Abstract
“Myths get thought in man unbeknownst to him” (Levi
Strauss), thus opening new dimensions of understanding life. Although,
for modern societies, the term “myth” stands for an imaginary tale, an
untrue story, a legend, a superstition etc. for ancient societies who
existed before written culture, myths were narrations of “the ultimate
origin of reality” and were not tales but true stories. This fact
indicates that mythology remains an essential area of interest for
humanities like history, culture, philosophy, psychology, sociology and
socio-cultural anthropology, whose practices developed within the
framework of rituals, myths, customs and traditions, indicating that
myth and mythology have pervaded into daily life, that they have turned
into a reference guide, sometimes due to their guiding spirit and
sometimes by being a tool for social control. Orient and Occident myths
help us understand the culture and history of a particular people. For
example, the study of Indian and Greek mythology can tell us a great
deal about the values and beliefs of the ancient Indians and Greeks. It
can help us understand the world around us providing explanations for
things that we may not be able to comprehend. Many myths and legends try
to explain allegorically natural phenomena, such as the changing of the
seasons or the movement of the stars. Whether we realize it or not,
mythology is still a part of our world. By understanding mythology, we
can better understand ourselves and the world around us. Without the
knowledge of mythology and iconography, the history of art can not be
interpreted, nor could art criticism be done.
Through the proposed seminar, we will be able to explore the multiple dimensions that myths open
for
us and how myths can be read inter-textually and inter-disciplinarily
and help us understand our history, tradition and culture.
Concept Note
It It is often believed that mythology is a thing of
the past, no longer relevant in our modern world. However, this could
not be further from the truth. Mythology can help us understand the
world around us in several ways. Every culture has its myths and
legends, and these stories can teach us a lot about where we come from
and what our beliefs are. By learning about the myths and legends of
other cultures, we can get a better understanding of their history and
their values.
Everyday experiences of modern societies, like our ancient counterparts, are shaped by folklore
and
mythical discourse. Both as an individual and as a society, human
experience is not only associated with its immediate physical and social
environment and offers allegorical and metaphorical narratives. These
stories from both the distant and near past have been influencing the
political ideology of societies and reinforcing the cultural responses
to particular facts and events. In his ground-breaking work Mythologies,
Roland Barthes showed how the instruments of mass culture transformed
the mere objects of everyday life into symbols and how a mythologist can
decipher these symbolic meanings (Leak 1994). Throughout historical and
cultural developments, human beings have attributed divine
interpretations to the factors influencing them. By attributing such
meanings to natural forces that were superior to them, humans also
adopted the habit of structuring and symbolization. From worshipping
Sheetala Mata during chicken-pox, measles and small-pox outbreaks to the
rise of Corona Mata during covid-19 pandemic, depending on the
geographic and cultural context, humans developed solutions for
inexplicable events or situations such as illnesses. Traditional
ecological knowledge is often transferred through religious rituals,
Vrata Kathas and oral narratives. To specify, humans sought genuine
solutions employing the daily practices and rituals they structured
around the myths and legends, which were transmitted to them through
cultural heritage.
One of the strategies to explore mythical narratives is to give an allegorical interpretation to texts,
which is to apply ‘a metaphoric mode of understanding’ to the stories
that do not have ‘metaphorical language’ (Gibbs 2011). This strategy has
long been used in the interpretation of myths, such as Homeric poems,
religious texts, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Old Testament,
and modern novels, like George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm (Ritchie
2017).
Metaphorical lore, archetypes and allegories still shape our discourse on themes like eco-spirituality,
gender and caste inequality, and racism. Simone de Beauvoir’s The
Second Sex was a transforming book deciphering the complex and
oppressive myths about female identity (Le Doeuff & Dow 2010) while
Edward Said’s Orientalism criticized the Eurocentric History and
deciphered the myths of colonialism about ‘the Orient’ (Young 2004).
