The role of story in human history is the glue that holds a group, a tribe, or a nation together. The loss of a cohesive narrative leaves a group in disarray, scrambling to imagine and install a new identity, feeling shaken with anxiety as our psychic world wobbles. While this is always true, it feels particularly relevant at this time as we face multiple global crises. What story will guide us now?
“Jung saw the 20th century as one no longer in daily touch with the meaning of being which lies at the center of life. We have plumbed the resources of consciousness as best we could in our efforts to fathom and to control the contradictions and paradoxes of spirit that have remained to us, but we have lost touch with our roots and the symbolic life that these roots support and nourish” – Ann Ulanov writing on Jung on religion.
In this course, we will survey the role of myth and religion, fairy tale, and ritual as components of culture that have long been steadfast supports in forming and maintaining the unity and vibrancy of culture via stories that shape, entertain, frighten, soothe, or strike us with awe. These narratives seize our imagination and enlarge our understanding of ourselves and our place in the context of a shared story. We will look at some history related to the development of these stories, the role of entropy especially in mythic and religious story, and current technological developments that may lead to a vastly different image of ourselves as humans. We may even ask, if, in the future, myth will still be relevant.