Mythic Thinking in Twentieth-Century Britain Meaning for Modernity [Paperback]

A variety of thinkers used the concept of myth to articulate their anxieties about modernity. By telling the story of mythic thinking in Britain from its origins in Victorian social anthropology to its postwar cultural mainstreaming, this book reveals a yearning for transcendence in an age long assumed to be disenchanted.Acknowledgements 1. Myth and the Modern Problem 2. Golden Boughs, Fairy Books, and Holy Grails: The Making of a Myth-Saturated Culture 3. 'The Grail is Stirring': Modernist Mysticism, the Matter of Britain, and the Quest for Spiritual Renewal 4. 'The Mythical Mode of Imagination': J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the Epistemology of Myth 5. Coping with the Catastrophe: J.G. Ballard, the New Wave, and Mythic Science Fiction 6. Myth and the Quest for Psychological Wholeness: C.G. Jung as Spiritual Sage 7. Minding the Myth-Kitty: Myth, Cultural Authority, and the Evolution of English Studies 8. Making a Modern Faith: Myth in Twentieth-Century British Theology Epilogue Bibliography

Matthew Sterenberg is an Assistant Professor at Waseda University's School of International Liberal Studies in Tokyo, Japan. There he teaches courses related to British history, European history, and historical theories and methods. His research focuses on the cultural and intellectual history of modern Britain.