Campbell, Joseph

Campbell, Joseph

(born March 26, 1904, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 31, 1987, Honolulu, Hawaii) U.S. author of works on comparative mythology. He studied English literature and taught at Sarah Lawrence College. He explored the common functions of myths in human cultures, examining mythic archetypes in folklore and literature from around the world. His views, strongly influenced by Carl Gustav Jung, were popularized through a public-television series in the 1980s. His books include The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) and The Masks of God (4 vol., 1959–67).

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Campbell, Joseph (1904–87) mythologist, educator; born in New York City. A professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College (1934–72), he entranced students with his analysis of comparative mythology, writing The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) and the four-volume Masks of God (1959–68). Although his scholarship has been criticized, he attained the status of a virtual guru through a series of television interviews by Bill Moyers in 1985–86.