When asked whether the Hero’s Journey  applied to women,  Joseph Campbell is said to have replied, “No, women don’t need a journey.”The Heroine Journeys Project began as a research project to collect and analyzes literature, film, and transforming life experiences of women and members of marginalized groups with a different narrative pattern than the journey pattern articulated by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The project team has analyzed  hundreds of works of literature, myth, and film; reviewed  numerous models of classifying plot and narrative, and studied  narrative and life cycle research by psychologists and neurobiologists.  To disseminate their findings, the team  created lecture presentations and designed several interactive workshops for writers, artists, students and other professionals interested in using heroine and healing arcs in their work.  This website has been developed to share their  work; promote discussion on hero, heroine, and healing narrative arcs; and provide readers with an opportunity to participate in the conversation and share their heroine journey stories with the research team and other readers.

The Heroine Journeys Project Team

Nancer Ballard, a writer, poet,  practicing lawyer, and book artist, is  a Resident Scholar at Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Research Center where she focuses on creative nonfiction and leads multidisciplinary projects that combine science, humanities, creative writing, and fine arts.  For more information see nancerballard.com and http://www.brandeis.edu/wsrc/scholars/profiles/ballard.html.

Savannah Jackson is an alumna of Brandeis University, where she studied Sociology, International and Global Studies, and Hispanic Studies. She has worked with Nancer Ballard for the past four years exploring different narrative structures that represent a variety of identities and experiences. She is originally from Austin, TX.

Katerina Daley is an alumna of Brandeis University and currently works at The Arc of Massachusetts, an organization that is dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She worked with Nancer Ballard for three years on projects involving the representation of female and outsider narratives in various media. She is originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sage Calder is an alumna of Brandeis University who studied Creative Writing, English and Women and Gender Studies.  She worked with Nancer Ballard for two years on projects investigating the narrative structures in works involving the female experience.  She is originally from Connecticut.