The Body as Symbol
This theory reading seminar will be led by Jan Kozak (LLE) and will discuss two short advance readings.
Hovedinnhold
Please note that this event has been rescheduled to 31 January!
All are welcome to a theory reading seminar entitled "The Body as Symbol," led by Jan Kozak (LLE). His research, "Body Symbolism in Old Norse Myth" is a case study that allows for a firm ground in one specific cultural symbolic system, but it is an interest in the general issue of how we can use our body symbolically as humans.
Discussion will be based on two short advance readings (it is recommended you read them in the following order):
Johnson, Mark. "Metaphorical Projections of Image Schemata", The Body in the Mind: The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination, and Reason. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. pp. 65-100. (This has been pre-circulated, please email Julia King at julia.king@uib.no for a copy)
A note from seminar leader Jan Kozak: "The texts might seem quite distant from each other, but I would suggest focusing on the principle of" projection of body diagram "(which is clearly seen in the creation myth) and the principle of" balance "(which is clearly seen in the form of sacrifice itself - a kind of trade). I would be interested in any critical observations that either problematize, illustrate or affirm Johnson's theory, ideally examples from your areas of study and your opinion on whether the Body-dissecting myth of creation can be read through the body-cognitive-metaphor lens and what it then implies. "