Freud

Catalog description

This course aims to give students an in-depth understanding of the fundamental concepts and theories of Sigmund Freud, the so-called "Father of Psychoanalysis." We will read closely a wide range of Freud's writings, from the earliest incarnations of Freudian psychoanalysis to Freud's final formulations of his views. Concepts and theories that we will examine include those of the unconscious, the instincts or drives, infantile sexuality, the "talking cure," transference, dream interpretation, and more. Our sights will also be set both on the ways in which psychoanalytic thought has, from its very beginnings, been in fruitful dialogue with the humanities, specifically literature, philosophy, and the arts, and on its development as a clinical practice. Texts may include: Studies on Hysteria, The Interpretation of Dreams, Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Papers on Technique, Metapsychological Papers, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, The Ego and the Id, and a selection of his shorter writings.