Legends
and symbols are not discoveries that ancient societies carried out on
their own; rather, they are the products of a cultural whole transmitted
through generations. In this way, some of these creations spread to
lands far away from their root soils, like the myth of Lord Hanuman
travelled to Mauritius with the girmitiyas and was absorbed in the local
milieu. Storytelling is a timeless art form that has been used to
entertain, inform, and educate audiences for centuries.
Many modern stories, films, and TV shows draw inspiration from mythology, incorporating elements of myth to make it more compelling and interesting by adding another layer of meaning to it.
The interaction between literature and mythology offers another interesting paradigm by shaping
modern literary texts. The mythological characters of ancient South
Asia, Egypt, Greece and Rome may seem exaggerated to the modern reader
but by tracing the historical journey of literature, we can infer myths
and legends that initially inspired tragedies and morals. From this
perspective, mythology offers an essential reference for modern
literature. Within the literary framework, almost all writers apply
myths, mythical characters and related archetypes in their narrative for
various purposes. Thus, it is difficult to understand T.S. Eliot’s The
Wasteland without understanding of Orient, Occident and Biblical myths.
There are some basic similarities and differences between Orient and
Occident myths. In the East, the highest priority is the society, and
the individual's submission to his role within that society; in the
West, priority is given to the individual, his uniqueness and his
freedom from obligation to any ideology or social status but what he may
choose. Therefore, Plato appealed to mythos as a pedagogical means for
imparting his views through the Dialogues. On the other hand, along with
the transition from mythopoetic thought to cosmological arguments,
irreversible diffraction occurred in the history of ideas, and
philosophy parted ways with mythos for a certain while.
Centuries later, however, many theorists in both clinical psychology and contemporary philosophy made use of myth as a symbolic means of expression and pioneered a “mythic turn” in the social sciences.
To conclude, mythology forms an important part of culture, history and identity. Along with cultural and historical discourse, it can also be used to entertain and inspire people by exploring the deep, hidden aspects of human nature. Moreover, myths help us understand the human condition by providing us with stories and characters that we can identify with. We all have aspects of our personality that we are not proud of, and it can be helpful to see these aspects reflected in a mythological character. The myths of good and evil, and how these forces interact provide a better understanding of the world we live in and the people who inhabit it. This seminar would offer a confluence of scholars from across India and also from abroad to offer insight and share their views. Similar myths, symbols and motifs across cultures will help bridge cultural differences among various communities.
References
Gibbs, Roland. 2011. The allegorical impulse. Metaphor and Symbol, 26, 121–130.
Le Doeuff, Michèle and Dow, Suzanne. 2010. Beauvoir the Mythoclast. Paragraph, 33, 1, 90-104.
Leak, Andrew. 1994. Barthes, Mythologies. London: Grant and Cutler.
Ritchie, David. 2017. Metaphorical Stories in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Young, Robert. 2004. White Mythologies (2nd ed.). Routledge.
IMPORTANT DATES
Abstract submission - 28th Dec
Abstract acceptance - 2nd Jan 2024
Registration Opens -3rd Jan 2024
Payment deadline - 10 Jan 2024
Full paper deadline - 15 Jan 2024
Conference date - 22-23 Jan 2024
Registration Charges
Faculty and Academicians 1500 INR
Research Scholar 1000 INR
Students 800 INR
International Participants 25 USD
Venue : Seminar Hall,VASANT KANYA MAHAVIDYALAYA
KAMACHHA, VARANASI-221010
(Admitted to the privileges of Banaras Hindu university)
(Institution Accredited 'A' by NAAC)
Submission Link
https://forms.gle/Eq4yfU2Sbxz9hs8YA
Organized by
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
VASANT KANYA MAHAVIDYALAYA
KAMACHHA, VARANASI-221010
(Admitted to the privileges of Banaras Hindu university)
Convener:
Dr. Purnima
Email: Seminarengvkm@vkm.org.in
