Traveling the Hero's Journey with Our Exploratory Students

Traveling the Hero’s Journey with our Exploratory Students Matt Eng University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Agenda

▷ Background Context and Terminology ▷ Review the Hero’s Journey (Campbell) ▷ Use in media and pop culture ▷ Review Narrative Theory (Hagen) ▷ How to incorporate into advising University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Background Information

▷ What do we mean by Exploratory? ○ Typically more of a concept within the educational system of the United States ▷ What is the Hero’s Journey?

Joseph Campbell

My feeling is that mythic“ forms reveal themselves gradually in the course of your life if you know what they are and how to pay attention to their emergence. [...] I have recognized in my quest all the stages of the hero’s journey. I had my calls to adventure, my guides, demons, and illuminations. (Campbell, p. 37) The Odyssey Historical origins based on Hellenic/Greek mythology ORDINARY WORLD

• King Odysseus is at home, in Ithaca, with his wife, Penelope, and newborn son, Telemachus. CALL TO ADVENTURE

• Odysseus is called to fight the Trojans by King Menelaus. REFUSAL

• He does not want to leave his family and sail to Troy; he knows it will be a long trip. He pretends to have gone mad, until Palamedes, sent to retrieve Odysseus, put Telemachus in front of Odysseus' plow. Odysseus had to reveal his sanity in order to save Telemachus. MENTOR / HELPER

• Athena, the Goddess of wisdom, crafts, and war is Odysseus' guide. She wants to help Odysseus, though she has been instructed not to by Zeus. She takes pity on him while other gods forsake Odysseus, constantly saves him from death, and gives him guidance. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

• After the war, the gods become angry with the Greeks for their prideful ways. A great storm emerges and throws them off course. TESTS / ALLIES / ENEMIES

• Odysseus is thwarted with many tests as he travels back to Ithaca. APPROACH

• Odysseus nearly makes it home, but his crew opens a bag, given to Odysseus by Aeolus, god of the winds. When the bag is opened, it releases a wind that blows them far away from Ithaca. ORDEAL

• Odysseus is sent to the underworld seeking information from the blind prophet Tiresias to guide him home. This quest brings him to the verge of death. REWARD

• The King of Phaeacia gives Odysseus passage home. ROAD BACK

• Unlike other heroes, Odysseus was not in search of treasure. Instead, he was desperately trying to reach his home. Once he returns, he finds out that his house has been overrun with suitors trying to steal his wife and palace. ATONEMENT

• Instead of rushing in and killing the suitors, Odysseus is patient, wishing to learn if his wife has been faithful. RETURN

• Odysseus, dressed as a beggar, completes a final challenge, and is restored to his rightful place. Use in Pop Culture

▷ Primary structure for most ﬁlm and narratives ○ Star Wars ○ Harry Potter ○ The Matrix ○ The Lion King ○ Lord of the Rings

Visual Chart: http://go.hawaii.edu/pkP How does Academic Advising Tie in?

▷ Departure: ○ Student leaves home to attend university ▷ Initiation: ○ Student is at university ○ Student earns their degree ▷ Return ○ Student leaves university and returns home or to the world of work Narrative Theory in Academic Advising awareness of the power of story awareness of the need to adopt a stance of reverence toward story awareness of the importance of the quest for meaning awareness of the need to remain skeptical of being dominated by method Peter Hagen

Advising is ultimately“ a narrative act, one during which the next chapter in the student’s life is being written (Hagen, p. 57) How can you use this with students? Takeaways/Planning Worksheets

▷ Included handout include the storyboarding template and the sample ▷ Take 30 seconds to consider and write or sketch out your own Hero’s Journey toward degree completion ○ What challenges/obstacles did you face? ○ In what ways might your story align with those of your students? ▷ Framing the student experience as an ongoing process, lead by the student What questions do you have?

[email protected] References:

Campbell, J. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces (Vol. 17). New World Library. Hagen, P.L. (2007, Sept). Narrative theory and academic advising. Academic Advising Today, 36(2). Hagen, P. L. (2018). The power of story: Narrative theory in academic advising. NACADA, The Global Community for Academic Advising. https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/ the-odyssey-by-homer/heroic-journey