dzܰ:Hitchcock and Freud
Department:Humanities
Professor:Paul Gordon (right)
Course description:This class applies Sigmund ܻ’s psychoanalytic method of interpreting works of art to Alfred Hitchcock’s films. It will seek to explain Hitchcock’s recurrent and complicated use of “maternal super-egos” (as inPsycho), of male narcissism (Rear Window), of a violent “male protest” (Shadow of a Doubt) and the persistent figure of “Mother” as it informs all of the leading female characters in relation to their male counterparts’ desire for “Madonna/Harlot” figures.
Reading list:ܻ’sIntroductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis(Liveright), ܻ’sWritings on Art and Literature(Stanford University Press) and Robin Wood’sHitchcock’s Films Revisited(Columbia University Press).
Requirements:Weekly viewings of the films will be accompanied by class presentations and discussions, culminating in a final research project involving the psychoanalytical interpretation of at least one of Hitchcock’s films.