Archives and Research Center

Assignment: Imagine the year is 2012. You¡¦ve written an article for the LA Times about the Archives and Research Center at Pacifica Graduate Institute.

June 18, 2012

Enlivening the Bones: Archives Breathe Life of the Past Into the Future

The Archives and Research Center, located on the campus of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, California, just celebrated its sixth outstanding year of preserving and communicating the traditions of depth psychology. This is no dusty crypt of old papers and books.It is a living well of knowledge, a font of inspiration that reaches out to audiences as diverse as children and scholars, environmental agencies and script writers. In fact, we understand that Oprah recently contacted the archives for some ideas on mythological figures to dress up one of her projects.

The Archives and Research Center is a place where scribe meets cyborg. Millions of words and images from the work of depth psychologists, such as Marija Gimbutas, Joseph Campbell, James Hillman, and Marion Woodman, have been digitalized-- a process of mythic transformation into fluid media.

The Archives have attracted numerous large research and development grants during the past six years. It also hosts an ¡§artist in residence¡¨ program where writers and artists from many walks of life draw upon and contribute to the resources. A body of exciting work by Pacifica¡¦s students and alumni expands each year.

Our world is a richer, deeper and more mythical place because of the Archive and Research Center on Pacifica¡¦s campus. It reminds us in a thousand ways that the hero¡¦s and heroine¡¦s journey still continues.

Brainstorming Points From The Group:

• Not a static archive; rather a living font of knowledge and inspiration


• Reaches out through newsletters, a website, and media to many diverse groups addressing the problems of our time


• Contains multimedia resources; exquisite, state of the art preservation


• Serves the need of children and youth (introduction to myth, resources online for homework) as well as scholars, scriptwriters, artists, advertising people


• Digitalizes words and images. Scribe-Cyborgs are the new archivists


• Mythic transformations in a fluid media


• Artist in residence series; various writer and artists invited to contribute


• Holds the ongoing work not only of famous scholars but of Pacifica students and faculty


• Important to apply for grants to do what we need to do; without money, our wings are clipped. We need grant writers to seek funding for worthy projects; and we can give grants to carry out projects of merit

Return to: 30th Anniversary Gathering