Campbell, Joseph

(1904-1987) Professor at Sarah Lawrence College (1934-1972), author, and editor.

Campbell’s work focused on the functions of mythology, portraying archetypes through comparative study of a wide range of literatures. His work was popularized through a series of interviews with Bill Moyers that aired as public television specials during the 1980s. Notable books were The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Princeton University Press 1949), which examined the archetype of the hero; The Masks of God (four volumes, Viking 1959-1968), a vast study of world mythology; and a collection of his essays, Myths to Live By (Bantam 1984).

—James McClenon

Reference

J. Campbell (with B. Moyers), The Power of Myth (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1988).