Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis The content of the subject is the presentation, application and evaluation of those central ideas from a range of psychoanalytic approaches that can most usefully illuminate the operation of unconscious processes at the level of the social. The feminist debate with psychoanalytic theorising will provide one of the focuses of the subject, specifically the dialogue about `identity', `subjectivity', `authority', `power', `knowledge' and `fantasy'. A second focus of the subject will be the application (by a variety of authors) of the writings of Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion and Donald Winnicott, specifically relating to the operation of the `irrational' in the organisation of social life and the boundaries between self and other. Of particular relevance here are the concepts of envy, reparation, defences, narcissism, regression, projection, and transference. A third focus will be provided by the analytical approach to archetypes.
Assessment Seminar paper and presentation (2000 words): 35% + One project (1500 words): 25% + Essay (2500 words): 40%