Death: October 30, 1987.
Comments: Joseph Campbell was a comparative mythologist most famous for writing The Hero with a Thousand Faces which George Lucas asserted was a significant inspiration behind the story he created for Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars movies. He was heavily influenced by the work of Jung, and believed that mythology was mostly reflective of Jungian archetypes. He espoused the idea of the monomyth, an assertion of the universality of mythology that transcends cultures and eras. While I'm not sure I think the monomyth is a particularly useful concept, because it is so broad that almost any story would fit into it, the breadth of research that went into Campbell's work is amazingly comprehensive and anyone who is interested in mythology should read his books.
To carry on his legacy and promote study in the field of comparative mythology, his widow Jean Erdman established the Joseph Campbell Foundation in 1991.
My reviews of Joseph Campbell's books:
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Other books by Joseph Campell that I have read but not reviewed:
None
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