Course Outline

CSTC 9635 B: Letter, Trace, Archive: Freud, Lacan, and Derrida on the Signifier in Psychoanalysis This is a provisional course outline. The final version of this document will be distributed at the first session of the seminar. Tuesday 3:30-6:30 pm Matthew Rowlinson, UC 265 [email protected] Office Hours: Mon. 10-12, Tu 11-12, and by appt.

At the center of this course will be the readings of Freud to be found in the work of Lacan and Derrida. From his work in the 1960’s on, Derrida was influenced by Lacan’s return to the letter of Freud’s text, but he also rapidly emerged as a forceful critic of the binary concept of sexual difference at the foundation of the Lacanian and Freudian analysis of culture and of the apparent logocentrism of psychoanalysis’ privileging of speech. In his late writing, Derrida incorporates into his critique of Lacan a deconstruction of the latter’s privileging of human speech by contrast to the animal trace. With these concerns at its center, the course will read major works of Freud on language, the trace, and repetition, including selections from The Interpretation of Dreams, "The Uncanny," Beyond the Pleasure Principle and "Note on the Mystic Writing Pad." We will read important works of Lacan from the 1950’s and 60’s, including the “Seminar on the Purloined Letter” (and the story of Poe on which it comments), “The Instance of the Letter in the Unconscious,” “Speech and Language in Psychoanalysis,” and selections from The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, and a selection of Derrida's writing on Freud and Lacan including “Freud and the Scene of Writing,” "The Factor of Truth,” “Psyché,” Archive Fever and concluding with The Animal that Therefore I am. The works we will cover remain foundational for the study of cultural memory, trauma, and repetition; gender; language and the unconscious; and the question of the animal. This course should be of value to students working in any of these fields. Required Books: Lacan, Écrits: The First Complete Edition in English. Trans. Bruce Fink. Norton. ISBN 0393329259 Derrida, The Animal That Therefore I Am. Trans. M-L Mallet. Fordham. ISBN 082322791X Derrida, Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression. Chicago ISBN 0226143678 Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams. Trans James Strachey. Basic Books. ISBN 0465019773. Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Norton. ISBN 0393007693 Recommended Books:

Lacan, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis Muller and Richardson, eds. The Purloined Poe. Schedule: Week 1 Jan 7: Introductions. Week 2 Jan 14: The Interpretation of Dreams Chapters 2-4 (pp. 128-95) Chapter 6 A B C D I (pp. 311-85, 526-46) Week 3 Jan 21: Interpretation of Dreams, Chapter 7 (pp. 547-660). “A Note on the Mystic Writing Pad.” Week 4 Jan 28: Beyond the Pleasure Principle Week 5 Feb 4: Freud, The Uncanny. E.T.A Hoffman, “The Sandman.” Week 6 Feb 11: Lacan: “Function and Field of Speech and Language in Psychoanalysis.” Derrida: From Of Grammatology, “…That dangerous supplement” Week 7 Feb 25: Lacan, “The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious,” Week 8 Mar 4: Derrida. “Freud and the Scene of Writing,” “Resistances.” Week 9 Mar 11: Lacan. “The Mirror Stage” “Seminar on the Purloined Letter” E. A. Poe, “The Purloined Letter” Week 10 Mar 18 Derrida, “The Factor of Truth.” Week 11 Mar 25 Lacan, selection from The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (Seminar XI) Week 12 April 1: Derrida, Archive Fever Week 13 April 8: Derrida, The Animal that therefore I am

Assignments:-- A 5000 word paper on a topic of your choice will be due one week after our last meeting, on April 15; please choose your topic as early as possible in consultation with me. You may if you wish submit a formal description of your paper topic any time up to March 25 and I will return it with comments. The finished paper is to be submitted as if for publication, with full scholarly apparatus. --A 1200-1500 word paper on an assigned topic to be submitted February 4. --During the course of the term, each member of the seminar will discuss a specific topic or problem in one of the readings in a presentation to the group. You should each choose a topic and presentation date in consultation with me as early as possible in the term. The week before your presentation, you will announce your topic to the group. In your presentation, you should plan to speak for no more than 20 minutes, laying out your own approach to your topic. Following your prepared presentation, you should lead a discussion.

--Throughout the term, and above all, read the material assigned on the syllabus and come to class prepared to discuss it, and to ask and answer questions about it. Evaluation:--45% of your overall grade will be determined by the final paper. --15% of your grade will be determined by the first paper. --25 % of your grade will be determined by your presentation. --15% of your grade will be determined by my evaluation of your participation in and contribution to the seminar. In determining this portion of your grade, I will consider the quality of your attention to and interventions in class discussion, and of your preparations for class. Further, this portion of the grade will be forfeited by any student with more than two unexcused absences from class. If medical or other circumstances affect your participation in the seminar, please discuss them with me. As circumstances warrant, I will excuse you from class and make whatever arrangements are possible to help you keep up with our work, without penalty to your grade. Statement on Academic Offences: Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/scholastic_discipline_grad.pdf