ENGL 399 Outline 2008/09 Fall

COURSE NUMBER:

ENGL 399B

COURSE TITLE:

Special Topics in English -2008/09 Fall -Between Science and Fiction: Psychology and Literature

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Chris Peet and Dr Tina Trigg

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A course on a topic of figure of special interest to a member of the English faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.

Prerequisites: ENGL 204, 205

2008/09 Fall

The intersection of psychology and literature creates a liminal space that destabilizes the constructedness of human experience, highlighting questions such as: what is reality? what is fiction? what is truth? what is normalcy? And for all of these questions, who decides? writers, readers, objective scientific assessment, culture, experts, time? Further, and more significantly, what are the implications of these hidden dynamics? Where does the Christian reader fit into this model? How do we inhabit the role of writer / analyst – whether literary or psychological?

In this particular configuration, the course will seek to unravel these issues in relation to the theme of madness. We will combinine lecture, films, small and large group discussion, in-class group work, take-home writing assignments, and three major assignments (two term assignments and an end-of-term paper). Details of assignments will be provided as the term proceeds. Your attendance and participation are integral to the course; some short assignments (both group and individual) will be completed in-class and may not be announced in advance. Thus, in the event of absence, it is in your best interest to contact one of your instructors by phone or e-mail prior to the class.

Same as PSYC 399B

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Fugitive Pieces, Anne Michaels (1996)
Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood (1996)
Various handouts and on-line sources, as noted in attached reading list.

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:

Major assignment 1	25%
Major assignment 2	25%
Short assignments	20%
Final major paper	30%

	100%

COURSE OUTLINE:

TRAUMA Madness as trauma: The “Self” and its Fictions

Introduction & course outline
Surrealism: Un Chien Andalou (1928; 2004) 17 mins.
Bob Perelman China (1981/1973?)
Discussion groups
Freud, “Daydreaming and Writing” (1908) HANDOUT
Jung, “Psychology and Literature” (1930) HANDOUT
Group work
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) Any edition. In most lit survey texts and also available free on-line: [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/POE/telltale.html]
Merleau-Ponty “Cezanne’s Doubt” (1946) HANDOUT
Novel: Michaels, Fugitive Pieces (1996)

NORMALCY Madness as ab-normal: The power of the social

Documentary: Zimbardo/Stanford Prison experiment (1971) 55 minutes
D. L. Rosenhan “On being sane in insane places” in Science (1973) DOWNLOAD from J-STOR on King’s Library Database
Novel: Atwood, Alias Grace (1996)
Film: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) 2 hrs.18 mins.

TRANSFORMATION Refusing “madness”: Alterity & irreducibility

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892) Any edition. In most lit survey texts.
Excerpt from Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The Madwoman in the Attic (1979) HANDOUT
Film: A Beautiful Mind (2002) 2 hrs. 16 mins.
Discussion groups
Nussbaum, “Love’s Knowledge” (1990) HANDOUT
Atwood, “Polarities” (1977) HANDOUT

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.