C. G. Jung Society of the Triangle

AMERICAN SOUL AND THE 'TRUMP' PHENOMENON, Lecture by Ron Schenk

Friday, February 22, 2019, at 7:30 pm - Church of Reconciliation, Chapel Hill, NC

This presentation lays out the concepts of soul, anima mundi or world soul, and American soul and relates them to the new science of complexity. We then look at how the “Trump” phenomenon serves as an alchemical “emergence” from the interaction of multiple systems in the cultural soul. Our focus will be on how qualities ascribed to an individual placed into the role of leadership are reflections of various strains predominant in the cultural psyche and how this type of inquiry relativizes a sense of certainty regarding American identity.

Schenk Lecture

Non-Members $15.00 USD Members $10.00 USD Students with ID $5.00 USD

A two-part Workshop with Ron Schenk, Saturday, February 23, from 10 am to 4 pm - Church of Reconciliation

Morning session - "SOUL'S JOURNEY, THE JOURNEY THAT IS NOT A JOURNEY."  
A multi-media presentation that includes hundreds of images and music. 

Afternoon session - THE ARCHETYPAL BEATLES
The music of the Beatles is classified as “pop” which usually connotes temporary popularity. The appeal of their music, however, has turned out to be anything but limited in time. In fact, the Beatles revolutionized popular music, creating a music of a quality and quantity that had not been achieved before their time and which has not been equaled since. In this light, the songs of the Beatles can be seen to hold archetypal meanings which allow them to reverberate with us decades after their composition. This workshop will explore the archetypes expressed in ten Beatles songs. We will also juxtapose each song with a piece of classical music, mostly from the genre of opera, which dramatically illustrate the same archetype. In this way, we will see how different styles of music reflect each other, not only across time but across genres. When we are listening to the Beatles or to opera, we are hearing each in the other. Our operatic focus will be primarily on the operas of the 19th Century German composer, Richard Wagner. Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” consisting of four operas, is an adaptation of a Norse myth of the gods, their need for power and their decline, resulting in a new cosmic order. Wagner’s operas and music give us stark mythic images as examples of archetypes at work and play in individual and cultural psyches throughout the world. The presentations will utilize clips from youtube as well as archetypal imagery in slides.

Schenk Workshop

Non-Members $60.00 USD Members $40.00 USD Students with ID $15.00 USD

Ronald Schenk, MSW, Ph.D., trained in Jungian Analysis with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, where he has been a senior training analyst for many years and acted in several administrative capacities, most recently serving as President. Ron practices in Dallas and Houston, and teaches at various institutions around the country.

His interests are in clinical training, cultural psychology, and post-modernism. In addition to numerous essays on a variety of topics, most recently cities, anger, language, and complexity theory, he has published four books—The Soul of Beauty: A Psychological Investigation of Appearance; Dark Light: The Appearance of Death in Everyday Life; The Sunken Quest, The Wasted Fisher; The Pregnant Fish: Post-modern Reflections on Depth Psychology and American Soul: A Cultural Narrative.