Joseph Campbell's Reading List

Here is the full list of required reading for Joseph Campbell's master course "Introduction to Mythology," which he taught at Sarah Lawrence College from the 1930s to 1970s. It's quite a list, reaching from Herrigel's masterful little book Zen and the Art of Archery to Paul Radin's African Folklore and Sculpture, Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, and many other mythic classics of the 20th century. I can imagine the intellectual explosion such a list of readings might have offered young women at the college in the late '30s. And except for some better, more contemporary translations and editions of these classics, it's a list that still holds up pretty well. (So how many of the titles on it have you read?)

Stop by the very interesting Joseph Campbell Foundation to learn more about Campbell, the international roundtable discussions of Campbell's ideas, and yearly events.

Comments

[Grey Walker]

Thank you! This is a wonderful reading list. I'm going to enjoy working through it.

[Jessica Marie]

Thank you thank you thank you! Here I have been combing through mythology syllabi wondering where to start my reading, and you give me exactly what I wanted. (I've only read a handful of these, mostly shorter ones!)

[Midori]

Jessica,

You might also find Endicott Studio's list of Mythic reading useful as well:
http://www.endicott-studio.com/lists/list-nonfiction.html

We have a recommended reading section on the site for all kinds of fiction, nonfiction, art, and poetry for all ages. There are mythic lists and over ten years worth of book reviews. You can find them all here:
http://www.endicott-studio.com/scuttle.html

[miep]

bear in mind, that Sarah Lawrence College classes are year-long, and one is only supposed to take three courses at a time, so it's a manageable list from that standpoint...

[Allison Stieger]

Wow-I have an MA in Myth in a program that was partially created by Campbell, and I haven't read half of these! I'd better get to work right away. :) Thanks so much for posting this.