Boston + Brahmin = White Anglo Saxon Protestant
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(5 pp) The term "Boston Brahmin" is associated with -- among other things -- the American premiere of Brahms' Second Symphony. It was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the historic Orpheum Theatre built in 1852, on Hamilton Place off Tremont Street. Many in the audience walked out, and music reviewers called those who stayed "Brahmins." Oliver Wendell Holmes called Boston "The Hub of the Universe." Some of the so-called "Boston Brahmins" referred to the city as "The Athens of America." Those are some notes of the past concerning the Brahmins, but where are they now? Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Filename: BBbosbra.doc
Paper Title: Boston + Brahmin = White Anglo Saxon Protestant

Chupacabras: Clearly Fictional Creatures
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7 pages in length. Fantastic creatures have existed throughout time as the direct result of man's overactive imagination. From the Loch Ness Monster to Bigfoot, history has never had a shortage of wholly unaccountable, bizarre living things and the people who have sighted them. The fervor and hype surrounding one particularly intriguing creature named Chupacabras was especially noted during the last decade of the twentieth century, with its telltale legacy of leaving behind blood-sucked animal carcasses a recurring find in Puerto Rico. Indeed, arguments are strong from both sides -- with believers surmising the short, red-eyed reptilian-like attacker to be an alien, mutant or, worse yet, a secret government experiment gone awry -- but the lack of any more convincing evidence beyond visual sightings does not establish much credibility to its existence, leaving only one possible theory: Chupacabras is wholly fictional. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Filename: TLCChupa.rtf
Paper Title: Chupacabras: Clearly Fictional Creatures

Classical, Celtic, Norse and Chinese Mythologies
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This 20 page paper provides an overview of the central features of Classical, Celtic, Norse and Chinese Mythologies. This paper also outlines a comparison of some central components. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Filename: MHMythCom.rtf
Paper Title: Classical, Celtic, Norse and Chinese Mythologies

Comic Books / Modern Mythology or Escapism ?
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This 6 page paper examines the comic book genre to determine if contemporary comic books are representative of modern mythology or are merely pure escapism. Bibliography includes 6 sources.
Filename: Comicb.wps
Paper Title: Comic Books / Modern Mythology or Escapism ?

Comparing and Contrasting Zeus and Odin:
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This 7 page paper compares and contrasts the Greek God Zeus to his Norse counterpart Odin. This paper argues that the striking similarities between these two mythological gods illustrates how influenced the Norse culture was by the Greek culture. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Filename: GSGreekg.rtf
Paper Title: Comparing and Contrasting Zeus and Odin:

Egyptian Journey to the Afterlife
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A 15 page discussion of the critical components of the ancient Egyptian's belief in an afterlife. Notes that much of our contemporary knowledge regarding ancient Egyptian culture is based on archaeological findings. Among the most interesting of these findings are those which relate to the elaborate worship rituals of the Egyptians, rituals which to a large degree were comprised of those relating to death and the afterlife. Provides an overview of Egyptian belief, preparation for the afterlife, mummification, the preparation of the body, rituals instructing the dead, the tombs, and ceremonies. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Filename: PPegyDth.wps
Paper Title: Egyptian Journey to the Afterlife

Ernst Cassirer: Language & Myth (1946)
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(5 pp) Philosophers are always asking themselves questions. What a philosopher is trying to do, is figure out the way in which people understand the world, or their sense and place of reality in the world. The German philosopher, Ernst Cassirer (1874- 1945) felt that we use mentally created symbols to understand our current reality. It was Cassirer's idea that scientific laws, theories of religion and the unique qualities of a given language were all symbols, which we as humans create to facilitate understanding the world. The logic of understanding then is to give some sense of order in the chaos of the world that we face on a daily basis.
Filename: BBcassir.doc
Paper Title: Ernst Cassirer: Language & Myth (1946)

Fairy Tales: Now and Always
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(10pp) Since the time that someone rubbed two sticks togetherto make fire, people have loved a good story. It may loosely be called a legend, a story, or a tale, Joseph Campbell links most of them together with a thematic approach called the "hero's adventure." We will test some current fairy tales ("The Princess Who Stood on Her Own Two Feet," Jeanne Desy; "Prince Amilec" Tanith Lee; and "Petronella" by Jay Williams) to see how they fit the traditional model. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Filename: BBfrytls.doc
Paper Title: Fairy Tales: Now and Always

Fantasy in Contemporary Cinema: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Harry Potter
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A paper which looks at the function of fantasy in contemporary cinema, with particlar reference to myth in film, as evinced by Lord of the Rings, the Star Wars series and Harry Potter. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Filename: JLcinfan.rtf
Paper Title: Fantasy in Contemporary Cinema: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Harry Potter

Here Be Dragons!
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(5 pp) No single continent or culture has an exclusive claim on dragons or dragon lore. The animals have survived in time and imagination. Just as an adventurer might claim land for his sovereign, a wise traveler would also know when dragons would be about, and then, even whisper to himself, "here be-- dragons." This discussion will allow the reader to learn of these marvelous creatures, so he too can learn to recognize them, and the places where they live. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Filename: BBdragon.doc
Paper Title: Here Be Dragons!