M.A.in Engaged Humanities with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology
Depth Psychology Courses
Depth Psychology and the humanities
Depth psychology aspects of the Humanities curriculum focus on courses such as Dreamwork and Initiation, Ritual, & Ceremony. The psyches of individuals, community, and nature all arise together as expressions of the World Psyche. Images and stories rooted in archetypes reveal patterns that resonate among all living things. A depth psychology perspective informs the study of Humanities and fosters insightful perspectives on contemporary plights. It provides a rich academic grounding from which to understand and respond to life’s circumstances.
Traditions of Depth Psychology: Lineage & Legacies
HM 550........ 2 Units
The inclusion of the arts, myth, religion, and philosophy distinguishes depth psychology from other psychological schools of thought. Course topics include ancient approaches to healing, encounters with the unconscious, and soul-making through literature and the arts. These approaches are integrated into the evolving personal mythos of individuals seeking a fuller awareness of themselves, their personal relationships, and their relationship to the world.
Jung and the Humanities
HM 650........ 2 Units
Classical Jungian concepts such as ego, Self, persona, shadow, anima/animus, archetype, collective unconscious, transcendent function, and individuation are studied. The influence of Jung’s ideas on the arts, education, literature, and religion, both culturally and in the life of the individual, are also explored.
Chasing the Trickster
HM 637, 2 units
One of the arguments for the reality of the archetypes is the prevalence throughout world mythology of the trickster. Cultures around the world speak of gods, spirits, and animals who move in and out of structure. The trickster passes on messages and lies, steals things and plays pranks, provides tools that do not work as promised, laughs and dances between the various dimensions of the mythic and material world. In the first half of this course, we will study a variety of trickster figures-including Loki, Legba, Hermes, and Coyote-in order to explore the range and variation of this shifty figure. The second half of the course will explore the trickster from a more general and theoretical perspective, as we find track the figure through the fields of parapsychology, literature, and media theory.
Dreamwork
HM 653........ 2 Units
Historical approaches and responses to dreams are examined, as well as various assumptions about dream processes and meanings. The course draws particularly upon Freudian, Jungian, phenomenological, and archetypal theory in acknowledging the autonomous nature of dream figures. A variety of dreamwork interpretations and mythological amplification methods are explored.
Ritual
HM 552, 2 units
Ritual offers an eloquent, though non-discursive, commentary on the human condition. Its aim is transformation from one ontological condition to another from, child to adult, sick to healed, profane to sacred, and so on. How does it effect such change? The course will present classic theories of ritual process, and explore comparatively fundamental ritual phenomena: initiation, sacrifice, shamanism, divination, masking, and funerary rites. In reviewing these critical instances of ritual, the course will underscore
that ritual makes its assertions not through language or enactment of story, but through embodied practice
Project Workshop
HM 605, 2 units
The Final Project will be developed during a capstone course in which advanced students will be required to consider the discipline broadly, and integrate what they have learned from the curriculum. The Project must be completed during the final quarter and presented during residential session. Assessment data for a variety of outcomes will be collected in this course, particularly outcomes related to integrating and applying the discipline, information literacy, critical thinking, and research and communication skills.
Psychology of Compassion and Tolerance
HM 627........ 2 Units
Love has contributed to the best and the worst of human behavior and relationships throughout history. Its importance extends beyond romantic, familial, or filial love, into love of nature, culture, ideas, images, spirit, and globe. This course reviews depth psychological theories and research on the psychology of love and compassion, and considers applications for human behavior, health, and world relations. It charts the soul's passionate meanderings, leading to engagement with the world.
Leadership Skills for Social Justice
HM 611, 2 units
In this course, we will examine historical and contemporary organizational group development, considering the organization as a distinct entity with intra and inter-group dynamics rooted in unconscious processes, authority, gender, race, ethnicity, and generativity.
