ENG 1940 - FREUD AND FICTION

credits: 3.0
Students will learn and apply the psychological concepts of Sigmund Freud to such Gothic writers as Doris Lessing, Toni Morrison, J.G. Ballard, and Patrick McGrath. They will explore how Freud influences, alters, or speaks to these writers’ conceptions and depictions of how and why people develop and react to each other in the ways that they do? In answering that question, students should grow aware of the relationship between narrative, fiction, and psychoanalysis and of the extent to which Freudian thought is useful for understanding human behavior and literary texts. Students will also watch some films related to psychoanalysis and Gothic fiction and interpret them in Freudian terms as well. Method of Instruction: Students must attend class and complete assigned readings and quizzes. Class discussion and lecture will explore and expose the implications and subtleties of assigned readings and films. Students will also write three papers (three to five pages), double spaced, on one or more aspects of the assigned reading. Method of Evaluation: On the basis of students’ attendance, quizzes, and three papers. Meets *WEP Distribution Requirement.