William G. Doty (scholar)

William G. Doty (1939–2017) was an American religious studies scholar and educator. He an author and editor known for his writings about myth and mythology. [1][2]

Career

Doty was a professor emeritus of humanities and religious studies at the University of Alabama. He also served as Goodwin-Philpott Eminent Scholar in History at Auburn University in 1997 and 1998.

Doty published fourteen books and over seventy essays, including studies about anthropology, psychology, classics,[3] art criticism and literary criticism.[4]

With William J. Hynes, Doty edited and contributed to the 1993 book Mythical Trickster Figures.[5] Another of his writings about mythology is the 2000 book Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals,[6] which the Oxford Companion to World Mythology describes as "the most comprehensive and definitive study of the primary intellectual currents in the study of myths".[7] A frequent theme in his writing was the process by which myths changed meaning and purpose depending on the life situation of the storyteller.[8]

Doty also served as lecturer, translator and editor.

Selective publications
  • Mythical Trickster Figures (editor) (1993)[9]
  • Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals (2000)
  • The Times World Mythology (2002)
  • Myth: A Handbook (2004)
  • Jacking In To the Matrix Franchise with Matthew Kapell (2004)


References
  1. "Mythical Trickster Figures:". The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 03, 1993
  2. Matthew Wilhelm Kapell; Stephen McVeigh (29 September 2011). The Films of James Cameron: Critical Essays. McFarland. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-7864-8754-7.
  3. Susan Ackerman (1 June 2005). When Heroes Love: The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David. Columbia University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-231-50725-7.
  4. Richard A. Burridge (9 August 2004). What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8028-0971-1.
  5. Harold Bloom (2010). The Trickster. Infobase Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-60413-445-2.
  6. "Mythography" - reviewed in The Bloomsbury Review Fall 1986. Volume 5, Parts 3-6. Owaissa Publishing Company. 1986.
  7. Leeming, David (2005-11-17). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780195156690.
  8. M. Grau (17 December 2014). Refiguring Theological Hermeneutics: Hermes, Trickster, Fool. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-137-32455-9.
  9. J. Weinstock (6 November 2013). The Works of Tim Burton: Margins to Mainstream. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-137-37083-9.
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