Although Sigmund Freud visited the United States in 1909, and although his theories gained widespread fame and notoriety in intellectual and artistic communities by the 1920s, Freudian theory truly became a mass phenomenon in the United States only after World War II. In this course, we will explore why that particular moment suited Freud so well. We will begin with a grounding in the basics of Freudian theory, particularly those elements in his architecture of the human psyche that were significant in popular understandings of Freud in the postwar United States. We will then consider popular interpretations of Freud during this period, as well as reactions to those interpretations. During the course, we will explore the social, cultural, and economic circumstances that favored a broader interest in Freudian theory, and will attempt to frame arguments as to why mainstream American culture in the 1940s and 50s proved such a fertile ground for psychosexual theories of human development and interaction. This will involve not only a close reading of Freud, but the development of basic skills in locating and analyzing popular historical documents—from child-rearing manuals, to popular magazines, to novels, plays, and films—and the ability to bring that close reading and those sources together in an argument about the meaning and uses of popular culture. During this investigation, we will consider why this theory in particular found such a welcome in the mainstream American vernacular, and why it did not fit so easily in other parts of American society.

Required Readings

• Freud, Sigmund. Introductory Lectures on Psychonalysis
• Freud, Sigmund. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
• Freud, Sigmund. Sexuality and the Psychology of Love
• Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id
• Freud, Sigmund. Three Case Histories
• Salinger, J.D. Catcher in the Rye
• May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward Bound

All other readings will be placed on reserve well before the day that they are due. These readings are marked with an asterisk (*). Please make a photocopy of each of these readings and to bring it to class on the day it is due.

Course Assignments

•Précis: A two-page précis of the lectures assigned from the “Dreams” section in Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis. What are the key terms and concepts in each lecture? What is the significance of dreams to psychoanalysis? Due in class on January 15.
•In-Class Presentation: Each student must write up a presentation on the readings for one class session. In addition to the presentation, you must prepare a set of questions for your fellow students to discuss, and hand in a written summary of your presentation. This summary need be no longer than three pages, but must be prepared (typed, with citations and bibliography) as would be any other written assignment. We will choose presentations at the beginning of the second class.
•Initial Paper: A five- to seven-page paper that analyzes in detail a particular aspect of Freudian theory, or that discusses a significant cultural event/object influenced by Freudian theory. You will receive detailed instructions on how to successfully complete this project well in advance of its due date. This paper is due in class on February 28.
• Final Paper: A ten- to twelve-page paper that uses primary sources to put forth an argument about either the rise in popularity of Freudian ideas in the postwar period, or about a social or cultural consequence of the popular use of Freud. You will receive detailed instructions on how to successfully complete this project well in advance of its due date. This paper is due in class on April 23.

Both in-class screenings of movies and the library tour are required, and attendance will be taken. Some movies may run longer than the allotted class time.

January 8
Introduction: No Reading

January 10
“Elementary Lessons in Psychoanalysis,” “A Note on the Unconscious in Psychoanalysis,” and “Libido Theory.” General Psychological Theory*

January 15
Lectures 7, 9-11, 14 in “Dreams,” Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
Recommended: Lectures 6 and 12.

January 17
Spellbound (Hitchcock 1945)

January 22
The Ego and the Id, Ch. 1-3.
Recommended: Ch. 4

January 24
“From the History of an Infantile Neurosis.” Three Case Histories

January 29
“The Case of Katharina.” Studies in Hysteria*; “Resistance and Repression” and “Paths To Symptom Formation.” Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis

January 31
“Infantile Sexuality.” Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality

February 5
“Explosive Issues: Sex, Women, and the Bomb” and “Brinksmanship: Sexual Containment on the Home Front.” Homeward Bound

February 7
Library Tour: Searching For Primary Documents

February 12
Lundberg, Ferdinand and Marynia F. Farnham. “Women Today,” “The Background of Modern Sexuality,” and “The Failure of Modern Sexuality” Modern Woman: The Lost Sex (New York: Harper and Row, 1947)*

February 14
de Beauvoir, Simone. “Introduction,” “The Data of Biology,” and “The Psychoanalytic Point of View” The Second Sex (New York: Knopf, 1953)*

February 19
Lundberg and Farnham. “Mother and Child: The Slaughter of Innocents” and “Ways to a Happier End.” Modern Woman: The Lost Sex*

February 21
Paper Conferences

February 26
Linder, Robert M. “The Instinct of Rebellion” and “Must You Conform?” Must You Conform? (New York: Reinhart and Co., 1955)*

February 28
The Three Faces of Eve (Johnson 1957)
First Paper Due

March 5
Spring Break

March 7
Spring Break

March 12
Salinger, J.D. Catcher in the Rye.

March 14
Jenkins, Henry. “The Sensuous Child: Benjamin Spock and the Sexual Revolution.” The Children’s Culture Reader. Henry Jenkins, ed. (New York: NYU Press, 1998).* Excerpts from Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, 3rd Ed. (New York: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1957.)*

March 19
“Infantile Genital Organization of the Libido” and “The Passing of the Oedipus Complex” Sexuality and the Psychology of Love

March 21
Erikson, Erik. “Sex Differences in Play Configurations of American Pre-adolescents.” Childhood in Contemporary Cultures. Margaret Mead and Martha Wolfenstein, eds. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955).* “Bringing Up Baby on Books... Revolution and Counterrevolution in Child Care” Newsweek, Vol. 45, No. 20 (16 May 1956)*

March 26
Excerpts from Linder, Robert M. Rebel Without a Cause…The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath. (New York: Grune and Stratton, 1948)*

March 28
Rebel Without A Cause (Ray 1955)

April 2
Excerpts from Erikson, Erik. Childhood and Society. (New York: W.W Norton, 1950)*

April 4
“Sublimation.” Studies in the Psychology of Love

April 9
Marnie (Hitchcock 1964)

April 11
Paper Conferences

April 16
“Fetishism.” Studies in the Psychology of Love. “Writer, Alcoholic, Homosexual.” Bergler, Edmund. The Writer and Psychoanalysis. (New York: Doubleday, 1950)*

April 18
Peeping Tom (Powell 1960)

April 23 (Reading Week)
“Little Toot” from Melody Time (Disney 1948); Forbidden Planet (Wilcox 1956)

Final Paper Due