Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: videos

Showing posts with label videos. Show all posts

Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Tower of Babel

From Google Art Project and Khan Academy: A short video introduction to Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Tower of Babel:

You can learn more about this famous painting at Wikipedia, and you can read the Biblical account here at the UnTextbook: Tower of Babel. There are also Jewish legends about the Tower collected by Louis Ginzberg.

Here is Bruegel's painting:

And here are some details showing the city in the background, the workers, and King Nimrod:

Classic Literature and Racism

This video has some really good solutions for critically engaging with the racism in works of literature. Grace Lin makes a connection between racism expressed by an out-of-touch but beloved family member and the racism that you will often find in classic stories, and also in old movies, TV shows, etc. etc.

What to do when you realize classic books from your childhood are racist: Grace Lin

The Myth of the Missing Half

Here is an animation of a creation myth told by Aristophanes, the Greek comic playwright, inside the philosophical dialogue by Plato known as The Symposium: The Myth of the Missing Half. This myth is also the subject of a beautiful song from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. You can read more about the Platonic dialogue at Wikipedia.

Femme Fatales (Epified video)

Here's another great video from Epified, and this time not just about the traditions of India; this video includes Aphrodite, Helen of Troy, and Cleopatra along with Indian femmes fatales like Menaka, Mohini, and Urvashi... and more.

Femme Fatales - Godesses of Love, Beauty & Passion

Hadestown

This genius work of musical theater is like a Storybook for this class! Set to music! You can find out more about Hadestown at Wikipedia, and you can find all the lyrics at Genius.com.

Here's one of the songs at YouTube:

Talking Drums

Here's a video from BBC4 that shows a man playing the "talking drum" with subtitles that translate the message. You can find out more about the amazing language of talking drums at Wikipedia.

Yesterday's Twitter: Orpheus and Eurydice

From yesterday's Twitter, I saw this TED-Ed video about the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Here is the TED-Ed webpage, and you can find out more about Orpheus and Eurydice at Wikipedia.

Khan Academy: Islamic Art

Khan Academy is most famous for its math curriculum, but did you know they also have an extensive collection of Art History materials? Here is their series called Art of the Islamic World, and here is one of the accompanying videos about Hagia Sophia as a mosque:

Labyrinths

The word labyrinth comes to English from Greek, and it is connected to the story of the famous labyrinth which Daedalus built for King Minos in which King Minos imprisoned the Minotaur; later, the hero Theseus was able to enter the labyrinth, slay the Minotaur, and find his way back out, with the help of Ariadne's thread. You can read all about Daedalus, Minos, the Minotaur, Theseus, and Ariadne at Wikipedia.

But what about labyrinths and other mazes? To find out more, read this article in the Smithsonian: Walk the World's Most Meditative Labyrinths.

You might also enjoy this video: Labyrinth History & Walking.

Crash Course Myth: Overview of Mythology

As an extra credit reading option, you can choose to watch this set of Crash Course: Myth videos, writing up your notes in a blog post. Here are the videos you should watch for this reading/watching unit:

What Is Myth?

Theories of Myth

The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth