I started by reading In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World. Each story is different but many include similar ideas, concepts, and characters. The stories all included a little commentary about the story as well as information about where it originated. The theme of a god like being is present in many cultures around the world including the Genesis story we read in class. An alternative to a god-creator being is the concept of animals creating humans.
These stories are the way that people from around the world answered the question of how they came to be. However today science has given us an answer: evolution. My research paper seems to have shifted slightly away from just creation stories and into the question of defining how we came to be. Instead of just looking at creation stories I'm going to look at how people use science and religion to answer the question of how they came to be. The next book I am going to read is Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation. This book describes the importance of evolution and how rejecting evolution hurts people, science, and our ability to move forward as a species.
Lilia,
ReplyDeleteIt's curious as how you're turning your focus of how we came to be from a prospected based off of myth to one more geared toward science and evolution. I'd suggest you also look into the influence of religion on society, and how it could possibly help us move forward as a species. Religion and science inhibits and exhibits itself in cultures, there's always the dependency, in my opinion, on how it's managed and engaged/established (if that makes sense). I'm very curious as to where your research will take you and how you'll be furthering your development of your topic, as it is a very interesting and important idea to consider! Best wishes to you.
I didn't know that this is what you chose for your project and I am excited to see the similarities it has with mine! I was actually considering focusing on creation myths because they are so interesting. I love how there are so many similarities between cultures regarding the way the earth was created, the way humans were first created, and the way the population grew. I like that you are combining the myth with the science and will be interested to see your view on the subject. It might be interesting to look at how the theory of evolution developed. How did the belief in a creator god turn into the belief in a slow evolution which began with only elements? The book I read for my project actually did a really interesting evaluation in one section about your topic so if you are interested it is called Parallel Myths.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely recommend coupling a scientific and geographical approach and a myth and religious oriented approach when researching for your project. Specifically around the areas of ancient Africa and Mesopotamia, because those two places are where the oldest traces of civilization and humanity have been found. As for which books to read, I can't really help you there, but you can definitely find some good information on the beginnings and evolution of mankind in some of the articles we have already gone over in class.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was a bit short but got to the point and provided me with enough information to write a comment so good job overall!