By: Julie O'Hara on February 1, 2024
Facing the struggles of my doctoral journey thus far has led me to question why I even started and I felt shamed by my initial response. Had I really convinced my husband to accompany me on a three-year investment of time and money out of a twisted ego need to earn the title of ‘Doctor?’…
By: Kari on February 1, 2024
The last thing I wanted to read for our assignments this week was concerning the imaginative world of mythology. I have always been one to choose more realistic literature. My childhood imagination would take me into made-up worlds, but my reading choices did not. I preferred Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie over…
By: Daren Jaime on February 1, 2024
He was my hero, and I was always unashamed in celebrating his victories, letting anyone who would hear me talk about an ordinary guy who could do extraordinary things. I remember my heart beating and blood pressure rising as Clark Kent would leave his job at the Daily Planet to fend off Lex Luthor…
By: Ryan Thorson on February 1, 2024
As I read the Campbell’s book this week (even though it was a reread from my English Literature days in my undergraduate studies) it was hard not to see connections in my everyday life as a husband, father and pastor. Last night in particular our older kids and my wife and I gathered around the…
By: Nancy Blackman on February 1, 2024
I don’t consider myself a hero, but this book reminds me of some people who have been heroes in my life. I think about my eldest aunt on my mother’s side (이모 – imo – pronounced “eemo”). For the longest time, Korean women were not allowed to get an education beyond 8th grade, but my…
By: Diane Tuttle on January 31, 2024
My takeaways from this week’s reading feel complexed. At first, I thought Campbell’s book was a study of the similarities of world religions and I was excited to dive into it. However, while A Hero With A Thousand Faces was thought provoking, I bristled at what appeared to be reducing the life, death, resurrection, and…
By: Chris Blackman on January 31, 2024
What a fascinating way to reflect on our personal life journey through the eyes of mythology and the journey of the hero (or the monomyth). I’ve never been into mythology, maybe because I don’t think I really understood it. But from the get-go, on the first page of the forward, it states, “Campbell was fascinated…
By: Joel Zantingh on January 31, 2024
As I read “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” this week, I was struck with how the gaps far outweigh any structural unity. The book’s purpose shows in its legacy, leaving many readers to use it to produce even more heroic tales and modern myths [1]. I am left without any further clarity on shared…
By: Debbie Owen on January 31, 2024
We were driving in the car when my friend asked me to tell her about the classes I’d participated in that morning. I explained some of the coaching ideas I’d just heard about in my early morning coach-training class: Our search for meaning causes a lot of worry, anxiety, and fear When we feel out…
By: Christy on January 31, 2024
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero of a Thousand Faces[1] can be troublesome for someone crossing the threshold of understanding. He discusses important threshold topics, namely that the Bible follows a typical hero literary pattern, not dissimilar to other hero literary patterns throughout history and cultures. Examples range from Greek mythology on Medusa, to Buddha, Moses, and…
By: Erica Briggs on January 30, 2024
If I had to choose between fairy tales and myths, I’d go with fairies – supernatural elementals that wear just the right amount of glitter, and hypnotize with the hope of magic. The stories I am most drawn to are those that take me out of myself, away from the realities of living in my…
By: Graham English on January 30, 2024
Joseph Campbell’s, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, is a book about comparative mythology that reveals all great heroic tales share a common narrative arc that has shaped stories across space and time. Once you see it, it will be hard to unsee. As I reflect on the stories that have been told in my…
By: Shela Sullivan on January 30, 2024
Although “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” has had a substantial impact, and I recognize its significance for my assignment, I must admit that I did not find the book personally engaging. Campbell employed his own understanding for analyzing limited diverse cultural narratives, a perspective I struggled to fully comprehend. This does not mean that…
By: Adam Cheney on January 30, 2024
While living among a people group who both adhered to a strict form of Islam as well as followed Africa Traditional Religion, I encountered many myths. For a while, I simply shrugged off all the stories and myths as simple stories told throughout the generations around a campfire. As one missiologist stated, “Whatever could not…
By: Jeff Styer on January 29, 2024
There were many directions that I could go in writing my post this week. I saw the role of the leader in Joseph Campbell’s work, for example, “The Call to Adventure” and “Supernatural Aid.”[1]. I also cannot watch television or movies in the same way due to looking for these concepts imbedded within. However, there…
By: Glyn Barrett on January 29, 2024
I love history. “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” is a brilliant synthesis of the world’s major religions, and faiths. I have no doubt that the author has excelled in his endeavours in drawing together the similarities of each (Pxiii). At first glance, a young, unlearned Christian may be confused or put off by the…
By: Erica Briggs on January 27, 2024
My cousin and I had two favorite childhood games. The first was “Little House on the Prairie.” We lived in the country so it was easy to perform in such a setting. We’d act out our favorite episodes or make up new drama that allowed us to practice our problem solving skills. The second game…
By: Akwese on January 26, 2024
Reflecting on insights from this week’s exploration of threshold concept theory I’ve come to understand threshold concepts as “aha” moments or paradigm shifts that allow so many other things within a discipline, field, or practice to “click”, come together, and/or make sense in the mind of the learner. A threshold concept becomes a lens through…
By: Noel Liemam on January 26, 2024
As we all read about ‘threshold concept’ each has shared various ideas, knowledge or experiences that have relation to this concept. I myself would like to start by saying this concept or word, ‘threshold concept’ which is also interchangeable with crossing a barrier can be part of each and everyone’s everyday life as we grow…
By: Chad Warren on January 25, 2024
I have spent several years teaching middle school and high school students. Watching some some wrestle more than others over foundational concepts. Those kinds of concepts are that are absolutely crucial if one is to move forward to a deeper and more clear understanding. I can remember working to find ways for more students to…
