SALON: "Are We Possessed by Wotan? Ancient and Modern Currents of a Nazi Mythology" by Carol Shumate, PhD

"Are We Possessed by Wotan?  Ancient and Modern Currents of a Nazi Mythology" by Carol Shumate, PhD

In 1936, Jung said that Germany under the Nazis was “possessed by Wotan,” the supreme god of Norse mythology. In 1938, Jung mentioned America in an interview on the same subject: “How to save your democratic U.S.A.? It must of course be saved, else we all go under. … You must keep away from the craze, avoid the infection” (“Diagnosing the Dictators,” p. 133).

What aspects of the German “infection” did Jung see in this mythological figure? Using slides and videos, this salon will feature information about the myth of Wotan, the concept of possession, and Jung’s ideas for a “therapy” to deal with it. Discussions will focus on how to recognize and deal with Wotan or similar influences in our own time.

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BRIEF BIO

Carol Shumate, PhD, has been an instructor at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, CA, for more than a decade. Her book Projection and Personality Development via the Eight-Function Model (Routledge 2021) discusses the link between projection and disappointment or fulfillment, based on John Beebe’s model of the sixteen MBTI® types. She is currently working on a book with the working title Trickster Leader, Trickster Culture, which discusses the psychology of narcissistic leaders and their followers. She edits the journal Personality Type in Depth which she launched in 2010. In 2020 she helped launch the Depth Typology Center, created to archive scholarly resources at the interface of depth psychology and psychological type. She has spent most of her career in higher education, writing, teaching, and designing curricula that inspire as well as inform. Her website is https://shumatedepthpsychology.com

This is a GREEN EVENT at Chapel Hill Library Carpools/walking/biking, recycling and waste reduction encouraged.