Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1981. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-181).

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-59). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on month day, year). Thesis advisor: Dr. Sean Ireton. Includes bibliographical references.

Many scholars who have studied nations and nationalism have observed that nationalist movements draw upon mythologised narratives of figures from their nations' pasts to build a sense of national identity and to articulate their vision. Drawing upon the ethno-symbolic approach to nations and nationalism, this thesis seeks to identify the major hero myths, as one form of mythologised narrative, drawn upon by the Provisional IRA during the period of conflict in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1998. In so doing it examines the origins and development of those myths across the history of Ireland, and of the republican strand of Irish nationalism since the turn of the twentieth century. It identifies the pivotal role of the early twentieth century republican, Patrick Pearse, as republicanism's political archaeologist par excellence, and examines the enduring influence of three factors on the form that such myths took: Celtic culture, Roman Catholicism, and socialism. The thesis further situates the narrative chain of the hero myths within the broader context of the Provisional IRA's wider mythological system, and interrogates the purposes that these myths fulfilled for the movement. In so doing, it reveals that not only did the hero myths, as symbolic resources of the Irish nation, fulfil purposes related to the nation itself, but that the strategy employed in pursuit of the national objectives, insurgency, also imposed its own requirements on those purposes. This has profound implications for orthodox understandings of the role of “blood sacrifice” within the ideology and world-view of the Provisional Republican Movement, as this thesis argues that the role of that concept has been misinterpreted to this point. On the theoretical level, this thesis amends and refines the conception of myth within the ethno-symbolic approach to nations and nationalism, bringing it into line with the work of scholars who have studied the theory of myth. Furthermore, it has considered how the means of pursuing the national objective helped to shape the concept of the nation and ideas of national identity.

No description available.

This study performed a mythic analysis on three films with child heroes including E.T.—the Extra-Terrestrial, Stand by Me, and The Goonies. Several unifying themes were extracted and then compared with the dominant values of Reagan America to determine if these films provided a unique cultural outlook. While most of the uncovered themes have been recognized in other films of the era, the theme of childhood as a community in peril is unique. It is purported these films pass judgment on Reagan as a dubious national patriarch, and that it is possible that this is a function that many myths with child heroes fulfill. / Master of Arts

The diploma thesis Author's Myth in the Postmodern Novel concerns the issue of myth and mythologization in modern literature. The theoretical portion of the thesis focuses on the concept of "author's myth". The conception of primitive myth is interpreted with regard to its features and functions in archaic societies. The first chapter discusses the relation of myth to literature and the characteristics of mythological aspects in contemporary literature. In terms of literary theory, it examines the issues of memory and history and its influence on the author's myth. The second, analytical part of the work, follows the application of the concept of author's myth. It specifically examines this concept in the novels "I Served the King of England" by Bohumil Hrabal, "The Erl-King" by Michel Tournier and "The Tin Drum" by Günter Grass and as well as a comparative analysis of mythological elements of these novels. Considerable attention is paid to the character of the narrator; the space, time and language of the texts; the process of remembering and the meaning of history in the selected novels.

No description available.

No description available.