C. G. Jung: A Biography in Books
Sonu Shamdasani
Saturday 26 November 2011
11h to 16h30
To mark the opening of the exhibition
The Red and the Black: C. G. Jung and World Literature
Martin Bodmer Foundation, Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland
In 1912, Jung noted: “should it happen that all traditions in the world were cut off with a single blow, the whole mythology and history of religion would start over again with the succeeding generation”. With this vision, Jung gave a new understanding to the concept of world literature: the history of human thought lay in the soul. Passed on from generation to generation, it was always ready to re-emerge. This seminar will explore Jung’s intellectual biography, through tracing his pivotal encounters with books. Commencing with his study of the classics of Western literature, we will explore how he tried to transform the understanding of mythology and religion through psychology. We will then follow Jung’s literary experiment in The Red Book, exploring how the literary sources he drew upon informed his fantasies, and how in reflecting upon them, he distilled ideas which led to a new psychology, through which he sought to illumine the history of human thought. We will then look at Jung’s alchemical notebooks, and how he came to understand the symbolic meaning of alchemy as self-development, and how he sought to establish a cross-cultural psychology of higher development in collaboration with leading scholars such as Mircea Eliade, Karl Kérenyi, D. T. Suzuki, Walter Evans-Wentz and Richard Wilhelm, which would revivify religious traditions and overcome the split in modern times between science and religion.
Admission free. Places limited. To inscribe, call +41(0)22 707 44 33 or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
C. G. Jung: A Biography in Books by Sonu Shamdasani (forthcoming from W. W. Norton) is available for advance order from
