What Does A Woman Want?

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to psychoanalysis and its vexed and productive relationships to women and feminism. Freud asked his famous question: "What does a woman want?" after years of clinical practice and theoretical speculation. Woman's desire remained a mystery to him, but the attempt to solve it has given rise to a rethinking of human sexuality, of gender, of social structures, and of creativity. We will read foundational texts by Freud and by feminist disciples and critics of psychoanalysis theories. The literary texts will be read as critiques of theoretical positions, as well as examples of particular historical constructions of gender. The course is broadly interdisciplinary and explores the boundaries and intersections of different disciplinary practices and frameworks. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.