S Subject and Culture Contemporary Intellectual Polemics (KPKS, Teil I/II) (080306-SoSe22)

Psychoanalysis has always conceptualized subjective suffering in the context of the social and cultural conditions through which it comes into being. This impossible torsion between the Innenwelt and the Umwelt has been at the centre of a multiplicity of pressing debates that shaped our modern understanding of the nature and causes of individual behaviour in social situations. This seminar introduces the students to several intellectual debates that intersect the contemporary study of subjectivity and culture. The seminar goes through several way stations in the history of Western intellectual thought, starting with the birth of modern philosophy and ending with contemporary post-structuralist and postmodern thought. An emphasis is put on different perspectives on human nature, subjectivity, consciousness, and the relationship between the individual and the social. The seminar is divided into two major topics: “Subject Theory” and “Cultural and Social Theory”, both presenting complimentary perspectives on the relationship between subjectivity and culture. Another major goal is to demonstrate the crucial value these intellectual debates hold for psychologists today. Preparatory reading of basic texts is required.