Since its inception, psychoanalysis has experienced a fraught reception, but its impact on culture is unequivocal. The unconscious, the Oedipus Complex, the fetish, the drive, object relations, abjection – these are the kinds of psychoanalytic concepts that gained steam in the cultural imaginary, giving birth to clichés and psychical insights alike. This course begins with ideas by Sigmund Freud. We will then trace how psychoanalysts after Freud evolve these concepts. Finally, the course will explore intersections between psychoanalysis and 20th- and 21st-century literature, visual art, and film
