Editing Joseph Campbell (section)

===Background===
Joseph Campbell was born in [[White Plains, New York]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php?categoryid=11|title=Joseph Campbell Foundation|date=May 2, 2016|access-date=March 12, 2009|archive-date=March 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324201327/http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php?categoryid=11|url-status=dead}}</ref> on March 26, 1904, the elder son of hosiery importer and wholesaler<ref>''The Encyclopaedia of World Biography'' (2nd ed.). Vol. 3. Brice- Ch'i Pai-Shih, Gale Research. 1998. p. 253.</ref> Charles William Campbell, from [[Waltham, Massachusetts]], and Josephine (née Lynch), from New York.<ref>The Hero's Journey- Joseph Campbell on his life and works, Centennial Edition, ed. Phil Cousineau, Joseph Campbell Foundation/ New World Library, 2003, p. xxvi</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ke4pAQAAMAAJ&q=%22the%20son%20of%20Charles%20William%20Campbell,%20a%20businessman,%20and%20Josephine%20Lynch%22|title=American national biography|first1=John Arthur|last1=Garraty|first2=Mark Christopher|last2=Carnes|first3=American Council of Learned|last3=Societies|year= 1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-520635-7}}</ref> Campbell was raised in an [[upper-middle-class]] [[Irish Catholic]] family; he related that his paternal grandfather Charles had been "a peasant" who came to Boston from [[County Mayo]] in Ireland, and became the gardener and caretaker at the [[Lyman Estate]] at Waltham, where his son Charles William Campbell grew up and became a successful salesman at a department store prior to establishing his hosiery business.<ref>Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind- The Authorized Biography, Stephen and Robin Larsen, Doubleday, 1991, p. 7</ref><ref>The Hero's Journey – Joseph Campbell on his life and works, Centennial Edition, ed. Phil Cousineau, Joseph Campbell Foundation/ New World Library, 2003, p. 3</ref> During his childhood, he moved with his family to [[New Rochelle, New York]]. In 1919, a fire destroyed the family home in New Rochelle, killing his maternal grandmother and injuring his father, who tried to save her.<ref>Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind- The Authorized Biography, Stephen and Robin Larsen, Doubleday, 1991, p. 23</ref><ref name="essortment">{{cite web|url=http://www.essortment.com/joseph-campbell-biography-20639.html|publisher=essortment.com|title=Joseph Campbell Bio|access-date=January 7, 2017|archive-date=July 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704122319/http://www.essortment.com/joseph-campbell-biography-20639.html}}</ref>

In 1921, Campbell graduated from the [[Canterbury School (Connecticut)|Canterbury School]] in [[New Milford, Connecticut]]. While at [[Dartmouth College]] he studied biology and mathematics, but decided that he preferred the [[humanities]]. He transferred to [[Columbia University]], where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in [[English literature]] in 1925 and a Master of Arts degree in [[medieval literature]] in 1927. At Dartmouth he had joined [[Delta Tau Delta]]. An accomplished athlete, he received awards in track and field events, and, for a time, was among the fastest half-mile runners in the world.{{sfn|Campbell|2003|pp=20–25}}

In 1924, Campbell traveled to Europe with his family. On the ship during his return trip he encountered the [[messiah]] elect of the [[Theosophical Society]], [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]; they discussed [[Indian philosophy]], sparking in Campbell an interest in [[Hindu philosophy|Hindu]] and [[Indian philosophy|Indian thought]].{{sfn|Campbell|2003|pp=20, 29}}<ref>[http://www.esalen.org/page/joseph-campbell Joseph Campbell (1904–1987)]. Joseph Campbell Bio. Retrieved on January 20, 2020</ref> In 1927, he received a [[Scholarship|fellowship]] from Columbia University to study in Europe. Campbell studied [[Old French]], [[Provençal (dialect)|Provençal]], and [[Sanskrit]] at the [[University of Paris]] and the [[University of Munich]]. He learned to read and speak French and German.{{sfn|Campbell|2003|pp=29–35}}

On his return to Columbia University in 1929, Campbell expressed a desire to pursue the study of [[Sanskrit]] and [[modern art]] in addition to [[medieval literature]]. Lacking faculty approval, Campbell withdrew from graduate studies. Later in life he jested that it is a sign of incompetence to have a PhD in the [[liberal arts education|liberal arts]], the discipline covering his work.{{sfn|Campbell|1990|pp=54–55}}