Teaching The Expressive Power of Archetypes DCH 140 at Pacifica Graduate Institute

Pacifica Graduate Institute

Very excited to share that I’ll be teaching at Pacifica this Winter, in the M.A. in Depth Psychology and Creativity with Emphasis in the Arts and Humanities program. It is an engaging course exploring creative embodiment and living application of Jungian concepts. This is a main area of my work, and I am really honored to have been asked to co-explore with the students…

The Expressive Power of Archetypes DCH 140, 3 units

Archetypes can be defined as universal patterns which reside in the collective psyche. We all know the characters when we see them: the Lover, the Innocent, the Sage, the Villain, etc. We all recognize the themes when we see them: the Fall from Innocence, the Battle Between Good and Evil, the Hero’s Journey, etc. These archetypes are found in classic pieces of art, in diverse cultures across the globe as well as the artifacts of pop culture; the stronger the archetypal presence, the more powerful, evocative, and resonant the product is likely to be. This course begins with an overview of archetypal theory from Jungian, post-Jungian and archetypal perspectives., and then turns toward an examination of art and cultural artifacts which express archetypal themes. Particular emphasis is placed on the archetypes of the Artist and the Creator as they are manifested in film, literature, and other mediums. Throughout the course, students will become more aware of the archetypal presences which manifest in their creative projects, while discovering ways to invite and amplify the archetypal energies that inform and guide a creative life.