Psychoanalysis as Cultural and Literary Criticism

An interdisciplinary introduction to some of the major historical and current concepts in psychoanalytic theory-e.g., the Oedipus complex, paranoia, projective identification-in conjunction with literary texts that may range from Greek tragedy to postmodern psychological fiction and drama, depending on the interest of the instructor. Students are asked to critically engage with the discipline of psychoanalysis by testing the validity and/or applicability of its concepts vis-à-vis their own interpretations and analyses of literary texts. Theoretical discussions focus on psychoanalysis as a method of cultural criticism and will consider related discourses, such as gender and postcolonial studies.

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