Sociology 420: Writing New Stories
_Available for registration 2026 _ Sociology 420: Writing New Stories is a bold and critical inquiry into the symbolic architecture of human consciousness and society. It explores how archetypes and master narratives shape personal identity, social institutions, and planetary trajectories. Drawing from critical sociology, ideology theory, media analysis, and esoteric traditions, this course empowers students to deconstruct toxic cultural templates and consciously author new, life-affirming alternatives.
Students will learn how archetypes—answers to life’s “big questions”—organize thought, guide behaviour, and serve as ideological tools for social reproduction or transformation. The course introduces the concept of the Creation Template, a curated collection of archetypes designed to influence societal structures and individual self-conception.
From Tarot decks to Star Wars, from religious dogma to neoliberal consumerism, students will uncover the hidden codes embedded in the stories we live by. The course culminates in a presentation of the Triumph of Spirit Archetype System, an alternative archetypal framework developed for spiritual renewal and planetary healing.
Learning Objectives
- Define and apply the concepts of archetype, narrative, creation template, and master narrative
- Analyze how stories and symbols function within ideological state apparatuses (Althusser)
- Explore how dominant narratives (e.g., the Fool’s Journey, Good vs. Evil, Chosen One) reinforce social hierarchies
- Critique the co-optation of religious and mythological systems for elite power consolidation
- Investigate contemporary media, music, and pop culture as “ideological institutions”
- Construct and/or identify alternative, liberating archetypes rooted in “New Energy” frameworks
- Reflect on personal narrative transformation and collective myth-making
Units Overview
Unit 1 – Archetypes & Creation Templates Introduces archetypes as symbolic answers to existential questions and explores how elites deploy these via Creation Templates to shape thought and society. Includes a critical reading of A Sociology of Tarot1. READING A Sociology ….
Unit 2 – Archetypes, Narrative Control, and Ideological Systems Explores the role of archetypes in sustaining elite power and ideological control, with The Truman Show serving as a visual metaphor for narrative enclosure and resistance.
Unit 3 - The Zoroastrian Master Narrative, Modern Myth Making, and Archeology of Power Traces the lineage of the Zoroastrian master narrative and its entrenchment in modern myth (e.g., Christianity, Star Wars). Includes media analysis of George Lucas’s intentional myth-making.
Unit 4 – Rethinking Religion Unpacks religion as a creation template used by the Accumulating Class to stabilize power. Readings reframe Christianity’s evolution through a sociological lens4. READING Rethinking t….
Unit 5 – Ideology and State Power Introduces Althusser’s concept of Ideological State Apparatuses and Foucault’s discourse analysis, connecting these theories to archetypal dissemination through schools, media, and culture5.
Unit 6 – The Triumph of Spirit Archetype System Presents a visionary alternative to the current symbolic regime. The Triumph of Spirit system replaces the toxic “Old Energy” template with regenerative archetypes designed to empower consciousness and planetary healing
Assignments & Assessments
Critical Essays on cultural artifacts like Star Wars or Tarot as ideological tools
Mind Map Analysis of Althusserian and Foucauldian theory in relation to symbolic power
Creative Project Option allowing students to build their own archetype or narrative artifact
Final Reflection assessing personal transformation and critical insight gained over the course.
Theoretical Anchors
Louis Althusser – Ideological State Apparatuses
Michel Foucault – Discourse, Power, and the Subject
Carl Jung – Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (critiqued and reworked)
Joseph Campbell – The Hero’s Journey (problematized)
Mike Sosteric – Creation Templates, Archetype Engineering, The Triumph of Spirit Archetype System
Ideal for Students of:
Sociology, Religious Studies, and Cultural Studies
Media and Communication
Critical Pedagogy and Curriculum Theory
Esotericism and the Occult in Society
Social Justice, Decolonization, and Consciousness Studies