The Nature of Shamanism and the Shamanic Story
Michael Berman, UK
Michael Berman BA, MPhil, PhD (Alternative Medicines) is a part-time
teacher at Oxford House College in London, a writer, and core shamanic
counsellor. Publications include A Multiple Intelligences Road to an ELT
Classroom and The Power of Metaphor for Crown House Publishing and The
Shaman and the Storyteller for Superscript. Michael has been involved in
teaching English as a Foreign Language to adults for over thirty years and
has given presentations at Conferences in Austria, Azerbaijan, Croatia,
the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland,
Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and the Ukraine.
E-mail: Michaelberman@blueyonder.co.uk, www.Thestoryteller.org.uk
Editorial
The story "The Earth Will Take its Own" by Michael Berman published in HLT, July 2006, comes from "The Nature of Shamanism and the Shamanic Story". The book includes an extensive analysis of the shamanic origins of the tale.
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Facts about the book
More about the book
The Nature of Shamanism and the Shamanic Story
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
www.c-s-p.org
ISBN: 1-84718-356-5
Binding: Hardback Author: Michael Berman
Date of Publication: 01 November 2007
UK: £29.99
US: $59.99
The book makes out a case for the introduction of a new genre of tale, the
shamanic story, which has either been based on or inspired by a shamanic
journey, or contains a number of the elements that are typical of such a
journey.
The stories featured are the Book of Jonah from the Old Testament, two
traditional stories from the Republic of Georgia-The Earth will take its
Own and Davit, a contemporary German tale Bundles, and the Korean story of
Shimchong, the Blindman's Daughter.
By making use of textual material from a number of different cultures and
times, the intention is to highlight the pervasive influence shamanism has
had and to show how the "new" genre being proposed is a universal one.
The research questions addressed include 1) defining what shamanism is,
deciding whether it should be classified as a religion, a methodology or a
way of life 2) considering whether a case can be made out for the
introduction of a new genre of tale and, if so, what its characteristics
are.
It is hoped the book will be of interest not only to those involved in the
study of shamanism but also to those whose interest is in the study of
literary texts. Since the old bearers of shamanic traditions quite often
were, and even today are, illiterate, the study of their folklore-epic
songs, laments, narratives-undoubtedly provides a rich source for
research.
Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Expert Teacher course at Pilgrims website.
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