JAN 311 - Heroes, Heroism, and the Heroic

Course Meeting Days & Times: MTThF, 10:00 AM-12:30:00 PM

Instructor(s): Larlham, Daniel

Email: dl15@stmarys-ca.edu

Fee: $35

Course Description:  This course examines the figure of the hero and the nature of the heroic impulse in myth, fairytales, pop culture, social justice movements, and real-world acts of bravery and sacrifice.  The overall goal of the course will be to understand the heroic as both an artistic genre and a territory of morality and feeling.  In addition, class exercises and projects will help students develop their own relationship to resonant images of heroism, in service of their personal empowerment and their capacity to contribute to the common good.

The course will begin with an introduction to Carl Jung’s and Joseph Campbell’s psychological and mythological perspectives on the hero’s journey.  We will then explore manifestations of the heroic in various artistic and social contexts - superhero movies, pop music, the civil rights era, and the climate justice movement, for example.  We will ask: What are the main features of heroic characters and narratives?  What feelings and fantasies do they evoke?  What values and virtues do they uphold?  What role do they serve in the collective psyche of a culture?  We will confront and challenge the gendered manifestations of the heroic, and we will watch out for heroism’s shadow aspects: delusional grandiosity and self-righteous recklessness.

Prerequisites & Notes
None

Credits: 3