Psychoanalysis - Feminism - Literature 3301-LA2205-2ST
The aim of the course is to introduce the basic concepts of Freudian psychoanalysis and to demonstrate their continued validity and usefulness for a number of disciplines, such as literary and cultural studies, the analysis of pop culture (the cinema), political criticism, philosophy, etc. In the first part of the semester students read a selection of basic writings by Sigmund Freud (from his early writings on hysteria through fragments of Interpretation of Dreams to excerpts from the later works such as Beyond the Pleasure Principle and Civilization and its Discontents). Discussions of Freud's writings are accompanied by analysis of selected literary and cultural texts (stories by Edgar Allan Poe, movies or fragments of movies by David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott). In the second part of the semester students are required to become familiar with the writings of selected authors who use Freudian concepts in their work redefining them and enriching psychoanalysis with new discoveries. These writers include Jacques Lacan, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, Slavoy Zizek, Judith Butler and/or others. Among the most important questions discussed in the course are: the problem of sexual difference as defined by psychoanalysis (identity as the intersection of nature and culture), the place of language in human psyche (Lacan's notion of 'the agency of the letter in the unconscious') the uses of psychoanalysis in literary and cultural studies, feminist psychoanalysis (for instance, the notion of ecriture feminine) and the application of the Freudian paradigm in political criticism (Slavoy Zizek, elements of Marxism). The basic terminology includes: the unconscious, the drives, subject formation, symptom, the uncanny, alienation, Lacan's notion of the 'mirror stage' and his three 'cognitive registers' (symbolic, imaginary, real), object petit-a, trauma, and 'the letter of the body'. In the course of the semester students are encouraged to participate actively in class discussions (prepare discussion questions, suggest interpretations of selected texts and movies/movie fragments). Some of the required texts are difficult to read. In order to facilitate the students' task of assimilating the assigned material, the instructor will e-mail guidelines and suggestions for the reading on weekly basis. Students may sometimes be invited to write short responses to selected texts. These will be submitted by e-mail and sent to all the participants in order to stimulate discussion.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Students study the most important trends in English-language literary theory, cultural theory and linguistics;
become aware of the complexity and plurality of cultures as systems, using cultural anthropology as a basis;
learns to appreciate a diversity of opinions contained within assigned readings and presented during discussions, and to use them as a source of inspiration rather than a threat to his/her own system of values;
is capable of presenting the acquired knowledge in a logical and clear manner, both orally and in writing;
recognizes the character of dilemmas, problems and conflicts and looks for the best possible solutions;
demonstrates tolerance towards otherness, respects different kinds of cultural behavior and differing individual outlooks.
K_W04 concepts and principles concerning the protection of intellectual property and copyright
English:
Education at language level B2+
Assessment criteria
Requirements: attendance, active participation in class discussions (presentations, discussion questions), term paper.
In case the class is failed re-take possible in the form of a longer research paper (only for students who have not exceeded the limit of absences)
Absences allowed - 2
Bibliography
Culler, Jonathan. On Deconstruction. Cornell University Press, 1982.
Derrida, Jacques. Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression. Trans. Eric Prenowitz. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1997.
Dybel, Paweł; Michał Głowiński. Psychoanaliza i Literatura. Wybór, redakcja i opracowanie. (Gdańsk: słowo/obraz terytoria, 2001).
Fink, Bruce. The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance. Princeton University Press, 1995.
Freud, Sigmund. Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Trans. James Strachey. New York: Liveright, 1950.
Freud, Sigmund. Interpretation of Dreams. Trans. A. A. Brill, Wordsworth Classics, 1997.
Freud, Sigmund. The Uncanny. trans. David Mclintock, intr. Hugh Haughton. Penguin, UK, 2003.
Gay, Peter. The Freud Reader. New York, London: Norton, 1989 (excerpts from: "Anna O", Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Civilization and its Discontents).
Irigaray, Luce. This Sex Which is not One. Trans. Catherine Porter. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985.
Lacan, Jacques, Ecrits. Trans. Bruce Fink. New York, London: Norton, 2004.
Laplanche, Jean; J. B. Pontalis, Słownik Psychoanalizy. Tłum. Ewa Modzelewska, Ewa Wojciechowska. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, 1996.
Muller, John P,; William J. Richardson, eds. The Purloined Poe: Lacan, Derrida, and Psychoanalytic Reading. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.
Nasiłowska, Anna, red. Ciało i tekst. Feminizm w literaturoznawstwie. Warszawa: IBL, 2001.
Oliver, Kelly ed. French Feminism Reader. Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
Shepherdson, Charles. Vital Signs: Nature, Culture, Psychoanalysis. New York, London, Routledge: 2000.
Žižek, Slavoy. Looking Awry: An Introduction to Lacan Through Popular Culture. Cambridge, Mass. London, Engl.: MIT Press, 1992.