Contemporary European thought A: Lacan and subjectivity
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
Elizabeth Grosz
8 points * 2 hours per week * First semester * Clayton * Prerequisites: PHL3050, PHL3060, PHL2230 or PHL3230 or permission of head
The subject is designed to provide an introductory reading of the difficult psychoanalytic texts of the French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan. We will explore his account of (1) the ego, subjectivity and otherness; (2) the unconscious and desire `structured like a language'; and (3) his understanding of the phallus and sexual difference, with the aim of showing his relevance to (a) philosophical accounts of subjectivity; (b) theories of literacy and visual representation; and (c) feminist theory, respectively.
Assessment
Written (6000 words): 100% * Optional replacement of a 3000-word essay by a 3-hour examination