The Interpretation of Dreams SS-336

3 Credits

This course interprets dreams. To that end, we will read large parts of Sigmund Freud's Interpretation of Dreams and discuss the intellectual and cultural environment in which Freud wrote his magnum opus. But we will not stop there and discuss philosophers and social theorists and their take on Freud and psychoanalysis. How come a theory that had next to no influence on academic psychology became the dominant understanding of psychological thinking in the cultural sphere? Why are we so keen on interpreting our dreams? And ultimately, what does it mean to dream, and can we make our dreams politically relevant?