Organization: Penn State University
Date: Thursday, 5 Dec 1991 09:23:56 EST
From: John A. Johnson
Message-ID: <91339.092356J5J@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.mythology
Subject: CHARTER: Purpose of alt.mythology (Was:Re: Hi. Why are we here?
References: <1991Dec4.215713.23243@casbah.acns.nwu.edu>
In article <1991Dec4.215713.23243@casbah.acns.nwu.edu>,
velour@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Michelle Wiener) says:
>
>Just wondering what the purpose of this group is. For our own fictional
>stories? Questions/discussions about Greek/Roman/Norse/Whathaveyou
>mythology? Something else? All of the above? Do the King Arthur legends
>count?
All of the above.
I take the blame for creating this new group. But the creation occured
only after a month's discussion in which quite a few people expressed
enthusiasm for such a group. The "charter" (a set of guidelines rather
than a rigid set of requirements) of the group's purpose reads as
as follows:
Charter for alt.mythology
"The purpose of this group is to promote insights into, and
understanding of, human nature through the discussion of mythology,
where mythology is defined as the metaphorical expression of the
human psyche through symbols and images. While focusing primarily
on myths expressed as oral or written stories, the group also
welcomes material on dreams and on semiotics generally, as these
areas may further our understanding of myths. The group welcomes
articles written from any perspective, including, but not limited
to, the anthropological, philological, etiological, ethnological,
psychological, and personal viewpoints. The group encourages
contributions from any frame of thought, including, but not limited
to, ritualism, diffusionism, structuralism, parallelism,
psychoanalysis, and culturalism."
As you see, the group is open to a multitude of approaches to
mythology. I would like to make one thing clear, though: This
group is intended to be a forum for intellectual discussions
of mythology, and not for religious proselytizing or flame-wars.
Mythically yours,
John A. Johnson (j5j@psuvm.psu.edu)
Penn State is not responsible for my behavior.