Modern German Literature and the Unconsc

Course Description

This course will introduce students to a variety of Modern German literary texts, through the lens of the unconscious. The desire to uncover the roots of psychological darkness leads these texts to extreme corners of the human psyche. Students will read and examine literature and theoretical texts to gain a deeper understanding of the development of the concept of the unconscious in the late 1800s to early 1900s. The course will undertake close-readings of a few of Freud’s key texts: The Interpretation of Dreams, Dora: Analysis of a Case of Hysteria, and Beyond the Pleasure Principle. We will examine the unconscious from several perspectives: the female/foreign, the death drive, and the locative unconscious, which relies on specific environs to enrich and agitate the psyche. Authors considered in the course include: Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Else Lasker-Schüler, Franz Kafka, Robert Musil, Thomas Mann, Arthur Schnitzler, Alfred Döblin.

Guiding Questions

How does the concept of the unconscious develop in the early 20th century through literary and theoretical texts? How do writing styles and authorial choices influence our understanding of the unconscious? Freud attempts to map the human psyche as a topographical space, what other ways can we conceive of the psyche?

Course Objectives

• Students will experience and gain familiarity with canonical Modern German texts
• Students will have a rigorous understanding of Freud’s early conception of the unconscious
• Students will have several critical lenses through which to analyze psychoanalytic theory and literature
• Students will develop short answer writing skills and long-form essay, as well as peer-review editing skills