In prior ages, alternate worlds are associated with symbolic expressions of storied space, here termed "mythic space." The digital age brings new forms of virtual space that are co-existent with physical space. These virtual spaces may be understood as a contemporary representation of mythic space. This dissertation explores the paths by…

Because teaching in the twenty-first century involves use of technology, our paper advocates for the integration of multimedia in a literature-based curriculum. One way teachers can accomplish this integration is through transmediation. In this paper, four pre-service teachers (Eliza Altenderfer, Amanda Doerfler, Erika Poblete, and Marissa…

In north central Virginia there is a local tale--The Legend of Jump Mountain, which purports to explain the origins of the Hayes Creek Indian Burial Mound. A highly romantic legend, it immortalizes post colonial intertribal warfare during the early nineteenth century while ignoring the antiquity of the mound and the local descendants of its…

The anecdotes of Nasreddin Hodja, who lived in Anatolia in the 13th century, have always attracted people due to the humour they contain, but this discussion also focuses on exploring the educational value of the anecdotes. According to teachers who contributed to this study, the anecdotes stimulate students' interest in language work, create a…

Throughout much of northeast Thailand (Isan), Lao is the dominant local language. Today, however, central and official Thai is rapidly becoming the dominant language throughout Isan. It is feared that Thailand may become monocultured and its citizens may lose their diversity in languages and culture. In this article, the author describes a…

Since ancient times, humans have sought explanations for the mysteries of nature's beauty and variety. Like other kinds of folk stories, pourquoi tales can be considered parables about how humans and animals originated or why they look or behave the way they do. Pourquoi tales have high appeal, are generally simple and straightforward in…

A folktale may be defined as a tale of the people, a short, fast-moving oral or written adventure story perhaps of a comic or romantic nature. It is a traditional story of a particular group of people and follows a basic design. Since it is told by many storytellers, it has differing versions or variations. Because it has been handed down through…

A nation's folk literature offers a window into its people and their beliefs across time and geographic locations. Whether the stories are tall tales, creation stories, or fairy tales, they reveal insights into the make-up of the populace--what they believe, what motivates them, what their attitudes are, how they behave, and how time and place…

For thousands of years metaphors have been used as a teaching device to help people grow, to understand, to develop ego strength, resilience and a quality of life. Each system of therapy has a set of metaphors in the form of a vocabulary. Fairy tales have messages on different levels and leave the metaphors open for interpretations. The power of…

Pointe Coupee is a Louisiana parish. (DD)

American studies is a combination of fields such as literature, history, philosophy, politics, and economics. This publication examines how the different fields of study relate to American studies through folklore or folktales. The use of folktales can provide better illustrations and understandings of U.S. individuals' heritage and evolution.…

This folktale unit supports 6th- through 8th-grade students exploration of the many subgenres of folktales: trickster tales, fairy tales, fables, tall tales, and legends. The unit focuses heavily on the use of technology as a learning tool as students work together to create WebQuests for their peers to explore. During the 10 one-hour sessions,…

This paper, the sixth of seven, part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures, presents the complete texts of the three stories used in the project. The stories are the Danish "Per Smed's…