2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
CULT2005 Reading Freud Reading
20 creditsClass Size: 30
Module manager: Dr Eric Prenowitz
Email: e.prenowitz@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2008/09
This module is approved as an Elective
Module summary
This module offers a detailed encounter with the work of Sigmund Freud. It will propose a general introduction to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, Freud's narrative strategies and the role of his discoveries in twentieth-century thought. It will assess Freud's influence on Cultural Studies while examining the cultural, historical and institutional contexts in which psychoanalysis arose, and the question of the psychoanalytic tradition. The module comprises five two-week units, each addressing one of the problematics of Freud's work: 1) Dreams2) Sexual Difference3) Art4) De/Constructing the Self5) Civilisation and War. Readings will pair selections from Freud's writings with a variety of readings of Freud by authors such as Cixous, Derrida, Felman, Lacan, Levinas and Weber. The module will enable students to use Freudian techniques for the analysis of culture in their own critical practice. It will be taught in two-hourly seminar blocks which will be spent reading Freud's texts in detail and discussing their place in and relevance for Cultural Analysis.Assessment: 1 x 2 hour exam (50%) and 1 x 2,000-3,000 word essay (50%).Objectives
On completion of this module students will:- be able to discuss the range of Sigmund Freud's output and its relation to the tradition of psychoanalysis;
- be familiar with freud's influence on Cultural Analysis as well as his own historical and institutional context (including Modernism, the rise of Fascism, sexology, spiritualism, Jungian practice, etc);
- be able to use Freudian techniques for the analysis of culture in their own critical practice;
- be able to analyse Freud's work in terms of race, class, gender, and sexuality;
- be conversant with a range of issues in Freud's work, including: hysteria, neurosis, the Oedipus complex, the uncanny, dreams, jokes, magic, civilisation, the pleasure principle, mourning, melancholia, death and so on;
- be able to relate Freud's work to the psychoanalytic tradition, in the texts of Bruer, Jung, Jones, Klein, Lacan, Levinas, Kristeva, Abrahams and Torok, Zizek, etc;
- be familiar with major contemporary readings of Freud by postmodern Cultural Analysis, readers discussed may include Derrida, Barthes, Cixous, Weber, Deleuze, Mulvey and so on.
Skills outcomes
- Verbal and written fluency in constructing a logical and coherent argument;
- Use of audio visual aids;
- Participation in group discussions;
- Co-ordination and dissemination of a range of historical, contextual visual information;
- Using bibliographies and databases.
Syllabus
The module will offer a detailed encounter with the work of Sigmund Freud. It will assess Freud's influence on Cultural Studies as well as examining Freud's own cultural, historical and institutional context (Modernism, sexology, spiritualism, mesmerism, Charcot, nineteenth century medicine, fin de siecle culture and so on). It will relate Freud's work to the psychoanalytic tradition in the texts of Jung, Jones, Klein, Lacan, and Zizek, amongst others. It will also discuss major contemporary readings of Freud by the likes of Derrida, Cixous, Weber and Deleuze.
The module will equip students to discuss Freud's work in terms of race, gender, class and sexuality. It will also enable students to use Freudian techniques for the analysis of culture in their own critical practice. The module will be taught by two-hourly seminar blocks which will be spent reading Freud's texts in detail and discussing their place in and relevance for Cultural Analysis.
The module will follow a chronological path through Freud's work, suggested reading may include: Studies on Hysteria, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious, Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Totem and Taboo, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Civilisation and Its Discontents etc.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Seminar | 11 | 2.00 | 22.00 |
| Tutorial | 11 | 1.00 | 11.00 |
| Private study hours | 167.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 33.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 | ||
Private study
167 hours - further reading, class and essay preparation and completion.Opportunities for Formative Feedback
- Attendance at seminars and tutorials- Record of attendance kept
- Participationinclass discussions.
Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | 1 x 2,000-3,000 word essay | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
| Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2 hr | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 14/05/2010
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