Carla Kurt/smartscion humanities resources

Working individually, you will investigate the concepts of archetypes, the collective unconscious, the monomyth and the Hero's Journey as a foundation for your further investigation of various cultural myths.

"A hero in one age will be a hero in another." – Charlotte Lennox

"Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves." – Carol Pearson

"We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves." – Tom Robbins

"Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don't know how far we can go." – Bernard Malamud

Step One: Please visit the sites below and answer the following questions. Your responses should be clear and complete. Be sure to include the URL (Web address) for each source. You will use this information for class discussion and the creation of a class reference chart on archetypes, myth and the Hero's Journey. You should learn, and be able to use with confidence, the boldface terms in the questions.

Questions

What is an archetype? How does an archetype differ from a stereotype?
What does the term collective unconscious mean, and how does this term relate to the idea of archetypes?
What is the original meaning of the Greek word mythos? How do we distinguish myth from mythology?
How does myth differ from legend, folktale and religion? What elements distinguish each type of "story"? What elements do they share?
What is a cultural myth?
What does the term monomyth mean?
What is a hero? What are the various heroic archetypes?
What is the Hero's Journey? What are the elements of the Hero's Journey?
Why do all cultures have heroes and monsters?

Resources

A Brief Lexicon of Greek Terminology...Greek terms associated with mythology...definition of mythos
Thesaurus.com...to look up another definition of mythos
Introduction to Jungian Psychology...for those seeking an understanding of relevant terms and concepts as Jung used them
Summary of Jung's Psychology...clear and basic outline of the important fundmentals of Jungian psychology...includes information aabout the collective unconscious and archetypes
Archetypes as Defined by Carl Jung...comprehensive information
Wikipedia Encyclopedia on Joseph Campbell...very basic biographical information...contains useful in-text links
About Joseph Campbell...Joseph Campbell Foundation biography
Joseph Campbell Mythology Group Resource Page...contains links to other sites bout myth, folklore, Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung
Joseph Campbell's Mythic Journey...1994 article about Campbell published in New Perspectives Magazine
Joseph Campbell's Ten Commnadments for Reading Mythology
The Monomyth...chart with desriptions of the elements of the monomyth
The Hero's Journey...a well-outlined description based on Campbell's principles...explore the links for complete information
Heroic Archetypes...types and descriptions

Evaluation: You will be evaluated on the following items:

questions assigned for homework
quizzes on assigned research

Phase Two

Phase Three

Lesson

H&M Home

Index

smartscion

Step Two: Following our our class discussion of heroic archetypes, write a first person narrative on one of the below topics. You will include this in your writing folder as a possible draft for a college essay.

a personal hero and his/her effect on me
how I found the hero in me
my life as a heroic journey
choose one of the above quotes and describe how it applies to you

You may want to visit the following sites for tips on writing the college essay.

Ten Tips For Writing the College Essay...from the American School Counselor Association
Writing the College Essay...basic, simple to read guidelines
Top 15 Essay Tips...a list

Evaluation: You will be evaluated based on a rubric handed out in class.