 |
CLS/WMS
061:
The Feminine Archetype
in Myth and Art
Topics, Assignments,
and Notes |
NB: All dates are provisional and some readings may change. Notes are
linked to the relevant topics. Click on the link to see an
e-mail challenge posted to students in two different
classes this semester.
I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
A. The Nature of Archetypal
Symbolism
January 26-February 4: Jungian Approach
to Symbolic Interpretation
- Readings: Wehr, chapter 3; notes
February 4-8: Individuation: Introduction,
Ego, Persona; Shadow
- Readings: Wehr, chapter 4, pp. 49-75; notes
February 11-16: Individuation: Anima/Animus; Self
- Readings: Wehr, chapter 6, pp. 99-126; notes
Take-Home Test (due February
18)
B. Matriarchal/Patriarchal Consciousness and
Values
February 18-23: Matriarchal/Patriarchal
Attitudes of Consciousness and Value Systems
- Readings: Wehr, chapter 2, pp. 13-25; Baring and Cashford,
Preface, pp. xi-xv and chapter 13, pp. 486-546; xeroxed outline; excerpt from
June Singer, Androgyny (Anchor Press, 1976), pp. 218-224
February 25: Importance of Reinterpreting and Reclaiming
Archetypal Symbols; use the e-mail discussion list to respond to
this challenge
- Readings: "Reclaiming the Symbols," from Helen Haste, The
Sexual Metaphor (Harvard University Press, 1994), pp. 188-203
Project on
Reclaiming Symbols (due March 2)
March 4-11: Elementary and Transformative Characters of the
Feminine; Manifestations of Feminine Archetypal Symbolism in Art from Antiquity
to the Present
- Readings: Erich Neumann, The Great Mother: An Analysis of
the Archetype (Princeton University Press, 1963), pp. 64-74;
Structure of the Feminine Archetype
- Recommended: Neumann, Great Mother, pp. 24-38; Ann Ulanov,
The Feminine in Jungian Psychology and in Christian Theology
(Northwestern University Press, 1971), pp. 139-67; Irene Claremont de
Castillejo, Knowing Woman (Putnam, 1973), pp. 53-72
Take-Home Test (due March 23)
II. ANALYSIS OF MYTHIC AND ARTISTIC
SYMBOLISM
A. Classical Goddesses
March 23-30: Elementary Goddesses: Gaia, Hera,
Demeter, Erinyes, Medusa, etc.
- Readings: Baring and Cashford, pp. 299-319 (Gaia, Hera);
364-390 (Demeter and Persephone); 340-44 (Medusa); Homeric Hymn to
Demeter
- Recommended: Annis Pratt, Dancing with Goddesses: Archetypes,
Poetry, and Empowerment (Indiana University Press, 1994) for Medusa;
Neumann, Great Mother, pp. 120-73; 240-267
- Links on Gaia:
- Links on Hera:
- Amazons (from the
Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology, by Carlos Parada)
- Hestia,
images and texts (from Classical Myth: The Ancient Sources)
- Links on Demeter and Persephone:
- Demeter, ancient
texts (from Classical Myth: The Ancient Sources, see also link to
images)
- Demeter (from the
Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology, by Carlos Parada)
- Demeter (from
Greek Mythology); see also
Persephone
-
Demeter
(from 3E Encyclopedia's
Goddess
Guide)
- “Has the
Mystery of the Eleusinian Mysteries Been Solved?” by Ivan Valencic
- The Divine
Mother and the Veil of Death: The Mysteries of Eleusis, by Sanderson
Beck
- The
Eleusinian Mysteries: A Sacred Journey of Self Transformation, Fall 1999
(“Our pilgrimage will reenact these ancient mysteries within a modern
context at the original sacred sites. In this exacting but rejuvenating
journey, you will have an opportunity to articulate and record your personal
archetypal process, and explore, through ritual empowerment and integration,
the mysteries of life, death and rebirth.”)
- Millennial Rites: A
Greek Director Updates the Eleusinian Mysteries
- Persephone (from
The Dark
Goddesses)
- Pluto
and Persephone
-
Persephone
(“What follows is a synopsis of the proposed vernal equinox performance
event. What we are proposing is a return to the Masque format so popular in the
c17, where the classical myths were used symbolically on great occasions,
including those depicing the procession of the years.”)
- Excerpt from
Pomegranates
from the Underworld (Pariah Press, 1990), a book of poems by Catherine
Helen Bateson
- Life’s
Daughter / Death’s Bride: Inner Transformations through the Goddess
Demeter/Persephone, description of a book by Jungian psychologist Kathie
Carlson
- “Demeter and
Persephone,” a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
- All
about Demeter (part of
Zeus Speaks!, an
interactive online educational site for grades 3-9)
| The Dark
Goddess |
 |
| neon art sculpture by Prentice V.
Clark |
- Links on Hecate and Lilith:
- Links on Gorgons and Medusa:
April 1-13: Transformative Goddesses:
Pandora, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, etc.
- Readings: Baring and Cashford, pp. 515-18 (Pandora); 320-332
(Artemis); 349-64 (Aphrodite); 332-45 (Athena)
- Recommended: Annis Pratt, Dancing with Goddesses: Archetypes,
Poetry, and Empowerment (Indiana University Press, 1994) for Artemis and
Aphrodite; Neumann, Great Mother, pp. 268-336
- Links on Pandora:
- Links on Artemis:
- Links on Aphrodite:
- Links on Athena (also spelled Athene):
Report on web search for Adopt-a-Goddess
Essay (due April 20)
B. Primordial Goddess
April 15-20: The Primordial
Goddess; the Great Mother and Son/Lover Pattern; Cybele; Primordial Goddess
in Prehistoric and Contemporary Art (Judy Chicago's The Birth
Project)
- Readings: Baring and Cashford, chapter 3, pp. 106-144, and
chapter 10, pp. 391-415; excerpts from Erich
Neumann, The Origin and History of Consciousness (Princeton
University Press, 1954)
- Recommended: Neumann, Great Mother, pp. 94-119
- Links:
April 22: Viewing of the film The Graduate
Written Analysis of Archetypal Symbolism in
Film (due April 29)
C. The Androgynous Ego
April 27-May 4: Androgyny and Archetypal Symbolism in Homer's
Odyssey
- Readings: Homer’s Odyssey, concentrating
especially on Books 5-12, 19-24, pp. 65-173, 257-336
- Links:
III. PROJECTS ON CONTEMPORARY USES OF
ARCHETYPAL FEMININE SYMBOLISM (May 6-13)
Adopt-a-Goddess
Essay (due May 20 by 5:00 p.m.)
revised March, 1999
Barbara
F. McManus
CLS 061
Syllabus