| The childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood of Barack Obama as described in Book I of his memoir, Dreams From My Father, are explored as imaginal case notes for imagined individual therapy sessions with the adult Obama, using developmental and Jungian theory to analyze his maturation. Employing heuristic methodology, the author looks deeply and systematically into Obama's life story. A vocabulary for psychological health is explored and expanded with the contemporary family in mind. Utilizing the work of Erik Erikson and James Hillman, among others, depth psychological perspectives are applied to the analysis, with particular emphasis on dreams, as articulated in the memoir's title, as well as the importance of self-analysis as crucial to individual development. Though self-analysis and psychological health are the starting points for the thesis, it is ultimately as much about the effects of racism. |
