Department of English

This seminar is an introduction to Freud's writings, largely in chronological order, on individual and group psychology. We will explore many of Freud's well-known theories on meta-psychology, but we will also investigate some of his lesser-known "anthropological" writings and case studies. Discussions will be organized around collaborative readings of key passages in the selected texts. We will attempt to respect the specificity of Freud's thought, while also reading a number of Freud's commentators in order to situate psychoanalysis in a historical context and contemporary political frame. In this regard, I am specifically interested in exploring war and the socialization of the death drive as well as issues of psychic and political reparation. Readings will also include works by Leo Bersani, Judith Butler, Douglas Crimp, Shinhee Han, Melanie Klein, Eve Sedgwick, Kaja Silverman, and D.W. Winnicott.