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CERTIFICATE PROGRAMME IN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND LITERATURE
Course Objectives
This five-month certificate programme, probably the only one of its kind in Asia, takes off from Freud's description of philosophers, writers and poets as the few to whom it is vouchsafed...with hardly any effort to salvage from the whirlpool of their emotions the deepest truth to which we others have to force our way, ceaselessly groping among torturing uncertainities [through psychoanalysis]. There has been a long and strong tradition of psychoanalysis in the Literature, Women's Studies and Film Studies programmes of the Western Universities. The Institute of Psychotherapy takes pride in being the pioneer in introducing this course in India, and our students would have an edge over those in the Western programmes in that this course is informed by clinical practice. Further, we believe that a good grounding in classical psychoanalytic theory is essential before one can truly understand Lacan, a favourite of psychoanalytic literary theorists. The course is premised on the facts that literature is a way of representing and discussing human nature, and that psychoanalysis is the most powerful perspective for understanding human nature. Psychoanalysis has evolved in the process of practical clinical work with actual human beings in psychological distress and hence it is not just another literary theory. It is more than a hermeneutic enterprise, and since the mind is realized within a biological body, psychoanalysis as interpreted at IOP both demands and opens up opportunities for neuroscientific validation. Psychoanalysis as an interpretative tool provides us with interesting insights not only into the literary text, but also reveals the unstated and the unthought about the author and the reader. The focus of the course would be on understanding psychoanalytic theory using published clinical cases and literary texts, and in the process students will learn psychoanalytic interpretation of fiction. This would enable the students to avoid, as a literary theorist put it, the abuse of Freudian insights through oversimplification and distortion. Even as the students discover the immense possibilities of this method, they will also be made aware of limits to interpretation so that they do not end up with 'bruised literary sensibilities'.
Course Content
The course has the following four modules running concurrently and seamlessly blending with each other:
Psychoanalytic Theory
This unit of the course will give the students good grounding in classical psychoanalytic theory. The readings for this section will essentially be selections from Freud's own writings so that students also get an idea of the logical unfolding of Freud's ideas and a feel for Freud's genius as an author [Freud was awarded Germany's prestigious literary distinction, the Goethe Prize, and was a serious contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature and Medicine for many years].
Psychoanalytic Case Studies as Literature
If the hallmark of good literature is expected to be a faithful portrayal of life, there could be no better exemplars than Freud's famous clinical case studies. Freud, a foremost exponent of the scientific method, firmly believed in rooting his theorizing in facts. The case studies included in the course would help in the exposition of psychoanalytic ideas that students learn in the theory unit, and would also help them understand the psychoanalytic method of inference.
Literature as Psychoanalytic Case Studies
Since literature mirrors human nature, psychoanalysis, which the Year 2000 Nobel Laureate neuroscientist Eric Kandel has called 'the most coherent and intellectually satisfying view of the human mind', is eminently suited to gain a deeper appreciation of literature. This component of the course includes interpretations of works of fiction ranging from myths and fairy tales to short stories, plays and novels. Thus, there would be such authors as Sophocles, Brothers Grimm, Shakespeare, Ibsen and Dostoevsky, and several authors of the modern period. Students are expected to read the selections in the original [so if your ambition is limited to reading the kiddie Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, this course is not for you]. The course will also make use of movie adaptations of literary texts and students get to see the works of some fine film directors.
Text-Author-Reader: Psychoanalytic Approach to Literature
This unit will explore the issues and problems in the psychoanalysis of the literary text and its characters, psychobiography of the author and the psychology of the creative process, pathography of the artist and the art of the insane, and finally, reader response and textual analysis as self-analysis.
The students enrolled in this course will have the option of attending some of the Advanced Seminars offered in the Graduate Programme [such as Applied Psychoanalysis, Themes and Variations in Indian Psychoanalysis] and guest lectures by psychotherapists and psychoanalysts from India and abroad.
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Evaluation and Certification Criteria
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80% attendance |
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Ongoing classroom assessment |
Eligibility and Admission Criteria
| Eligibility: |
Graduates in any discipline with an interest in psychology and literature/ Students enrolled in any undergraduate or post-graduate programmes. Preference will be given to those intending to pursue a serious career in literature, film studies, anthropology, women's studies or psychology.
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| Admission: |
Suitability as evidenced in the Application Form
Written Test [based on the reading material to be provided on application]
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Time Commitment
| Lectures: |
4 hours per week, generally on weekends; exact days and time to be finalized in consultation with the selected candidates.
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Financial Commitment
| Reading Material: |
Provided at cost |
Career Prospects
Just as knowing the physics does not in any way diminish your experience of the rainbow, psychoanalysis would only enhance the pleasure you derive when re-reading your favourite fairy tale, story or novel. Besides giving you the thrill of discovering a new way of looking at your favourite authors and understanding human nature, this course can help further your career prospects by opening avenues in the academia as this is a fairly rigorous course. This course certificate and the transcript would definitely add value to your application if you intend to pursue undergraduate, post-graduate or doctoral courses in literature, film studies, anthropology, women's studies or psychoanalytic psychology in foreign universities [warning note: just joining the course is not enough, the institute has strict norms for awarding the completion certificates]. Within the country, this course certificate could help you at the interview stage of admission to courses in literature and women's studies at premier colleges and central universities. Further, if the psychoanalytic essay that the student writes as part of the course work is exceptionally original, we would encourage him or her to pursue the ideas further, and even try to put the student in touch with psychoanalysts and scholars, so that the ideas can develop into a paper for publication in peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
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