Renowned psychoanalyst Erich Fromm investigates the universal language of symbols, expressed through dream and myths, and how it illuminates our humanity.
Naomi "e;Omie"e; Wise was drowned by her lover in the waters of North Carolina's Deep River in 1807, and her murder has been remembered in ballad and story for well over two centuries.
Headstrong heroines and hot-tempered chieftains, loch monsters and hill fairies, cattle raids and clan feuds, wise animals and foolish saints: the Scottish Highlands' folktales date back centuries and preserve the history and beliefs of a people deeply rooted in their land and culture.
The song "e;John Henry,"e; perhaps America's greatest folk ballad, is about an African-American steel driver who raced and beat a steam drill, dying "e;with his hammer in his hand"e; from the effort.
Conspiracies have always been part of American culture, but with the rise of social media has come an increase in belief in nontraditional explanations of events.
The original Star Wars trilogy famously follows Joseph Campbell's model for the hero's journey, making Luke Skywalker's story the new hero quest for a modern age.
This is a comprehensive history of the world's midwinter gift-givers, showcasing the extreme diversity in their depictions as well as the many traits and functions these characters share.
Mythology--circulated in sacred stories (myths) and their reenactments (rituals)--is the basis of any society's religion, and religion is an essential key to identity.
For almost three centuries, the "e;Pennsylvania Dutch"e;--descended from German immigrants--have practiced white magic, known in their dialect as Braucherei (from the German "e;brauchen,"e; to use) or Powwowing.
The early medieval manuscripts of Ireland and Britain contain tantalizing clues about the cosmology, religion and mythology of native Celtic cultures, despite censorship and revision by Christian redactors.
After a century of reinvention and, frequently, reinterpretation, Western movies continue to contribute to the cultural understanding of the United States.
Our understanding of Celtic astrology is based mainly on the speculations of modern authors--mostly drawn from classical Greek and Roman writings--and suffers from many misconceptions.
New Zealand author Janet Frame (1924-2004) during her lifetime published 11 novels, three collections of short stories, a volume of poetry and a children's book.
Superheroes have been an integral part of popular society for decades and have given rise to a collective mythology familiar in popular culture worldwide.
Tracing the development of the King Arthur story in the late Middle Ages, this book explores Arthur's depiction as a wilderness figure, the descendant of the northern Romano-British hunter/warrior god.
This examination of the heroic journey in world mythology casts the protagonist as a personification of nature--a "e;botanical hero"e; one might say--who begins the quest in a metaphorical seed-like state, then sprouts into a period of verdant strength.
The origins of the vampire can be traced through oral traditions, ancient texts and archaeological discoveries, its nature varying from one culture to the next up until the 20th century.
Scottish novelist Jane Duncan's semiautobiographical My Friends series was dismissed by postwar critics as lightweight, at a time when a coterie of "e;angry young men"e; monopolized the attention of the British publishing establishment.
