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Syllabus The Inception of Psychoanalysis in Cultural Context - 8230
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Last update 23-08-2016
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: "amirim" honors program

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Prof Jonathan Garb

Coordinator Email: Jgarb@mscc.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Appointment by email

Teaching Staff:
Prof Jonathan Garb

Course/Module description:
We shall explore the onset of psychoanalysis in the cultural context of the early twentieth century, emphasizing the question of religion. We shall focus on Homan's mourning religion hypothesis, Peter Gay's secularization hypothesis, Hillman's mythic hypothesis and Kirschner's romantic roots hypothesis. We shall give special attention to the question of the interrelationship between German and Jewish thought and psychoanalysis.

Course/Module aims:
• Acquire inter-disciplinary tools. Acquire the ability to encompass a stream of modern thought and its sources.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
• Organize materials that span an entire stream of modern thought.
• Analyze theoretical works from an inter-disciplinary point.
• Critique hypotheses.
• Assess the achievements of cultural and intellectual history.
• Ask questions in a focused and clear manner.
• To succeed in an English-language course.
• Critique the relevance of concepts such as ‘learning products’ for the humanities.

Attendance requirements(%):
Attendance is mandatory as in all Amirim courses.

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: • General introductions that provide methodological context.
• Critical analysis of articles.
• Response to student papers during the course.

Course/Module Content:
1. Introduction
2. The Secularization Hypothesis
3. The Mourning Religion Hypothesis
4. The Romantic Roots Hypothesis
5. The Mythic Hypothesis
6. The Viennese Context
7. The Wider Context
8. Freud and the Hasidim
9. Student presentations

Required Reading:
The numbering follows the list of topics.
2. Peter Gay, A Godless Jew: Freud, Atheism, and the making of Psychoanalysis, New Haven 1987, pp. 3-34 BF 173 F85 G38.
3. Peter Homans, Jung in Context: Modernity and the Making of a Psychology, Chicago 1979, pp. 135-154, BF 173 J85 H6.
4. Suzanne Kirschner, The Religious and Romantic Origins of Psychoanalysis: Individuation and Integration in Post-Freudian Theory, Cambridge 1996, pp. 45-60, 1996 BF 173 K43.
5. James Hillman, The Myth of Analysis: Three Essays in Archetypal psychology, Evanston, Illinois 1999, pp. 169-182. BF 183 F85 H55 1999.
6. Carl Schorske, Fin-de-siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture, New York 1979, pp. 193-203. DB 851 S42.
7. Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain: From Vienna 1900 to the Present, New York 2012, pp. 4-27, NX 180 P7 K372 2012.
Joseph Berke, “Freud and the Rebbe”. http://internationalpsychoanalysis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/BerkesPaperFreud.pdf

Additional Reading Material:
G. Makari, Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis, New York, 2005. BF 173 M35652 2009

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 50 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 50 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
Participation counts for 10% of the grade.
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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