Module description
Psychoanalysis is a highly influential and contested form of 20th century discourse. This module is designed to introduce students to key Freudian and post - Freudian psychoanalytic concepts and perspectives. By bringing these into dialogue with a wide range of literary texts, it will encourage students to consider how issues of unconscious motivation, sexuality and madness operate in and around different forms of writing. It will serve as a starting point for students to engage with existing psychoanalytic literary theory but will emphasise the close reading of foundational texts alongside literary works with the hope of generating new, mutually informed readings of both psychoanalysis and literature. In the first five seminars students will read Freud and be introduced to concepts such as hysteria, repression, defence, dream work, infantile sexuality, narcissism, neurosis and psychosis. In the second set of seminars students will read Klein, Winnicott, Bion, Lacan and André Green, and consider how developments in psychoanalytic knowledge have lead to both new concepts and the re - conceptualisations of basic issues.
Assessment details
1 x written exam 70% & 1 x presentation 30%
Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the module, the students will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable and practicable skills appropriate to a Level 5 module and in particular will be able to:
Demonstrate detailed knowledge of a range of Freud's writing, and of early twentieth century thinking about the mind more generally.
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Apply some of this thinking to a range of literary writing, both pre- and post-Freud.
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Demonstrate a knowledge of psychoanalytic cultural and literary criticism.
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Understand what is distinctive about the psychoanalytic approach.
Teaching pattern
One hour lecture and one hour seminar, weekly
Suggested reading list
Core reading:
You should own a copy of Richard Wollheim’s Freud in the Fontana Modern Masters series or Anthony Storr’s OUP Past Masters/Short Introduction to Freud. Storr’s book is easier to understand but Wollheim’s is more comprehensive. Many of the secondary works we will discuss will be provided via the e-learning platform.