Cinema and Theories of the Psyche

Graduate / Professional

A comparative inquiry into the main theoretical approaches to the psyche and subjectivity that have been applied to cinema since World War Two, with a focus on psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, and phenomenology. Topics covered include narrative comprehension; concepts of spectatorship and the differences among spectators; affective experience; and the relationships and incompatibilities between these three approaches. We look at writings by Freud, Wallon, Lacan, Piaget, Merleau-Ponty, Souriau, Metz, Mulvey, Deleuze, and Sobchack among others. Open to interested undergraduates. T 1:30pm-3:25pm, T 7pm-10pm