1. Religious Studies 4836 REL/DIV 7049
The Religious Self According to Jung
Prof. Volney Gay, phone: 615 305 5025, Garland Hall 303
E-Mail: Volney.P.Gay@Vanderbilt.edu
Required texts:
Carl Jung, Symbols of Transformation
Carl Jung, The Portable Jung (includes "Answer to Job")
Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Robert Bly, A Little Book on the Human Shadow
I will distribute lots of study guides and similar materials, among them my handbook, Reading
Jung. Other readings and presentations include:
Clover, Carol J. "Her body, himself: Gender in the slasher film." Representations (1987):
187-228.
Bulkley, Kelly. "Dreams, spirituality, and root metaphors." Journal of religion and health
31.3 (1992): 197-206.
Gay, V. P. “How to discern the personal myth.” Using Jung and clinical theory to analyze
science fiction, novels, theologies, and dreams.
Williams Jr, Robert A. "Algebra of Federal Indian Law: The Hard Trail of Decolonizing
and Americanizing the White Man's Indian Jurisprudence, The." Wis. L. Rev. (1986): 219,
pp. 226-258.
Some Course Goals:
To comprehend the scope of Jung's psychology, with special focus on his evaluation of religion.
To assess Jung's major theories and major claims. To gauge the utility of those theories for the
general psychological understanding of cultural forms, especially religion. To deepen your use of
psychology to assess your major research area.
Jung is a crucial thinker in the attempt to understand cross-cultural psychology of religion. He has
had influenced generations of creative writers, filmmakers, visual artists, and students of religion.
Assignments and Requirements (numbers are percent of grade)
Undergraduates: 2 tests (25% each) [take home], a short paper (30%), and the Dream
Journal (20%).

2. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 2
Graduate students: a brief presentation (20%), a short paper (20%), a research paper (40%),
and the Dream Journal (20%). Graduate students’ research papers should pertain to your
graduate focus.
The final paper is due by the final class session, Thursday, December 10.
Papers: content and length
Short papers are between 5 and 7 pages. Graduate, final papers are 24-30 pages. Each paper, short
and long, will employ core Jungian concepts to discuss a religious artifact (e.g., a myth or ritual) or
some other cultural form such as a painting, a movie, a play, or a political treatise, or a theological
treatise. For resources for your papers, please see bibliographies below.
Readings, Presentations, Tests
Guest Lecturers and Due Dates are in bold font
Week beginning Monday:
August 24 Thursday, August 27. First Class—Introduction, read MDR, chapter 1.
Course syllabus: From animal to human? Texts, handouts, movies, dream
journals.
August 31 Read MDR, chapters 1-3. Jung the boy and the young man.
Sept 7 Read MDR, chapters 4-5. Read: Clover, Carol J. "Her body, himself.”
Meeting the archetypes (AT) in popular culture: slasher films.
Sept 14 Read MDR, chapters 6-7. Dianna Bell, “Dreams from Mali.” Comments and
discussion on her 2015 fieldwork among people in Mali (West Africa) about their
dreams. Dreams in diverse cultural contexts.
Sept 21 Read MDR, chapters 8-12. Test No. 1, take-home.
Sept 28 Jung, Portable Jung, No. 7, "Marriage as a Psychological Relationship." Read:
Hubbard, L. Ron. "Have You Lived Before This Life." Part one of Dream Journal
due by Friday, October 2. AT in religion and marriage.
Oct 5 Jung, No. 8, "Types." Jung’s most famous contribution, personality types.
Oct 12 Jung, No. 9, "The Transcendent Function." No class on Thursday, Oct. 15
The goal of life: transcendence and amalgamation of subtypes.
Oct 19 Jung, No. 10, and begin Symbols of Transformation. Jung’s greatest book.

3. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 3
(Use my synoptic questions for SOT, as well.)
Oct 26 Symbols of Transformation, and presentations. Test No. 2, take-home.
Nov 2 Symbols of Transformation, Read sections of Williams, "Algebra of Federal
Indian Law.”
Nov 9 J Williams, "Algebra of Federal Indian Law.” Jung, Portable Jung, No. 14,
"Synchronicity.” AT images in Christian theology: Universal claims.
Nov 16 Jung, Portable Jung, No. 15, "Answer to Job.” Read: Gay, “How to discern the
personal myth.” Jung’s view of god’s development.
November 21-29 NO CLASS THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov 30 Robert Bly, A Little Book of the Human Shadow. Part two of Dream Journal
due by Friday, December 5. One effort to bring Jung to ‘masculinity’ studies.
Dec 7 Last Class on Dec. 10, all papers due, review and such.
Presentations:
Bring copies for everyone. Presentations can begin at any time, but, ideally, by the end of
September. Please make sufficient copies for everyone on the class. I can help you with
photocopying, if needed. Please give me a (brief) written document summarizing your
presentation.

4. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 4
Jung and Dreams RS 4836
[1] The phenomenology of dreams, scripture, and folk culture
People typically experience dreams as:
• Given, not produced on purpose
• Products of an altered state of consciousness
• Meaningful
• Believable
• From another realm of experience
• “Interior" yet also able to penetrate the usual barriers of time and space
• Wishful ("Whenever I want you all I have to do is dream, dream, dream")
• Narratives. Like novels and movies, dreams have conflicts, plot, and tension.
Like most folk psychology, Jewish and Christian scriptures speak of dreams as occult messages
from “On High.” Dreams come either directly from God or they foretell the future. In Genesis
dreams instruct mortals about God’s plans for them (see the story of Jacob, Gen. 31, 12.)
Dreams permit the clever dream interpreter to foretell the future. (See the lengthy dreams in the
Joseph stories, Gen. 37-45). In I Kings 3, 5-12, Solomon dreams and in his dream sees God.
God offers to grant him any wish and Solomon asks God (Adonai) for wisdom. The book of
Daniel, in the Hebrew Bible, depends entirely upon the claim that dreams foretell the future, at
least of great kings.
The New Testament continues these themes in Matthew, I: 20: “But while he thought on
these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou
son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost.” (KJV) See also Matt 2:13, “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the
Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and
flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to
destroy him.”
2 Four modern responses to dreams
The ancient notion of dreams is that they portend something mysterious. They are signs from
superior forces, persons, or the gods who use transcendental means--the ASC of the dream--as
modes of communication. In contrast, three modern responses are: (1) Dreams mean nothing: they
are the computer running down, a bit of undigested beef, random neurons firing, or bio-mechanical
events that only seem meaningful [cf. Foulkes.] (2) Dreams are messages from our "deeper
mind." To understand their meanings is to grasp something true about our "inner nature." [Jung,
Boss.] (3) Some dreams are attempts, using thought processes restricted by sleep, to solve
important problems. These problems are typically emotional and deal with negative feelings about
our "future." [Freud, Boss, Gay] (4) Some dreams stem from the Collective Unconscious: they

5. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 5
emerge as indicators of one’s biological, life-stage imperatives. For examples, see our comments
on AT dreams in MDR and other Jung readings.
3 A narrative approach to dream interpretation, dream journals
The following are useful questions: (1) What is the manifest story: retell the dream as a plot. (2)
What are the strongest feelings and how do they change as the dream moves on? (3) What
conflicts, drama, and struggles occur in the dream? (4) How are these settled or resolved? (5)
Similar to what public, cultural narratives is this dream narration? (6) Dy you find a pattern or
theme running through your dreams?
4 Sample Dreams
A. Male, age 8: I am asleep and dreaming about flying saucers, and I was in the army. The
Martians were after us. Then I was running with my gun and I saw a piece of string and I
knew I was going to trip over it and then I got stuck on the floor. I tried to fight against it.
B. Female, age 9: She's playing on a swing with her sister and cousin at her cousin's house.
Everyone goes inside and leaves her alone. A giant praying mantis chases her away from the
house. She runs by a large tree with many branches. They grab her. She wakes up, crying.
C. Male, age 21: A “Helter-Skelter” [from the movie about the Manson murders.] crew breaks
into his house and wiped out his family and stabbed him in the chest. He cries because he
declined to attack and because he hid until Charles Manson and company had left. Then he
found a cadaver and he dissected it.
D. Female, age 21: She walks into a hotel lobby that is all red. She's overcome with fear when
she sees a man in the corner whom she apparently knows. She runs to the elevator, opens the
door, steps in but there is no floor there. She falls, finally reaches the bottom and steps into
another lobby. This is pure white. Then she dances with the same man she had previously run
away from.
E. Female, age 22: I am working as a boss in a lumber area: I am bossing the lumberjacks and
given them orders. I see an old woman there and kill her with my bare hands; the woman looks
a lot like grandmother. (The dreamer woke up scared and panicky.)
F. Male, age 39: (in 1985): In a Viet Cong-like village. He flees and hides in a grass hut. The VC
try to break the door down. His gun fires, the door opens slowly. Before it hits the ground he
wakes up. [Repeated dream.]

6. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 6
[2] Dreams and Dream Journal
Write down every dream you can recall as soon as you can. Then ponder these questions:
1. What is the manifest dream: tell the dream plot as best you can upon
awakening.
2. What are your feelings in the dream, do they change as the dream moves on?
3. What conflicts, drama, or struggles occur in the dream?
4. How are these settled or resolved? [Hint: why do we wake up from some
dreams?]
5. Of what real life conflicts and problems does this remind you?
6. On recording the dream, what thoughts and feelings emerge?
7. If you've recorded many dreams, do you find a pattern or theme running
through them?
On not being able to dream
It may happen that you don’t dream much or that you cannot record your dreams. In that case,
please carry out the following:
1. Create a synthetic dream: that is, begin with a wish, put it into dramatic form,
and tell this story using actions/metaphors/jokes to illustrate the wish. See below,
Synthetic Dreams.
2. Set aside 10 minutes a day to daydream: pick any topic that matters to you—
career, relationships, colleagues, the future, etc.—and record the daydream.
3. Collect these synthetic dreams and daydreams in your dream journal.
4. Apply the rules (1-7) above.
Resources and references
The most famous book ever written on dreams is Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams.
Originally published in 1900; it's in many paperback editions and in e-format. This is the book the
Jung took to heart and which he used to interpret his psychiatric patients’ thoughts.
Boss, Medard (1982). On Dreaming: an Encounter with Medard Boss. Ed. Charles Scott. Scholars
Press.
Domhoff, G. William. Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. Springer Science &
Business Media, 2013.
Foulkes, W. D. (1985). Dreaming: a Cognitive-Psychological Analysis. L. E. A.
Gay, Volney (1989). Understanding the Occult: Fragmentation and Repair of the Self. Fortress.
Jung, Carl (1974). Dreams. Princeton University Press.
Tedlock, Barbara (ed.) (1987). Dreaming: Anthropological and Psychological Interpretations.
Cambridge.

7. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 7
Synthetic Dreams
Rules:
(1) Show the action as in a screen play, as a “scene of action.”
(2) Do not verbalize the problem directly: you must “mime” it via the narrations and the events in
the story.
(3) Puns, jokes, condensations, etc., are especially welcome.
(4) You can change the age, names, and gender of the actors if you wish.
(5) Your job is to create a synthetic dream; our job is to discover the underlying “day thoughts” as
set forth in the original story line.
Story One
40 y/o woman, Susan, on a new, very strict diet; she feels ravenous as she falls asleep. She wishes
to eat, but feels guilty about those wishes: her hunger pains threaten to wake her up. She wishes
both to sleep and to satisfy her hunger but not feel guilty about breaking her diet.
Story Two
40 y/o man, David, feels aggrieved by his boss whom he will see the next morning. He wants to
confront his boss, Mr. Hobbs, but is afraid of retaliation and is afraid of his own anger.
Story Three
45 y/o woman’s aged father, named [for our purpsoses] Robert James, is dying. She must visit him
the next day and talk about his extensive estate and his will. As she falls asleep she remembers
how her father seems always to favor the woman’s older brother, Robert Junior.
Story Four
35 y/o man, named Jim, is dating a 30 y/o single female, named Jane. He finds her attractive and is
frustrated that thus far she has resisted his suggestions they have a sexual moment or two. He calls
her late in the evening and she seems cool. That night he dreams.

8. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 8
Bibliography
Introductory and Survey Texts
Campbell, J. (Ed.) The Portable Jung. New York: Viking Press, 1971, "Introduction" pp. vii-
xxxii.
Ellenberger, H. (1970) The Discovery of the Unconscious. New York: Basic Books, chap. 9.
Goldbrunner, J. (1959) Individuation: A Study of the Depth Psychology of Carl Gustav Jung.
New York: Pantheon.
Hall, C. & Lindzey, G. (1970) Theories of Personality. New York: Wiley, chap. 3.
Homans, Peter. (1979) Jung in Context. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Jacobi, J. (1962) The Psychology of C. G. Jung. New Haven: Yale.
Jung, C. G. (1964) Man and His Symbols. New York: Doubleday.
Olney, James (1932) Metaphors of the Self: The Meaning of Autobiography. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, chap. 3, “Jung”.
Rieff, P. (1966) The Triumph of the Therapeutic. New York: Harper.
Winnicott, D. (1964) Review of C. Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Int. J. Psycho-Anal.
45:450-455.
Wyss, D. (1966) Depth Psychology: A Critical History. New York: Norton.
Collected Texts and Journals
Jung, C. G. The Collected Works of C. G. Jung. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957-
in 19 volumes. Call no. BF 23.J76. ON RESERVE fall 2015
Jung, C. G. The Portable Jung. Ed. J. Campbell, contains 15 major papers selected from the
Collected Works.
Eranos Yearbook. Collection of essays and special projects on a (1933-ff) variety of topics using
Jungian psychology.
Journal of Analytic Psychology

9. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 9
Spring (1962- )
Additional Discussions of Jung and Jungian Psychology
Abell, W. (1966) The Collective Dream in Art. New York: Schocken Books
Billinsky, J. M. (1969) Jung and Freud. Andover Newton Quarterly, 10:39-43
Bodkin, M. (1934) Archetypal Patterns in Poetry. London: Oxford
Campbell, J. (1956) The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Cleveland: World Publishing Company
Cox, D. (1959) Jung and Saint Paul. New York: Association Press
Frey-Rohn, L. (1976) From Freud to Jung. New York: Dell
Fritz, D. W. (1980) Perspectives on Creativity and the Unconscious. Oxford, Ohio: Old
Northwest Publication.
Glover, E. (1956) Freud or Jung? Cleveland: World Publishing Company
Hannah, B. (1976) Jung: His Life and Work. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Hostie, R. (1957) Religion and the Psychology of C. G. Jung. New York: Sheed and Ward
Jacobi, J. (1967) The Way of Individuation. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World
McGuire, W. (Ed.) (1974) The Freud-Jung Letters. Princeton: Princeton University Press
Meier, C. (1977) Jung’s Analytical Psychology and Religion. Carbondale: Southern Illinois
University Press
Neumann, E. (1962) The Origins and History of Consciousness. New York: Harper and Row.
_________ (1969) Depth Psychology and a New Ethic. New York
Philip, H. L. (1958) Jung and the Problem of Evil. London: Rockliff
Schaer, H. (1950) Religion and the Cure of Souls in Jung's Psychology. New York: Pantheon
Books
Selesnick, S. (1966) Carl Gustav Jung. In: Psychoanalytic Pioneers, F. Alexander, et al. (Eds.).
New York: Basic Books, pp. 63-77.
Shengold, L. (1976) The Freud/Jung Letters. Journal of the American Psycho-analytic

10. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 10
Association, 24: 669-683.
Stepansky, P. (1976) The empiricist as rebel: Jung, Freud and the burdens of discipleship.
Journal for the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 12: 216-39
Stern, P. (1976) C. G. Jung: The Haunted Prophet. New York: George Braziller
Storr, A. (1973) C. G. Jung. New York: Viking
Van der Post, L. (1977) Jung and the Story of Our Time. New York: Random House
Von Franz, (1970) An Introduction to the Interpretation of Fairy-Tales. New York: Spring
Publications
____________ (1975) C. G. Jung: His Myth in Our Time. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons
White, V. (1952) God and the Unconscious. Cleveland: World Publishing Company
Whitmont, E. C. (1969) The Symbolic Quest. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons

11. The Religious Self According to Jung: Syllabus 11