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Home Administration Course policies Required texts Email & listserv Course Overview Unit 1-Dreams Unit 2-Witchcraft Unit 3-Shamanism Unit Schedules Unit 1 schedule Unit 2 schedule Unit 3 schedule Assignments Essay 1 Essay 2 & 3 Essay 4 Notes & Forms |
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 Course Description
As human beings, we all have a deep psychological need for the mysterious; a need to connect our consciousness to ideas that are larger than us, and to realms that lie beyond our limited understanding. In the not-so-distant past, our ancestors filled this need by drawing from a collective matrix of myths and rituals passed down from generation to generation. But as our culture becomes more fast-paced and technologically sophisticated, it becomes increasingly difficult to draw from that ancient psychological well. In an influential essay titled "Mythological Themes in Creative Literature and Art," Joseph Campbell argues that the advances in science and technology that have transformed world culture in the past century have also left us psychologically impoverished by eroding the power of our myths and religious institutions to instill in us a sense of awe, humility, and respect at the wonder and mystery of the universe. According to Campbell, society has become schizophrenic, with individuals feeling increasingly cut off from one another and disenchanted with the official structures and institutions that are supposed to provide direction in life. Even our most fundamental religious beliefs--once accepted on faith alone--have been stripped of their ancient mysteries and subjected to the rigorous demands of science. We scour the mountains of Turkey for physical evidence of Noah's Ark, and dig beneath the streets of the Holy Land for proof that Jesus lived, all in a desperate attempt to align our religious beliefs with the model of the universe provided us by science. Even the stories of Genesis are now explained "rationally" using the rubric of "Creation Science." To paraphrase Campbell, we have tasted the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and have lost our innocence. In an attempt to fill the psychological void left by our technological culture, we turn to other fantasy stories set in worlds not so easily explained; stories in which individuals can draw from themselves hidden powers to control their own fate and attain their destiny. One need only look to recent popular culture for examples: television programs like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, and in books and films like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter to name only a few. Moreover, ever increasing numbers of people are also embracing old religions to help regain a connection with our ancient past; religions that have at their core the practice of magic. Of course, this leads one to ask: in the face of all we know from science, what possible relevance could the study of magic have today? Magic is a highly symbolic form with its origins buried deep within the psyches of individuals and cultures. It communicates in a language of what psychologist Carl Jung described as "archetypes," universal primordial images passed down from our ancestral past that reside in the "collective unconscious" of all human beings. Moreover, magic shares close connections to religion; belief in unseen powers and beings in devotional contexts carries easily over into situations in which those powers are tapped for practical purposes. In fact, one might even think of magic as a kind of applied mythology in which the symbols and deeds of myth are acted out in ritual for practical benefit. In this course we will critically examine the relationships between people and the supernatural forces in which they believe. How have societies used magic to create, preserve, and transmit their cultural values? What is the relationship between dreams and magic? Magic and culture? We will address attitudes toward such subjects as sex, gender identity, good and evil, as well as other subjects or attitudes which we might discover as we proceed. Contact InfoCourse: English 104 (Fall 2006) Section: 035 (02252) Section: 062 (02297) Instructor: Anthony Ubelhor 
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