Why was Lord Krishna known as the Hindu Hero God?

Paper Assignment Mythic stories are the product of the cultures and times in which they are created. By careful analysis of these stories and their cultures, we can understand how they interact with and shape each other. For your final paper, you will choose either a mythic story from modern times, an ancient myth we haven’t studied, or choose to create your own. Then, you will analyze the story and draw conclusions. Your paper should have three general sections: 1. Retelling of the Story and Culture; 2. Analysis; and 3. Conclusions. In the first section, you should retell the story, summarizing major characters and plot points. This should take no more than one page. If you are referencing a written work, you may include citations or quotes from that work. Next, describe the culture that produced this work. Where do these people live? What language do they speak? What is their recent history? What are the culture’s values, norms and taboos? Take a page to make us familiar with the assumed authors and audience of your myth. Again this will take about a page. In the Analysis section, you must choose a method to break down the story. The approach you take is completely up to you, although you may find that following the lead of writers you find in your research to be helpful. You may want to try Structuralism, as in Propp’s examination of episodes, function and sequence, or Levi-Strauss’s functional oppositions. Post-Structuralism may also be useful to you--analyze the connections between history and knowledge in the culture and the content of the story. Finally, you may find a narrativist approach useful. Is there a master narrative present? How does the audience interact with the story and what does the story do or provide for them? Depending on your approach, the analysis section could take between 1 and 3 pages. Finally, based on your analysis, what conclusions can you draw? What new understandings do you have about the story or culture? Again, this may vary, but will probably take 1-2 pages.

If you choose to write your own story, please understand you will then be analyzing yourself and your own culture. Try to write a story that feels mythic before you do your research! Regardless of the option you choose, your final paper must meet the following requirements : ● 5-8 pages in length, Times New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced with standard margins and MLA8 citations. Submitted as a GoogleDoc on the Classroom. ● A description of the research decisions you make along the way (examples: why you chose the questions you did, how you decided the expert opinions you chose were expert-qualifications) ● Citations of the established research you used to help you draw conclusions Timeline: ● Project Proposal - you will turn in your initial research along with 3 annotated expert sources. (annotated means that you have looked through the source materials and noted how it will be helpful to you) This is DUE at the beginning of class as a Google Doc on the Google Drive on April 21. ● Outline - an outline, map or other organizational document that shows how you plan to write the paper. This is DUE at the beginning of class as a Google Doc on the Google Drive on May 9. ●Final Paper - Your final paper must be uploaded to the Google Drive as a GoogleDoc by​ May 15.