CF 605
Epistemology II:
Postmodernism &
Poststructuralism
Spring, 2008
Kate Schechter, A. M., L.C.S.W.
312/339-5266
kschecht@uchicago.edu
Course Description
“Postmodernism” defies canonization, and
yet the
texts, discourses, ideas, and practices associated with this term have
dramatically reshaped social and psychoanalytic thought over the last
twenty
years. How do we come to grips with these
texts/discourses/ideas/practices
in our clinical work, clinical theory, and social research?
This course introduces postmodernism
and poststructuralism
through selected readings from several key thinkers (Foucault, Lyotard,
Derrida, Jameson) whose ideas we will then use to ground our own
exploration
of the recent work of two writers who rethink the relations of
psychoanalysis
and social theory.
The goal of the course is to promote
the student’s
familiarity with a range of arguments in social and psychoanalytic
theory
that have decisively impacted the sphere of clinical practice.
Prerequisite: Epistemology I
Required Texts
Butler, J. (2005). Giving an
account of
oneself. New York: Fordham UP
Elliott, A. (1996). Subject
to ourselves.
Cambridge: Polity/Blackwell
Assignments
I. Participation and Class presentations
(75%
of grade).
a. Participation: Attend, and
come prepared
to be active and thoughtful.
b. Presentations: Conceptual analysis of
two readings
(one longer presentation, of approximately 20 mins; one shorter one of
5-10 mins). In addition to assessing the reading in your own terms,
your
presentations should address the following:
- What is the social/historical
context of this piece?
- What question, issue, or
debate is
the author responding
to?
- What is the author’s central
argument (stated in a
few sentences)? What is its logic? What central points does the author
make to build this argument? What is the evidence the author presents
to
support it? What is the author’s epistemological stance?
- How does the piece resonate
with
(or illuminate or
obscure) clinical or other social issues you are interested in?
II. Paper (25% of grade). Write a 10-12
page paper
that positions your own research or clinical interest in relation to
the
topics covered in class. The paper should reflect your
integration
of the course materials and your original and critical thinking, and
will
be graded on that basis.
COURSE OUTLINE
Class #1. Introduction
Kant, I. (1784). An
answer to the question: What is enlightenment? In P. Waugh (Ed.)
(1992). Postmodernism:
a reader. London: Edward Arnold.
Foucault, M. (1984). What
is enlightenment? In P. Rabinow (Ed.) Essential works of Michel
Foucault, 1954-1984, Vol III: Ethics. New York: New Press.
Goldner, V. Relational
theory and the postmodern turn. In S. Fairfield, L. Layton, and C.
Stack (Eds.) (2002). Bringing the plague: Toward a postmodern
psychoanalysis. New
York: Other Press.
Stern, D. What
you know first: Construction and deconstruction in relational
psychoanalysis.
In S. Fairfield, L. Layton, and C. Stack (Eds.) (2002). Bringing
the
plague: Toward a postmodern psychoanalysis. New York: Other Press.
Class #2. The Freud-Marx Synthesis:
Psychoanalysis
at its Limits
Berman, M. Selections
from All that is solid melts into air (Introduction – Modernity:
Yesterday,
today, and tomorrow). In M. Drolet (Ed.) (2004). The postmodern
reader. London: Routledge.
Jameson, F. Selections
from postmodernism, or, the cultural logic of late capitalism.
In M. Drolet (Ed.) (2004). The postmodern reader. London:
Routledge.
Lyotard, J. Selections
from The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge. In M. Drolet
(Ed.) (2004). The postmodern reader. London: Routledge.
Hoffman, I. Toward
a social constructionist view of the psychoanalytic situation.
In S. Fairfield, L. Layton, and C. Stack (Eds.) (2002). Bringing
the
plague: Toward a postmodern psychoanalysis. New York: Other Press.
Class #3. The Clinic and the Academy
Derrida, J. (1998). Resistances of
psychoanalysis.
Stanford U Press.
(Selections TBA)
Leary, K. (1994). Psychoanalytic
“problems” and
postmodern “solutions.” Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 63, pp.
433-465.
PEP Archive
Basch, M. (1994). Psychoanalysis,
science, and epistemology. Bulletin of Institute for
Psychoanalysis,
4 (2).
Elliott, A. and Spezzano, C. (1996):
Psychoanalysis
at its limits: Navigating the postmodern turn. Psychoanalytic
Quarterly, 65: 52-83. PEP Archive
Bader, M. (1998). Postmodern
epistemology: The
problem of validation and the retreat from therapeutics in
psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 8(1), 1-32. PEP
Archive
Spencer, J. and L. Balter (1990).
Psychoanalytic
observation. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 38:
393-421. PEP Archive
Reed, G. (1995). Clinical truth and
contemporary
relativism: Meaning and narration in the psychoanalytic situation. Journal
of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 43: 713-739. PEP
Archive
Goldberg, A. (2001). Postmodern
Psychoanalysis. International
Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 83. PEP Archive
Class #4 and #5 Anthony Elliott
Elliot, A. (1996). Subject to
ourselves: Social
theory, psychoanalysis, and postmodernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Foucault, M. The
subject and power. In Rabinow, ed. Essential works of Michel
Foucault,
1954-1984, Vol 1: Power. New York: New Press.
Foucault, M. Nietzsche,
geneology, history. In Faubion, ed. Essential works of Michel
Foucault,
1954-1984, Vol II: Aesthetics, method, and epistemology. New York:
New Press
Foucault, M. The
order of things – interview with Raymond Bellours. In Faubion, ed. Essential
works of Michel Foucault, 1954-1984, Vol II: Aesthetics, method, and
epistemology.
New York: New Press.
Foucault, M. Technologies
of self. In Rabinow, ed. Essential works of Michel
Foucault,
1954-1984, Vol. III: Ethics. New York: New Press.
Class #6 and #7 Judith Butler
Butler, J. (2005). Giving an account
of oneself.
New York: Fordham UP
Laplanche, J. (1999). The
unfinished Copernican revolution. In Essays on otherness.
London:
Routledge.
Butler, J. (1995). Melancholy
gender, refused
identification. Psychoanal. Dial., 5:165-180. PEP Archive
Class #8 Review, mopping up, etc.!
Contents Copyright,
Institute for
Clinical Social Work
