Arachne and her confrontation with Minerva, I would consider telling the story in a much more m...

I really enjoyed the story about tricksters; The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal by Joseph Jacobs. I enjoy stories about tricksters and other mischievous creatures. I really like how the author slowly leads the reader to the realization of what is about to happen before it is officially revealed. It was a little bit confusing at times since it was written in a fairly modern style, yet some parts utilized older language. I think it would be interesting to have a version that is a bit more focused on the internal dialogue of the jackal. I also think it would be interesting to discover what happens next, like does the jackal then threaten or eat the Brahman?  I also enjoyed the fairy tale; The Three Roses by Josef Baudis. It was very reminiscent of The Beauty and the Beast, with a bit of a twist. When I was reading the story, I thought that it would be fun to have a surprising twist at the end, such as the mother giving the basilisk one of her other daughters that had demanded ma...

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Ovid's Metamorphoses Week 4: Cupid and Psyche Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Ancient Egypt Week 6: Khasi Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: Japanese Mythology Week 9: Lang Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: British North America Week 11: Inuit (Eskimo) Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: Nursery Rhymes Week 13: Alice in Wonderland Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Ashliman Week 15: Hunt I am really excited to read and learn more about mythology and I particularly enjoy stories about demons and supernatural creatures. For example, I am very excited about weeks 10 and 11, when I plan to read about Inuit tales of supernatural beings. One thing I may be interested in doing for my storybook is comparing real legends of supernatu...

Time management is something that I have always struggled with, and am definitely a little bit concerned about for this semester. All of my classes are online and asynchronous this semester, so I worry about making the time for each class and not focusing too much on one class over another. I find it really helpful that there are resources for me to look into when I am struggling with procrastination or feeling like I don't have enough time. I am excited that I will have the opportunity to work ahead, as well as do extra credit assignments if I miss a deadline. This is different from most of the classes I have taken in the past, so I am excited to see how I can work on my time management skills.  (Image of inspirational post-it notes, obtained from Wikimedia Commons )

 I am somewhat familiar with some of the technology mentioned in the reading. I do think it is strange how much everything has changed so rapidly in the world of technology, particularly during these weird pandemic times. One browser extension that I have really enjoyed having is f.lux (at least on Chrome), and it automatically begin to dim to an orange-hued light at a set time in order to protect your eyes from staring at a harsh computer light all day.  (Image showing the transition of the f.lux browser extension, found on Wikimedia Commons )

 I am most excited to start looking into and researching the storybook assignment. I am also really excited to explore the many options that this course offers to achieve success. The fact that you are offering so many opportunities for extra credit is wonderful and unlike almost every other class I have taken before, especially at a college level.  (Assignments icon, obtained from The Noun Project )