The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell. In this book, Campbell discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found not only in world myths but in all narrative adventures. With his outline of this archetypal plot structure we can make sense of and see common patterns within stories from all areas of life—in myths, fairy tales, religion, philosophy, national histories, and the arts—across human time and space the world over.

Since the publication of this book in 1949, modern writers, film makers, and artists have deliberately used Campbell’s theory as a guide to story telling. Filmmaker George Lucas, for example, acknowledged the importance for him of Campbell’s theory in mythology and its influence on the Star Wars films. The “Hero’s Journey” narrative structure outline has been applied, moreover, by many different educational programs at all levels, from Middle School to Ph.D. programs.

The role of Campbell’s book in our class:

The Hero with a Thousand Faces will serve as the analytical tool for making sense of the various books and movies we will encounter in this course along the following lines:

1. Narrative Analysis
2. Thematic Development
3. Consciousness Expansion

Hero Part I

January 16-23, 2019

Our activities in this Hero unit will be organized as follows (in this order):

Wednesday, January 16

A. Overview: Read and Watch the following web pages as preparation for reading the book:

• Hero’s Journey Outline (class website)
• Stages in the Hero’s Journey Outline (class website)
• Hero Diagrams (class website)
• The Hero’s Journey in Film (video 1)
• The Hero’s Journey: In Film (optional video 2—application)

Friday, January 18-Tuesday, January 22

B. Read Part One of the book Hero with a Thousand Faces (Prologue and chapters 1-4, roughly 220 pages, depending on which version you are using). Begin reading at least by Friday, January 18 in order to be done with the first half of the book by Tuesday, January 22. (Monday is MLK Day)

Wednesday, January 23

C. The Big Picture: Instructor Video

Watch this videos for a greater understanding of the underlying concepts of Campbell’s book. In the videos I will cover such things as:

• Monomyth: Microcosm and Macrocosm, Inner and Outer, Part and Whole
• The Hero’s Initiation into the Mysteries
• Eternity and Time

Videos:

1. The One, Shape-Shifting yet Marvelously Constant Story
2. Joyful Participation in the Sorrows
3. The Nonduality of Tragedy and Comedy

D. Blog Entry

Write and post (also on January 23) your first official blog entry in response to our reading and my videos in your Blogger site. (See our introductory unit on creating your own blog and our Blog Purpose page to get oriented.) I will have some prompts for you in addition to my general guidelines.

You will find my Prompt for your Blog Post on this page.

Be sure to enter a link (URL) to your own blog to your class blog list on Blackboard.

Friday, January 25

E. Commentary on Groupmates’ Blog Entries

Once you have submitted your own blog entry, read the blog entries written by your two groupmates and then write comments on their entries. This is one way we will have class conversations in our online format.

For instructions on your comments, see my “Responding to Your Blogmates” page.

Hero Part II

March 25-29, 2019

Our activities in this second Hero unit will be organized as follows (in this order):

Monday, March 25

A. Overview: Read my essay on Joseph Campbell and watch my videos:

1. The One, Shape-Shifting yet Marvelously Constant Story (yes, again, please)
2. The Vedic Roots of Joseph Campbell’s Dance of Eternity and Time (my essay)

B. Read Part Two of the book Hero with a Thousand Faces (Cosmogonic Cycle).

C. The links on the Reverse Gear page are not required but will be very helpful for you as we later apply this second half of Campbell’s book to the Matrix movies. These links are also available at the bottom of this Campbell page (the one you are on right now) under the title of “Reverse Gear.” For ease of reference, I have converted these webpages into a PDF file.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

D. Blog Entry—Write and post your blog entry in response to our reading and my videos in your Blogger site.

Be sure to enter a clickable hyperlink (URL) to your own blog to your class blog list on Blackboard!

Friday, March 29, 2019

E. Comment on your Groupmates’ Blog Entries

CLASS LINKS

• Stages in the Hero’s Journey (class website)
• Campbell’s Initial Outline of the Hero’s Journey
• Hero Diagrams
• Campbell’s Pairs of Oppositions
• Campbell’s Hero and the Dance of Eternity (Hartley blog entry)
• Hero Slogans from Campbell
• Campbell’s Cosmogonic Cycle (His Own Summary)
• Campbell Vocabulary
• C

EXTERNAL LINKS

• PDF Copy of the Book (Page references will initially be to this edition.)
• The Hero’s Journey in Film
• The Hero’s Journey (Wikipedia)
• The Hero’s Journey by Winkler & Yeretsky (short video)
• 12 Steps in the Hero’s Journey (YouTube)
• Every Story is the Same (YouTube)
• The Hero’s Journey Documentary (YouTube)
• The Power of Myth TV Series (requires Netflix account)
• Reverse Gear: Hero, Cosmogony, Emanations, Transformations, Hero Types, Dissolutions 1, Dissolutions 2
• 48 Hours of Campbell Lectures
• The Matrix and the Monomyth
• Star Wars
• Video Clip Playlist
• C