James Dillon, Ph.D.

James Dillon, Ph.D.

Professor

Contact info

Curriculum Vitae [PDF]

Professor

Biography

Jim received his B.A. in psychology from the College of the Holy Cross, his M.A. and Ph.D. in developmental Psychology from Clark University. His educational background is in Cognitive Development, Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, Literature, and Aesthetics. His principal interest lies in the examination and development of human symbolic capacities, specifically, those processes by which we endow experience with meaning, value, and purpose. He is particularly interested in how young children make meaning in their lives and the relationship between these early symbolic capacities and adult development. He does research on children's drawing and artwork, adult symbolism under special conditions, and the effectiveness of various teaching techniques including seminar discussions for children and adults.

  • Courses Taught
  • Course Sections and Syllabi

    Summer 2018 Sections

    • PSYC-2010 (Psychology as a Human Science) Section: E01
    • PSYC-4270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: E01
    • PSYC-5270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: E01

    Spring 2018 Sections

    • PSYC-2010 (Psychology as a Human Science) Section: E01 Download Syllabus [PDF]
    • PSYC-3010 (Human Growth and Development) Section: E01 Download Syllabus [PDF]
    • PSYC-6785 (Archetypes & Alchemy) Section: 03 Download Syllabus [PDF]
    • PSYC-6881 (Re-Discovery of the Sacred) Section: 08
    • PSYC-6899 (Thesis Rediscovering the Sacre) Section: 03
    • PSYC-6899 (Thesis) Section: 04
    • PSYC-6899 (Spirituality & Education) Section: 06
    • PSYC-8584 (Archetypes & Alchemy) Section: 03 Download Syllabus [PDF]

    Fall 2017 Sections

    • PSYC-2010 (Psychology as a Human Science) Section: E01
    • PSYC-3010 (Human Growth and Development) Section: E01
    • PSYC-3010 (Human Growth and Development) Section: E02
    • PSYC-6899 (A Rediscovery of the Sacred) Section: 01

    Summer 2017 Sections

    • PSYC-4070 (Psychology of Myth and Symbol) Section: 01
    • PSYC-4270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: 01
    • PSYC-5070 (Psychology of Myth and Symbol) Section: 01
    • PSYC-5270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: 01

    Spring 2017 Sections

    • PSYC-2010 (Psychology as a Human Science) Section: 01
    • PSYC-4887 (Practicum:Exper in Human Servc) Section: 01
    • PSYC-6785 (ADVANCED HORIZON SEMINAR Jung) Section: 01

    Fall 2016 Sections

    • PSYC-2010 (Psychology as a Human Science) Section: 01
    • PSYC-4085 (Horiz Sem-SOCRATES & Psyc) Section: 01
    • PSYC-4884 (Integrative Seminar) Section: 01

    Summer 2016 Sections

    • PSYC-4270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: 01
    • PSYC-5270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: 01

    Spring 2016 Sections

    • PSYC-4085 (Erich Fromm) Section: 03
    • PSYC-4884 (Integrative Seminar) Section: 01
    • PSYC-4887 (Practicum:Exper in Human Servc) Section: 01
    • PSYC-5085 (Erich Fromm) Section: 03

    Fall 2015 Sections

    • PSYC-4884 (Integrative Seminar) Section: 02
    • PSYC-4887 (Practicum:Exper in Human Servc) Section: 02
    • PSYC-6010 (Human Growth and Potential) Section: 01

    Summer 2015 Sections

    • PSYC-4070 (Psychology of Myth and Symbol) Section: 01
    • PSYC-4270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: 01
    • PSYC-5070 (Psychology of Myth and Symbol) Section: 01
    • PSYC-5270 (Psychology of Childhood) Section: 01

    Spring 2015 Sections

    • PSYC-2010 (Psychology as a Human Science) Section: 01
    • PSYC-4884 (Integrative Seminar) Section: 02
    • PSYC-4887 (Practicum:Exper in Human Servc) Section: 01
  • Publication List

    Dillon, J. (in press). Benjamin Franklin’s wonder-based approach to learning and education: Lessons for today. Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice.

    Dillon, J. (2006). The tears of Priam: Reflections on Troy and teaching of ancient texts. Humanitas, 19(1&2): 126-131.

  • Other Information

    Influential Works

    Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Sigmund Freud); Book of Psalms (King David); Jesus: A New Vision (Marcus Borg); Magister Ludi (Hermann Hesse); The Doors of Perception (Aldous Huxley); The Culture of Narcissism (Christopher Lasch); The Earthsea Trilogy (Ursula K. LeGuin); Toward a Psychology of Being (Abraham H. Maslow); The Equilibration of Cognitive Structures (Jean Piaget); Oration on the Dignity of Man (Pico della Mirandola); Lost in the Cosmos (Walker Percy); Nicomachean Ethics (Aristotle); Republic (Plato); The Denial of Death (Ernest Becker); I and Thou (Martin Buber); An Essay on Man (Ernst Cassirer); The Interpretation of Dreams (Sigmund Freud); The Way of a Pilgrim (Anonymous); Timaeus (Plato); Symbol Formation (Heinz Werner & Bernard Kaplan)