English 250

Description

In this course, we will read (most of) the works of Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, and little else. This will mean studying the changing models of consciousness; theories of dream interpretation, parapraxis, and libido; accounts of analytic technique and clinical practice; critical papers on literature, drama, music, and art; forays into ethnography, Biblical exegesis, and theology; case studies of neurosis, phobia, hysteria, and psychosis; and portions of Freud’s voluminous correspondence. Readings will be conducted in English; the class is designed for those who wish to read Freud as humanists—which is to say for its literary, conceptual, and philosophical dimensions—but we will welcome clinicians and psychologists should any wish to attend.