36th Annual Student Research Conference
Carl Jung, An Intermediary Between Two Worlds: How North American Shamanic Cultures Invoke Jung to Explain Their Traditions to the Western World
Ross C. Lohman
Dr. Dereck Daschke, Faculty Mentor
This analysis argues that the collected works of famed Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung bridges the disconnect between Native American shamanic cultures and the Western world through Jung’s unique connections to Western mysticism and insight into Native American culture. In making this connection, Jung has established a heightened, mutualistically-shared sense of empathy between these two cultures. This conclusion is evidenced by numerous instances in which Native Americans have used Jung’s work to better convey their shamanic traditions to Westerners and instances in which Westerners have used Jung’s work to identify therapeutic applications related to Native American shamanic traditions. In making this conclusion, this analysis illustrates how the former element of this connection is predominately based on the symbolic worldview emphasized in both Native American Shamanism and Jung’s work.
Keywords: Carl Jung, Shamanism, Native American
Topic(s):PHRE Senior Seminar
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 105-2
Location: SUB 3201
Time: 8:45