Freud and the Literary
Imagination
German 390/C Lit 396/
CHID
498/Engl 363/JSIS 488/Lit 298
Winter Quarter 2016
Website: http://courses.washington.edu/freudlit
Instructor: Professor Richard Gray
Office: Condon Hall 714
Office Hours: W 1:30-2:20; F 10:30-11:20; and by appt.
Tel.: 206-543-1752 (voice); 206-543-4580
e-mail: woyzeck@uw.edu
Classrooms:
MWF
Lecture: Thompson 125
Thursday Discussion Sections: SWS 038 (A); Loew 217 (B); Condon 429 (C); SWS 032
(D)
Tuesday Writing Workshop (Optional): Condon Hall 429
Teaching Assistant/Writing Workshop Leader:
Seth Berk (sberk25@uw.edu)
Discussion Leaders:
Seth Berk (sberk25@uw.edu)
Office: Condon 803
Office
Hours: M/W 11:30-12:20 and by appt.
Svenja Gehm (svenjag@uw.edu) Office: Condon 803
Office
Hours: M/Th 11:30-12:20; and by appt.
Katie McKeever (katiem26@uw.edu)
Office: Condon 803
Office
Hours: T 12:30-1:20; F 1:30-2:20; and by appt.
Justin Mohler (jmohler@uw.edu)
Office: Condon 803
Office
Hours: T 11:30-12:20; W 1:30-2:20; and by appt.
Textbooks:
Freud, Sigmund. The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. (Norton) (on 2-hour reserve in OUGL)
Schnitzler, Arthur. Plays and Stories. Ed. Egon Schwarz. (Continuum) (on 2-hour reserve in OUGL)
Kafka, Franz. The Complete Stories. (Schocken) (on 2-hour reserve in OUGL)
Musil, Robert. Selected Writings. Ed. Burton Pike. (Continuum) (on 2-hour reserve in OUGL)
Mann, Thomas. Death in Venice, Trans. Michael Henry Heim (Harper/Collins) (on 2-hour reserve in OUGL)
Bachmann, Ingeborg. The Book of Franza and Requiem for Fanny Goldman. (Northwestern) (on 2-hour reserve in OUGL)
Course
Reader (Xerox): Available at Rams Copy Center, 4144 University Way (Texts have
also been loaded as PDF-files to Canvas)
Optional Background Reading: Henk de Berg, Freud's Theory and Its Use in Literary and Cultural Studies (Rochester: Camden House, 2003) (on 2-hour reserve in OUGL)
This course
examines a set of central themes that emerge from Sigmund Freud's theories of
the dream, the nature of literary creativity, the operation of the human
psyche, and the substance of human culture. We will take as our starting point
the hypothesis that Freud conceives the psyche as a kind of writing machine, an
"author" that produces fictional narratives that share many
properties with the prose fiction generated by creative writers. For this
reason, our focus throughout the quarter will be restricted to prose
narratives. The course will concentrate on literature produced in the wake of
Freud's theories, that is, on texts that consciously or unconsciously develop
Freudian ideas. The class is structured around a set of themes that will be
developed on the basis of paired readings: in each case we will examine a text
or excerpt from Freud's psychological works in conjunction with the reading of
a literary text that exemplifies the issue or issues highlighted in Freud's
theory.
Course Requirements:
1) Regular class
attendance (both lecture and Thursday discussion section; the Tuesday
writing workshops are highly recommended, but voluntary, except for
those who take the course for w-credit,
for whom the writing workshops are required).
2) Short
writing assignments for
discussion sessions: Prior to discussion sessions, you will be given a sheet
with a series of study questions.
These are intended to help you conceptualize and organize the problems raised
by the text or texts under discussion that week. Prior to discussion section,
you will be prompted to write a brief (ca. 150-200 words) essay or position
paper on a topic from this list or a related question.
3) Active participation
in discussion sections.
4) One 7-8 pp. (ca. 2000 word) Mid-Term Paper. Topic: A Freudian Analysis of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis (in: The
Complete Stories, 89-139). This paper should concentrate on a specific
Freudian problematic as exemplified in Kafka's tale. The Tuesday writing
workshops during the first half of the quarter will be designed to help you
grapple with this text and learn strategies for writing about Freudian themes
and ideas. Mid-term papers can (but
need not be) re-written. The original grade and that of the re-write will be
averaged to obtain the composite grade for this assignment. Re-write is required for those who request w-credit.
5) One 7-8 pp. (ca 2000 word) Final Paper on a specific Freudian
problematic as exemplified in a literary or cinematic narrative of the student's
own choosing. The paper should pursue an analysis based on a specific Freudian
theme—preferably one from the second half of the quarter. Paper topics
should be discussed ahead of time with the Instructor or your discussion
leader, or with the TA during the Tuesday writing workshop. The workshops in
the last half of the quarter will be geared toward helping you formulate topics
and develop your final papers.
Grading:
Class
Participation (in discussion section) 15%
Short Writing
Assignments 15%
Mid-Term Paper 35%
Final Paper 35%
Note:
Reading assignments should be prepared prior
to the class meeting on the day for which they are listed.
WEEK ONE
Jan. 4: Introduction:
Why Freud?
[Jan. 5: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Theme
1: The Psyche as Writing Machine; Dreams
as Texts
Jan. 6: The
Unconscious and Dreams: "A Note on the Mystic Writing-Pad" (Course
Reader); Freud on Dreams: Freud Reader,
129-172.
