The Shadows and Gifts of American Narcissism

In the Saturday workshop, we will turn to a more in depth discussion about how individual and collective trauma underlie the development of character structures. Again, with reference to the work of Anselm Kiefer, we will see how these images evoke a shudder, a chilling recognition of the devastation left by the eruption of the primal force of destruction. In this context, Dr. West will clarify how, in terms of the development of character structures, three differentiated sets of archetypal images underlie three distinguishable relational patterns. These archetypal forces are met and mediated by consciousness as it progressively develops. When this development proceeds effectively, three differentiated forms of healthy narcissism emerge. However, when defenses rigidify this process, archetypal forces accrue and eventually erupt. Dr. West will consider how the collusion of these archetypal fields, met by a defensively rigidified and polarizing consciousness, can cast us into repetitive personal crises as well as irresolvable global confrontations.