Time Schedule:
Nicholas Halmi
nh2@u.washington.edu
ENGL 497
Seattle Campus
Seminar study of special topics in language and literary study. Limited to honors students majoring in English.
Class Description
AUTUMN 2003: FREUD AND/AS FICTION
A consideration of Freud's relation to literature, both in his use of literary texts and his exploitation of literary techniques and forms. Primary readings will be a handful of seminal Freudian texts on dream interpretation, sexuality, and culture, as well as at least one case history; ancillary readings will include some literary texts of particular importance to Freud (e.g. Oedipus Rex, Hamlet) and some theoretical texts on Freud and fiction (e.g. by Sarah Kofman and Malcolm Bowie). The course will be concerned not with psychoanalytic literary criticism per se, but with Freud's use of literature in the formulation of his theories.
Recommended preparation
Prior knowledge of Sophocles's Oedipus Rex and some Shakespearean tragedies (Hamlet, Macbeth, Lear, Othello) would be helpful. No prior knowledge of Freud will be assumed, however, and in fact it would be better if you forgot everything you think you know about Freud.
Class Assignments and Grading
