Animus, Psyche and Culture takes Carl Jung’s concept of contra-sexual psyche and locates it within the cultural expanse of India, using ethnographic narratives, history, religion, myth, films, biographical extracts to deliberate on the feminine in psychological, social and archetypal realms.
Jung’s concept of unconscious contra-sexuality, based on notions of feminine Eros and masculine Logos, was pioneering in his time, but took masculine and feminine to be fixed and essential attributes of gender in the psyche. This book explores the relevance of the animus, examining its rationale in current contexts of gender fluidity. Taking off from Post Jungian critiques, it proposes an exposition of the animus in history, social and religious phenomena, theories of knowledge, psychoid archetype and synchronicity, to grasp its nuances in diverse cultural worlds. This study re-envisions the notion of animus keeping in mind the intricacies of feminine subjectivity and the diversity of cultural worlds where depth psychological ideas are currently emerging.
A remarkable reworking of Jungian ideas, this well-researched and important new book will be an insightful read for Jungian analysts and scholars with an interest in cultural and gender studies.
Author(s): Sulagna Sengupta
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 162
City: London
Cover
Endorsements
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Figures
Tables
Acknowledgements
Preface
1. Introduction
The Place of Culture
Encountering the Other
Bridging Psyche and Culture
Some Examples
Cultural Other
Tensions of Race and Culture
Cultural Immersions
Of Narratives and Interpretations
Notes
References
2. The Animus
A Little Book
The Problem of the Animus
Post-Jungian Critiques
From Archetypal to Transdisciplinary
Feminine Histories
Multiplicity of the Feminine, Weaving Inner and Outer
Notes
References
3. Phoolan
Bone and Marrow
Red Soil, a River, Neem Tree and Knife-Blade - The Flowering of Rage
Terror Grounds
The Other - Social and Psychological Threads
Dualities, Dissensions, Intersexuality and Feminine Otherness
Note
References
4. The Clay Goddess
Cultural Tensions in Postcolonial Thought
The Archaic
Cultural Particulars
Durga, Dopdi and Fierce Narratives of the Feminine
Dionysian Reversals and Radical Diversities in the Feminine
Notes
References
5. Synchronicity
Synchronicity and Jung
Webbed Fields
Acausal Cultural Links
Cultural Synchronicities
Trajectories of Knowledge
Location of Culture
References
6. Mater Coelestis
The Firmament of Becoming
Oppositions and Unities
Cultural Correspondences
The Self-Organizing Psyche
Jung's Stages of Life
Four Stages of Life in Indian Religious Thought
Ashrama and Jung's Stages of Life - A Comparative View
Bluebeard Man - Vital Initiations
Christian Evangelism in a Hindu Heartland
Amor Dei, Amor Proximi
References
7. Conclusion
Tracing the Animus
Contextualizing the Animus
History
Synchronicity
Culture
The Self
Feminine Emancipatory Journeys
Archetypal, Personal and Collective
The Significance or Insignificance of the Archetypal
Psychological and Cultural Elements of the Animus
References
Index
