This module examines the interaction between psychology and German literature in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We will analyse a selection of literary texts that have either been inspired by psychological findings or have been the subject of psychological interpretations. This will not only give an insight in the psychological theories of literature, but also help to understand the formation of psychology as a science in the second half of the nineteenth century and the crucial role literature played for the development of psychoanalysis around 1900. At the same time, the module will investigate some of the ways in which psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic theories influenced the work of major writers such as Arthur Schnitzler, Stefan Zweig and Hermann Hesse.

Reading List/ Suggested Reading:


Introductory Reading (Suggested Reading):

Dawson, Terence: ‘Jung, literature, and literary criticism’. In: The Cambridge companion to Jung, eds.
 Polly Young-Eisendrath and Terence Dawson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 255-280.
 Marcus, Laura/ Ankhi Mukherjee: A Concise Companion to Psychoanalysis, Literature, and Culture (Chichester: Wiley & Sons, 2014).
 Rowland, Susan: C.G. Jung in the Humanities. Taking the Soul’s Path (New Orleans: Spring Journal
 Books, 2010), pp. 47-76.
 Vine, Steven: Literature in Psychoanalysis. A Practical Reader (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005).
 Wright, Elisabeth: Psychoanalytic Criticism. A Reappraisal, second edition (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998).
Set texts:

Sacher-Masoch, Leopold von: Venus im Pelz (Frankfurt am Main: Insel 1980).
 Jensen, Wilhelm: Gradiva. Ein pompejanisches Phantasiestück. In: Sigmund Freud, Der Wahn und die
 Träume in W. Jensens ‚Gradiva‘ mit der Erzählung von Wilhelm Jensen (Fischer, 1999).
 Kubin, Alfred: Die andere Seite. Ein phantastischer Roman (Hamburg: rororo, 2010).
 Schnitzler, Arthur: Traumnovelle (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2010).
 Zweig, Stefan: ‘Verwirrung der Gefühle’. In: Verwirrung der Gefühle. Erzählungen (Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 2009), pp. 183-280.
 Hesse, Hermann: Der Steppenwolf (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2007).
 Jahnn, Hans Henny: Medea (Reclam, 1986).
Please note: This module description is accurate at the time of publication. Minor amendments may be made prior to the start of the academic year.