How do human beings in different cultures understand themselves, and others, through symbols? What are the different methodological and theoretical approaches to this question of cultural construction and representation in anthropology? An adequate answer, in the orthodox sense, would require an honours degree in Culture and Symbols. An unorthodox approach would focus on mythology, as this is the constant foundation for symbolism of different kinds from different cultures to take root. So this is what we will do - explore the variety of symbolic and cultural forms that emanate from a common mythological foundation. Topics include masks, archetypes, rites of passage, sacred dance, shamanism, science, mysticism, and the making of modern myths.

There is a set of Class Notes that summarize the main points of each lecture. The Coursepack of class notes can be purchased from the Carleton University Book store. The course outline provides information about selected readings, expectations, assignments, evaluation, and directions to the course newsgroup on the Internet.

The lectures are spiced with interviews of distinguished scholars and sages, and guest dancers, musicians, environmentalists and gifted graduate students also take the stage. Films from Joseph Campbell’s “The Power of Myth” series, and David Mayberry-Lewis’ “Millenium” series, augment the class presentations, providing a visually powerful backup for the focus of this course.

Didjiridoo and Dreamtime provide an opening for the course on Culture and Symbol, with a discussion of Australian Aborigine mythology. Class structure, sequence and course assignments receive careful attention. The dazzling array of symbolic life cross-culturally is rooted in the study of mythology. The parameters of a mythic exploration are laid out before Joseph Campbell is brought center stage.

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The first challenge is to come to grips with Claude Levi-Strauss’ semiotic structuralism and its application to mythology. He takes us beyond the boundaries of orthodox discourse. The second challenge is to explore the metaphor of masking traditions, with a particular emphasis on North West Coast cultures.

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Carl Jung’s individuation process is examined in detail with reference to the Celtic myth of Parsifal’s search for the Holy Grail. The integration of male ego-awareness with the internal feminine - the anima - is traced through different representations of the myth. Myth and legends across the centuries, operas and modern films jostle together, while implications for current social mores are drawn out with particular reference to violence against women.

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In 1897 Paul Gauguin painted one of his masterpieces of Tahitians. Titled “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” - Gauguin posed questions about identity, ritual and transformation that anthropologists Arnold Van Gennep, Victor Turner, and many others have tried to come to grips with. Our global civilization’s lack of attention to Rites of Passage produces lost generations, which includes our own generation of aging professors.

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The Hero’s Journey is perhaps Joseph Campbell’s major legacy to the study of mythology. He asks us to examine whether our lives are authentic, or do we allow ourselves to be eaten up by “The System.” To avoid the latter, according to Campbell, requires a Hero’s Journey, a vital process akin to Jung’s notion of individuation.

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The arena for shamanism is that of an Altered State of Consciousness (ASC). This magnifies the process of healing during a shamanic journey, whereby the individual and/or community have an opportunity to dialogue with, and experience, archetypal material. The building blocks to understand an ASC and the shamanic journey are used to construct a model of healing. Students are introduced to this model in the context of a healing journey.

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In symbolic systems, variously described by different scholars, there is at work a model of behavior transformation. Metaphor, Vibration, and Form identify the underlying process. It begins with the mind and the meanings provided metaphorically for symbols, then into the body as physical experience (Vibration). From the physical “ownership” of the metaphor, the properties associated with it are encouraged, socially and ritually, to enact the Form of new behavior.

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The poetic voice is not usually associated with anthropological practice. Yet many cultures express themselves poetically. So how can anthropologists understand them from the standpoint of their professional training? They cannot, unless they are prepared to slip past, and beyond, discipline boundaries. This produces a healthy chaos, as anthropology revises itself in the post-modern era.

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Sacred Dance is analyzed as mythic enactment, a process that produces a cycle of meaning between symbolic form (choreography) and symbolic structures contained in the human unconscious and cell. This is examined in both modern and classical perspectives as we touch base with India, the !Kung of the Kalahari desert, Balinese theatre, modern dance groups, and re-visit the last supper as well as the dance traditions of Native American society.

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The Rage to Know arises from an acute discomfort at incomprehension. It takes thinkers beyond existing boundaries into the area of Paradigm Shifts. This is played out in science, medicine, religion and cosmology. A metaphysical perspective is offered to more deeply understand the effect of changing consciousness on cellular activity.

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James Lovelock, Rachel Carson, the Buddha and statements of Traditional Ecological Knowledge shift the arena of discourse into environmental issues. The role of human consciousness, attitude and value shifts brings the spiritual dimension center stage as we explore the Ecology of Mind.

The Tree of Life Myths provide a template for human-planet-universe relationships. This cultural guidance system for transforming consciousness requires that the myths are decoded, and that humans learn to deal with issues of Inner Ecology. The latter refers to mental obstacles created from cultural conditioning, genetic heritage and karma. An antidote based on a triad of Meditation, the Dalai Lama, and the Little Prince supports an argument about congruence and clarity. A far-out discussion of dolphins and mythology brings the course to a close, before the instructor is beamed off into the Universe.

The class opens on a tipi - carefully placed with the Rideau River to the South, sacred cedars to the North, the railway bridge on campus to the West, and a path through the cedars to the East. The juxtaposition of ancient shamanic traditions and a busy modern campus is deliberate, as it brings healing traditions into the urban context.