Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
This module will enable students to explore psychological theories of society and social relations and understand the psychological origins of violence and criminality. Following an introduction, which links psychoanalysis to the history of sociology and in particular ideas of alienation, disenchantment, and anomie, the module looks the key principles of Freudian psychoanalysis and core texts in the Freudian tradition, using examples drawn from popular culture.The core purpose of the module is to show how psychoanalysis can be seen to contain a general meta-psychology of universal human behaviour that might be used to understand social phenomenon through what Freud saw as the fundamental human concerns: sex, death, and desire. Throughout the module we seek to think through the possible application of key psychoanalytic concepts - repression, projection, anxiety, perversion, sadism, Thanatos or the death drive, paranoia and so on - to concrete social examples in order to illuminate a new dimension of socio-psychoanalytic explanation.
Aims
To provide students with a historical survey of psychoanalysis through a consideration of key texts in the Freudian traditionTo teach students about the methodology of psychoanalysis and show them that key theoretical principles can be abstracted from the analytic session and employed as concepts for the general analysis of human behaviour in societyTo enable students to understand how psychoanalysis can be useful for the study of society through a discussion of particular exemplary textsTo allow students to understand how psychoanalysis can explain both particular and universal human behaviours in social context
Talis Aspire Reading ListAny reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/soc-30034/lists
Intended Learning Outcomes
critically assess the sociological value of psychoanalytic theory informed by works at the forefront of the subject: 1,2make independent judgments about the strengths and weaknesses of psychological theories of society based on a consideration of practical examples: 1,2develop sociological interpretations of psychological theory: 1,2apply psychological theory to social questions in order to generate psycho-social answers: 1,2apply key concepts in sociology through psychological interpretations of primary source material on the relationship between self and society: 1,2
20 hours contact - 10 asynchronous lectures / 10 live tutorials40 hours tutorial preparation40 hours independent study50 hours assessment preparationTOTAL 150 HOURS
Description of Module Assessment
1: Essay weighted 75%Essay - 2500 wordsStudents write a 2500 word essay on a title of their own choosing.
2: Presentation weighted 25%Presentation Report - 1000 wordsStudents give a 20 minute in class presentation on a key aspect of the module and then report on their research in a presentation report.