COMP 340 Literature and Psychoanalysis (Not offered 2006-2007; to be offered 2007-2008) (W)

This course will explore the literary roots and effects of the explosion of the unconscious into consciousness at the turn of the twentieth century. Freud's psychoanalytic revolution will reveal itself to be actually a significant event in an evolutionary process that took place to a large extent in the arena of literature, to which Freud himself repeatedly acknowledged his debt. We will examine psychologically-minded literary texts that precede and, in some cases, preview Freud's theories, those theories themselves, and texts (theoretical and literary) that reflect the immense influence of psychoanalysis in the twentieth century. Authors might include Sophocles, Shakespeare, Goethe, Hoffmann, Flaubert, Carroll, Kafka, Duras, Garcia Marquez, and Morrison. All readings in English.
Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: active class participation, reading journals, two short and one longer paper.
Prerequisites: one previous course in either Comparative Literature or English, or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). (Literature and Theory)

NEWMAN