1st Edition
Archetype, Culture, and the Individual in Education The Three Pedagogical Narratives
In Archetype, Culture, and the Individual in Education: The Three Pedagogical Narratives, Clifford Mayes presents a unique approach to understanding how Jungian principles can inform pedagogical theory and practice. In a time when what the educational historian Lawrence Cremin called the 'military-industrial-educational complex' and its standardized education are running roughshod over the psyche and spirit of students, Mayes deploys depth psychology, especially the work of Jung, to advance an archetypal approach to teaching and learning.
Mayes demonstrates how catastrophic it is to students when the classroom is governed by forces that objectify the individual in a paralysing stranglehold. He argues that one’s life-narrative is significantly impacted by one’s narrative as a learner; thus, schooling that commodifies learning and turns the student into an object has neuroticizing effects that will spread throughout that student’s entire life. In Part I, Mayes explores the interaction between archetypes and various types of time—ultimately focusing on the individual but always mediated by ‘the cultural unconscious’. In Parts II and III, he brings together education with (post-)Jungian and (post-)Freudian psychology, examining transference/countertransference in the classroom; the Jungian idea of ‘the shadow’ applied to educational processes; Jung’s unique vision of ‘the symbol’ and its importance for educational theory; and Jung’s ‘transcendent function’ as a prime educational modality. Mayes concludes by looking to the future of archetypal pedagogy.
This groundbreaking work in the emerging field of Jungian pedagogy is invaluable reading in Jungian Studies, depth psychological theory, educational theory, and for teachers and psychotherapists.
Acknowledgements; Part I: The Archetype and Time; Chapter 1: Narrative, Archetype, and the Individual; Chapter 2: Narrative, Archetype, and Culture; Chapter 3: Intimately Unknown: The Collective Unconscious; Part II: Towards a Unified Depth-Educational Psychology: Mending the Freudian-Jungian Rift; Chapter 4: Foundations of Depth Psychology in Education; Chapter 5: Notes Towards a ‘Unified Depth-Educational Psychology’; Chapter 6: The Subjective Curriculum: The Sixth Dimension of the 'Imaginal Domain'; Part III: Jung, the Symbol, and Education; Chapter 7: The Politics of the Symbol as an Educational Project; Chapter 8: Beyond Theory: Towards Psyche as Symbol in Archetypal Pedagogy; Chapter 9: Archetypal Pedagogy as Meta-Symbol; References; Index
Biography
Clifford Mayes, now an independent scholar, was, until his recent retirement, a professor of educational psychology at Brigham Young University. He holds two doctorates: The Cultural Foundations of Education (University of Utah) and Clinical Psychology (Southern California University for Professional Studies). As the founder of archetypal pedagogy, Professor Mayes continues working to expand that field.
‘In this sparkling and erudite book that illuminates narrative and so much else, Mayes brings together philosophy, Shakespeare, the Gospels, educational theory, cultural history and above all, Jungian psychology in the service of what education needs to be. Here is a brilliantly persuasive way forward for a humane and rejuvenating teaching and learning to show us the way in the crises of our times. Archetype, Culture, and the Individual in Education is a blessed book and a spiritual-intellectual support for every teacher and learner.’ - Susan Rowland, PhD, Chair, Engaged Humanities and the Creative Life, Pacifica Graduate Institute, and author of Jung as a Writer
‘Mayes presents a beautifully articulated psychospiritual theory of teaching and learning. It has the power to animate the design of lessons, classroom teaching, and even to show how schools and other educational systems could ideally operate to promote the emotional and intellectual well-being of all students. And though deeply theoretical, this work provides a robust argument and a practical basis for accomplishing this goal. Mayes’ theory of teaching melds narrative theory and archetypal theory into a pedagogy that, if embraced in teacher education, would lead to the development of a new generation of amazing and influential teachers.’ - Stefinee Pinnegar, PhD, Acting Dean of The Invisible College, author of Learning from Research on Teaching, and the editor of Advances in Research on Teaching
