What are the stories that we human beings tell ourselves? Why do we tell them and what is accomplished in the telling? What is the relationship between storytellers and their audiences? What are the politics of making some stories "official" and others forbidden or subversive? These are some of the questions this interdisciplinary course will address through a critical reading of myths, legends, narratives and stories from ancient Greek sources, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and a broad selection of traditional societies across time and space. Among the types of story to be considered: origins stories and other charter myths, trickster myths, hero myths, theological myths, apocalyptic myths, and various myths of transformation (e.g., myths of resurrection). While attending to the points of contact between myths of different societies that make comparison of them possible, we will also examine how in structure and function the myths we study are embedded in their own, unique society or culture. Evaluation will be based on classroom preparation and participation, two short papers, and a performance exercise. Lecture/discussion. Enrollment limited to 30. Open to first-year students. Satisfies one semester of Division II requirement.