Reference no: EM13967777

Rationale

Your objective in this assignment is to use your knowledge and skills as an interdisciplinary student of culture to seek out and analyze a significant "cultural myth" that affects you in your daily life.

As we've discussed in class, cultural myths are meaning making structures that help people to understand and explain themselves and the world in which they live. Myths also reveal clues as to a particular culture's ideologies (values, beliefs, prejudices, and structures of power). Existing as cultural productions, myths can be located in objects and activities, as well as in a variety of locales, or "sites."

Description

1) Using concepts from class readings and discussions, identify a particular cultural myth that you believe to be visible and/or prevalent in society.

2) Choose a site that you feel will allow you to clearly and effectively demonstrate the myth you have identified.

3) Analyze the structure of the myth as it appears within the site, and discuss its cultural significance. The following are components that should be included in your myth analysis and discussion:

• In your introduction, briefly explain your intentions, the cultural myth you will be analyzing, the system of myth analysis you will be employing, and the organizational structure of your paper.

• In the body, briefly explain any relevant "setup" information about the myth and about the site you will analyze.

• Thoroughly explain semiotic theory and myth analysis. How does semiotics work? What are its components? How does a "mythologist" use semiotics to excavate cultural myths?

• Apply semiotic theory and myth analysis to the myth you have identified. What are the myth's key signs? What are the signifiers and signifieds contained within those signs, and how do they work to make meaning? What are the denotative and connotative meanings present? (This will probably be the biggest part of your paper.)

• Discuss the cultural significance of the myth you identify. What does the myth seem to "say"-about culture, about nature, and/or about people, for instance?

• Conclude your paper by recapping the points in your paper, summarizing your findings, and suggesting what you feel is the significance and/or implications of the cultural myth you have excavated.

4) Outside research is required for this assignment. Include a minimum of four (4) sources of support beyond our assigned course readings. (Also feel free to use our course texts as support in your paper.) At least two (2) of your sources must be scholarly, and at least two (2) must be primary. Be sure that each source you use meets tests of clarity, significance, and credibility. All sources used in your paper (including those from our class readings) must be cited and included in a bibliography (see below).

5) In your paper, be sure to include relevant examples in support of your ideas. Define any terminology you use,and strive to incorporate concepts from class readings and/or discussion in your analysis.

6) The paper should be a minimum of 1,500 words, typed and double spaced, with appropriate margins. All sources used in your paper (including those from our class readings) must be cited and included in a separate bibliography ("Works Cited" list), using MLA citation format.