UnTextbook Reading Options

"Pilgrims leaving Canterbury", source: Telegraph


I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth of readings available on the UnTextbook website for Mythology and Folklore. It is efficient that the stories are divided into their geographic locations. I have included these particular links because of their geographic location or because the content interested me. Having such a wide range of reading possibilities insures that no two posts or projects will be the same throughout the course, and also that the students are available to choose their own reading material in a way that keeps them interested.

I had never considered Alaskan mythology and may refer to this link for my own storytelling later in this course.

I am sure we are all somewhat familiar with Chaucer’s Canterbury tales. As for myself, this is a link I will definitely be referring back to. My interest was peaked as the tales are something I realized I had heard about many times, yet did not know much about myself. I never knew how old the tales were, dating between 1387-1400.

I was first drawn to the Japanese myth link because I love two prominent Japanese authors, Kazuo Ishiguro and Haruki Murakami. I knew that ancient stories, however, would be greatly different than these two modern storytellers, and wanted a peek into the mythology. Upon clicking on the link, I was reminded of a book that I read by Yukio Mishima, “The Sound of Waves”. This book is a short, reserved tale of forbidden love. The lovers each showed respect for their families as well as strength of character. The Japanese myth link focuses on two lovers, as well, Izanagi and Izanami. I would be interested in reading the parallels between ancient myth and “The Sound of Waves”, as well as seeing whether or not ancient myth continues to influence today’s Japanese authors.

My major is French, so I have read some works by prominent French authors dating from about 1100 a.d. through today. The work of Jean de La Fontaine is very similar to Aesop’s fables. While I have read a number of La Fontaine’s poems, I am interested in reading many more. I always want to read more French works, and being able to read them for a mythology course would be a nice crossover. Similarly to Aesop, La Fontaine’s fables are short, fun, and have an important lesson to be learned or a critique of society hidden away in each.

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