In 1943, Claude Lévi-Strauss published his seminal text The Elementary Structures of Kinship, which is often considered one of the first texts to introduce structuralism. The text mostly discusses the kinship (i.e. marriage) systems of various native cultures. However, the key to analyzing and interpreting the data on these systems would require an understanding of the underlying structures, the relationships between marriages, rather than the marriages themselves. This will be illustrated using some basic group theory.
Likewise, the theme of structuralism also resonates in Lévi-Strauss' later study of myths, by explaining the relationships between elements in common myths, rather than the contents. A mathematical interpretation of Lévi-Strauss' canonical formula for analyzing myths will be discussed.
This talk should be accessible to everyone -- no math required.