[Recommended background reading: de Berg, Freud's
Theory, 17-30.]
Jan. 7: Discussion: Organization of Groups; Opening
Thoughts (Writing 1)
Jan. 8: Freud
on Dreams: Freud Reader, 129-172
(cont.).
WEEK TWO
Jan. 11: Schnitzler,
Lieutenant Gustl, in: Plays and Stories, pp. 249-79.
[Jan. 12: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Jan. 13: Schnitzler,
Lieutenant Gustl, in: Plays and Stories, pp. 249-79 (cont.).
Jan. 14: Discussion: The "Truth"
of Dreams; The Lies of Gustl (Writing 2)
Theme
2: Freud's Understanding of Literary Creativity
Jan.
15: Freud, "Creative
Writers and Day-Dreaming," Freud
Reader, 436-443.
WEEK THREE
Jan. 18: No Class, MLK Holiday
[Jan. 19: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Jan. 20: Freud,
"The Theme of the Three Caskets," Freud
Reader, 514-522..
Jan. 21: Discussion: The "Unconscious"
as the Source of Artistic Creativity (Writing 3)
Jan. 22: Kafka,
"A Country Doctor," Complete
Stories, 220-225.
WEEK FOUR
Jan. 25: Kafka,
"A Country Doctor," Complete
Stories, 220-225 (concluding remarks).
[Jan. 26: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Theme
3: The Oedipus Complex
Jan. 27: Freud
on the Oedipus Complex, Freud Reader,
640-645; "The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex," Freud Reader, 661-666.
[Recommended background reading: de Berg, Freud's
Theory, 73-91.]
Jan. 28: Discussion: Kafka's "A
Country Doctor" (Writing 4)
Jan. 29: Freud
on the Oedipus Complex, Freud Reader,
640-645; "The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex," Freud Reader, 661-666 (cont.).
WEEK FIVE
Feb. 1: Kafka,
"The Judgment," Complete
Stories, 77-88.
[Feb. 2: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Feb. 3: Kafka,
"The Judgment," Complete
Stories, 77-88 (cont.).
Feb. 4: Discussion: Oedipal Revolt in Kafka's "The
Judgment" (Writing 5)
Theme 4: Eros and Thanatos: The Union of
Love and Death
Feb. 5: Freud,
Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud Reader, 722-772.
[Recommended
background reading: de Berg, Freud's
Theory, 49-69.]
WEEK SIX
Feb. 8.: Freud,
Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud Reader, 722-772 (cont.).
[Recommended background reading: de Berg, Freud's
Theory, 109-132.]
[Feb. 9: Voluntary Writing
Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Feb. 10: Thomas
Mann, Death in Venice.
Feb. 11: Kafka's "Metamorphosis":
(Writing: Mid-Term Paper, Project Summaries)
Feb. 12: Thomas
Mann, Death in Venice (cont.)
Friday,
Feb. 12: Mid-Term Paper Due
WEEK SEVEN
Feb. 15: No Class, Presidents' Day Holiday
Feb. 16: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Feb. 17: Mann,
Death in Venice (cont.); Musil, Young Torless, in: Selected Writings, 1-175.
Feb. 18: Discussion: Love and Death in
Mann's Death in Venice (Writing 6)
Theme
5: Repression and Social (Dis)order
Feb. 19: Musil,
Young Torless, in: Selected Writings, 1-175 (cont.).
WEEK EIGHT
Feb. 22: Musil, Young Torless, in: Selected
Writings, 1-175. (cont.)
Feb. 23: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Feb. 24: Freud,
"The Uncanny" (Course Reader; also Canvas electronic reserve)
[Recommended background reading: de Berg,
Freud's Theory, 96-108.]
[Feb.
24: Re-Writes of Mid-Term
Papers Due, for those who choose this option.]
Feb. 25: Discussion:
Sexuality, Repression, Civilization: Musil's Torless (Writing 7)
Theme
6: The Uncanny and the Literary Fantastic
Feb. 26: Freud,
"The Uncanny," (cont.); Hofmannsthal, "A Tale of the Cavalry"
(Course Reader, also Canvas electronic reserve).
WEEK NINE
Feb. 29: Hofmannsthal,
"A Tale of the Cavalry" (cont.)
[Mar. 1: Voluntary
Writing Workshop; Condon Hall 429]
Mar. 2: Freud,
"Aetiology of Hysteria," Freud
Reader, 96-111; "Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria
(Dora)," Freud Reader, 177-206;
220-239.
Mar. 3: Mar.
3: Discussion: The
Uncanny and Hofmannsthal's "Tale" (Writing 8)
Theme 7: Freud and Women: Neurosis and Sexuality
Mar. 4: Freud,
"Aetiology of Hysteria," Freud
Reader, 96-111; "Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria
(Dora)," Freud Reader, 177-206;
220-239 (cont.).
WEEK TEN
Mar 7.: Ingeborg
Bachmann, The Book of Franza
[Mar. 8: Voluntary
Writing Workshop: Final Papers; Condon Hall 429]
Mar. 9: Bachmann,
The Book of Franza (cont.).
Mar. 10: Discussion: The Franza "Case"
and the Causes of Female Hysteria (Writing 9)
Mar. 11: Bachmann,
The Book of Franza (cont.).
Final
Papers Due: Mon., Mar. 14, 10 AM, Condon Hall 714 (or
submitted as e-mail attachment to your discussion leader).