In the Quest for Temenos: Metaphors for the Origins of Serbian Cultural Complexes

Bojana Stamenković Rudić

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Chapter 7 In the Quest for Temenos: Metaphors for the Origins of Serbian Cultural Complexes

In: Collective Structures of Imagination in Jungian Interpretation

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Bojana Stamenković Rudić

Bojana Stamenković Rudić
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 137–152

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004468757_009

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Abstract

This paper is concerned with images of life in the Balkan region, inspired by conversations the author has had with foreign supervisors and colleagues in the Serbian Developing Group, and by my clinical work. These images have included: permanent tension, wars, horrible devastation and destruction; then, revival, in a burst of life, like a Phoenix. Taking into consideration concepts of Analytical Psychology, this text presents metaphors for the origin of Serbian cultural complexes. It explores how the mutual impact of historical events and a deeply rooted belief system form collective experience. The focus is on the challenges for the survival of temenos, understood as an analytical concept, in a secure and relatively permanent space where the psychological maturation of the social group could be achieved. With this aim, the content of events and meanings in the Balkan region, which for centuries was designated “Limes,” is explored. Due to dislocation and vast migrations caused by persecution, political decree, and economic hardship, changes in context prevailed over stability and persistence. The velocity and turbulence of the changes influenced a mode of life where the only permanence was impermanence. The mercurial quality of events in this region, also evident in the form and the content of the group’s experiences, evokes an archetypal image of Hermes. Here, he is conjured in all his different aspects, with particular emphasis on the Trickster. The paper questions the collective tendency in our culture to identify with some aspects of this god and discusses the risks of this sort of inflation. In conclusion, the existence of some possible remedies is discussed. With no clear answer, the question of the mutual impact of historical events and the behaviour of our groups, which is governed from the realm of the psyche, is emphasized. The dynamics of the archetypal field are offered as one of the possible explanations.

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Collective Structures of Imagination in Jungian Interpretation

Series: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Studies, Volume: 30

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004468757

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 09 Sep 2022

Subjects
- Philosophy
- Social Sciences
  - Cultural Studies

Front Matter

Part 1 Collective Structures of the Unconscious

Part 2 Social Imaginarium

Part 3 Psychological Significance in Social Processes

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Chapter 7 In the Quest for Temenos: Metaphors for the Origins of Serbian Cultural Complexes

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Collective Structures of Imagination in Jungian Interpretation

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