The Myths and Legends of Dreams: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

Abstract

Everyone dreams in every culture. It’s a universal phenomenon. But not everyone has the same interpretation of dreams. While there is some overlap, generally each culture has a distinct belief about what dreams are, the significance of them and why we dream. This is where my research came in. I wanted to understand what each culture believed about dreams. So I went out and started researching different cultures. Most, if not all of them have some method of interpreting dreams. Some cultures have detailed handbooks while others just have representative pictures. Furthermore, many cultures also associate mythical creatures to dreams, which either block out nightmares or bring them on. The latter, of course, would be considered evil creatures. Ultimately, I learned through this research that with the exception of one, every culture either has a positive or negative interpretation of dreams.

1. I'm sure you've heard this advice a thousand times before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it. My advice to you is to start early and don't procrastinate. You really have the whole quarter to think about what topic you want to do. So by the time your proposal is due, you should have a very good idea about what you want to do. Choose something that interests you! Trust me, it will be fun to write about. From personal experience, it doesn't even feel like your writing an essay. It actually feels like leisure internet browsing (or book browsing). Which reminds me, remember to use books! I thought the most useful information would come from the internet, but I was wrong. A lot of useful information came from the books I found at the library! And this was information that couldn't be found online! So it was very useful. Other than that, good luck and have fun!

2. My research question was how do different cultures view/interpret dreaming? I chose to research this because I'm fascinated by dreams. They're so strange and they can reveal our unconscious desires.

Here is a list of my sources. I found some useful books at the library here and also some useful journal articles on JSTOR.

1. Bond, Sarah. "Divine Reverie: Revelation, Dream Interpretation, and Teeth in Antiquity." The Appendix Combined. N.p., 10 July 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
2. Borbély, Alexander A. "Dreams." Secrets of Sleep. New York: Basic, 1986. 63-69. Print.
3. Bynum, W.F. Companion Encyclopedia of the History of Medicine. Ed. Roy Porter. London: Routledge, 1993. 281. Print.
4. Cartwright, Rosalind Dymond. "Popular Culture Effects on Dream Content."A Primer on Sleep and Dreaming. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub., 1978. 57. Print.
5. Curran, Bob. Vampires: A Field Guide to the Creatures That Stalk the Night. Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page, 2005. 17-21. Print.
6. Galen. "Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences." On Diagnosis From Dreams (1983): 36-47. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
7. Handley, Andrew. "10 Ancient Legends About Dreams." Listverse. N.p., 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
8. Van Nuys, David. “Dreaming Across Cultures.” Sonoma State University. August 2004. PowerPoint presentation.