Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this dissertation is an exposition and critical analysis of the concept of 'substantival' self in the philosophy of Charles Arthur Campbell. Campbell contends that the self is known only inferentially, as a necessary precondition for the experiences of cognition, succession in time, and memory. The self is not reducible to its experiences, but is something 'over and above' its empirical manifestation. The manifested self is distinguishable from the subject self not simply in the analysis of the experience of cognition, succession in time, and memory, but also by the self's immediate apprehension of creative transcendance of 'formed character' in 'self-activity proper' [TRUNCATED]

This essay investigates the applicability of Joseph Campbell’s notion of the Hero’s Journey from his theoretical work The Hero with a Thousand Faces on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again. This has been done by outlining the essential aspects of Campbell’s theory and then performing a reading and analysis of Tolkien’s work. Furthermore, this essay focuses on the narrative structure proposed by Campbell, but also the heroic character’s development—in this instance, Bilbo Baggins’ development. As such, a brief examination of Campbell’s attitude and use of Freudian psychoanalysis has been performed as well as a presentation of Bilbo Baggins’ character and dual nature before the adventure. As a possible line of argument Tolkien’s knowledge of myth is also briefly expounded on. This essay does not research or make any definitive statements on the universal applicability of Campbell’s theory, but merely finds that Tolkien’s The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again appears to conform well to Campbell’s proposed narrative structure and that the development of Bilbo’s heroic character, or his character arc, is in concurrence with this as well.

Criticism of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has maintained that its popularity stems from a well-marketed, repetitive and simple structure. However, this essay considers that this success derives from recognizable mythological heroic structures. The essay traces the protagonist’s development from the perspective of two different theories that contrast and complement each other in various ways, Otto Rank’s theory of the myth of the birth of the hero and Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth. Campbell and Rank both hypothesize that hero myths are repetitive because they emerge from the subconscious of human kind. It can be seen in the tracing of the heroic development in Harry Potter that— although various aspects and features in the hero’s journey are followed in the narrative — the series does not strictly fit these theories. The result is a combination of different features from both theories, which modernizes the heroic myth that has pervaded human culture and history since time immemorial.

In this thesis I will be offering an analysis of C.G. Jung’s influence on the theoretical framework of the American comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. My first main argument will be that Campbell underwent what I am calling a ‘Jungian turn’ around 1968: before this date he was vague and sometimes even dismissive about Jung, while after that date he became suddenly highly positive about Jung’s ideas (particularly about his concept of the archetype). My second main argument will be that this shift in attitude towards Jung occurred because Campbell’s interpretation of Jung changed. Before 1968 Campbell thought of Jung’s concept of the archetype as a ‘closed system’: a completely innate psychological structure that isn’t open to ‘imprinting’ by the environment in any way whatsoever. From 1968 onwards, however, he came to think of the archetype as the equivalent of a so-called ‘open innate-releasing mechanism’, which is the ethologist Konrad Lorenz’s term for a psychological structure that, although it has an innate component as well, is nevertheless open to ‘imprinting’ by the environment. As Campbell’s ideas prior to 1968 had been based on this concept, he realised that his own theoretical framework was compatible with Jung’s to a large extent. My final argument will be that the theoretical position which Campbell arrived at in the final phase of his career (which revolves around the concept of the open innate-releasing mechanism, but which has several other specific characteristics) is the same as the interpretation of Jung put forward by the scholar Anthony Stevens. As Stevens’ work is indisputably Jungian in nature, we might therefore draw the conclusion that it is possible to think of Campbell’s work as ‘Jungian’ in nature as well. However, as there are also some important differences between Campbell and Jung, I am arguing instead that we think of Campbell’s work in the final phase of his career as ‘post-Jungian’: this is the scholar Andrew Samuel’s term for a thinker who may not agree with Jung about every single issue, but whose work is still firmly rooted in his core ideas.

<p>The purpose of this Masters-thesis is to examine the impact of identity politics on (a) Turkey's foreign policy towards Europe and the EU, and (b) Europe's/EU's political attitude towards Turkey, and what implications this may have on a possibly future Turkish membership in the EU. It is a more interpreting thesis than it is an explaining one. The examination shows that Turkey has considered Europe as a political model, while Europe has used the muslime Turkey as a threat to determine its own identity. The negotiations between EU and Turkey this autumn will have great impact on the identity of both sites. If the EU accepted Turkey as a member, the union could gain a chance to spread democracy to the islamic world and thereby earn global respect. The result of the negotiations will prove if Europe provides Turkey the role of border or bridge to the East.</p>

Denna uppsatsens ämne är adaption. John W. Campbells science fiction/skräck kortroman Who Goes There? skall jämföras med två filmatiseringar som baserats på verket och som spelats in under olika generationer. Den första filmen är The Thing From Another World som regisserades av Christian Nyby 1951 och den andra filmen är The Thing som regisserades av John Carpenter 1982. Utöver en generell jämförelse som tar upp likheter och skillnader verken emellan så kommer teman som våld och genus också vara ett genomgående fokus i uppsatsen. Frågor som varför inga kvinnliga karaktärer finns i Campbells berättelse diskuteras, dessutom varför en av filmatiseringarna väljer att göra samma val när det gäller inkluderingen av kvinnor medan den andra inte gör det. Hur och varför kvinnor representeras som de gör generellt inom skräckgenren tas också upp. Effekten, graden och nödvändigheten av våld är en fråga som diskuteras inte bara inom ramarna av den ursprungliga berättelse skriven av Campbell och de två filmer som är baserade på den, men också inom skräckgenren som helhet. Ljudets roll inom skräck är också en faktor som tas upp via diskussion kring filmmusik.

The Semi-gods and the Semi-devils is one of Jin Yong¡¦s most popular Martial-arts novels. Strange adventures of the main characters: Hsiao feng, Tuan yu, Hsu-chu are analogous to those of mythic heroes. This paper uses the archetypal approach to illustrate the main characters, the heroes¡¦journeys, for archetypes are universal patterns from which myths derive. My intention is that the theory of archetypes would enable us to see the literary work differently and give fresh insights to the novel in which important elements and meanings might otherwise go unnoticed.

<p>In this essay I look at J.M Coetzee’s Disgrace from a rather different perspective. I argue that, despite his less than heroic attributes, David Lurie is the protagonist of an adventure and follows Joseph Campbell’s pattern of the hero’s ditto. Furthermore, the goal of David Lurie’s journey lies in self-realization and self-reinvention, which is not typical for the hero’s journey. The Ultimate Boon is usually something else but different times call for different heroes. In J.M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading, Derek Attridge suggests that David Lurie grows on the reader throughout the novel and is a better person at the end (Attridge 183). This indicates that David Lurie goes through a process personally that changes him in a positive direction. Besides Campbell’s theory, the theories of Propp and Stanford are presented and put to good use as theoretical background. Since this essay deals with both narratology and structuralism I provide short explanations of these two branches of literature criticism as presented in Peter Barry’s Beginning Theory. I then discuss relevant passages from Disgrace in connection with the different stages of the hero’s journey as described by Campbell. I do so in the order they are presented in Campbell’s book.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-301). Also available on the Internet.

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