This course provides a limited introduction to psychoanalysis and its impact on twentieth century literary and cultural studies. No ten week course could possibly synthesize the diverse origins and trends attributed to psychoanalytic thought, so we will simply touch on some of the field's basic tenets and key disputes. This course is divided into two parts. The first half of the course focuses on the work of Sigmund Freud, with some discussion of Sándor Ferenczi, Melanie Klein, and Joan Riviere. This section will include selected commentators on Freud, possibly including Judith Butler, Ranjana Khanna, Ruth Leys, and Alys Weinbaum. The second half of the course focuses on the work of Jacques Lacan. This section will include selected commentators on Lacan, possibly including Louis Althusser, Joan Copjec, Kaja Silverman, and Slavoj Zizek. Students will be expected to write one 5 page review of a work of psychoanalytic criticism in their own field and one 12-15 page paper on a relevant debate in psychoanalytic theory.