The themes may change from year to year, but the outline below gives an idea of the kinds of topics:
A. Analytical Psychology and Society
1. Politics and depth psychology: history and critique of the relationship between the two. Possibilities, problems, contemporary examples. Political and social roles of analysts and psychotherapists.
2. Economic theory, economic policy and models of human nature. Depth psychologist's assessment of 'alternative economics' (e.g. local exchange and trading schemes, social and emotional audit, Third World debt reduction, taxation of consumption, greening of production, sustainability).
3. Environment and depth psychology: contributions from Jungian and post-Jungian psychology to ecological discourse. Prospects for 'ecopsychology'. Critical discussion of 'ecofeminism' and 'ecomasculinism'.
4. Home, homecoming and the refugee experience. Dilemmas engendered in the refugee condition. The dependency syndrome and its political ramifications.
B. Analytical Psychology, Knowledge and Violence
1. Gnosticism old and new. The epistemology of gnosticism in modern society; political, religious and therapeutic dimensions.
2. From human destructiveness to atrocities. Violence and the psychologisation of evil.
C. Analytical Psychology, Gender and Sexuality
1. Masculinity: and femininity: constructing a multi-disciplinary approach. Prospects for change in male and female psychological role and performance. Relations between men and women, and parents and children. Aggression and violence.
2. Sexual orientation: history of depth psychological approaches to homosexuality. Homophobia and heterosexism. Discussion of viability of clinical approaches to homosexuality.
D. Analytical Psychology and Professionalisation
1. Organisational dimensions of analytical training and practice: ethical and therapeutic implications. The subversive and marginalised positions of psychotherapy in the context of the societal discourse of the expert. The mercenary model of psychotherapy.
2. The dialectics of pathologizing, and the care industry. De-pathologizing the political, and de-psychologizing human suffering.
This module is designed to appraise the applicability of Jungian and post-Jungian modes of enquiry in diverse social and cultural fields with special reference to selected pressing problems in contemporary Western societies. Current controversies and debates will be presented for evaluation from the perspective of Jungian and post-Jungian psychology. The relevance of the epistemological, ethical and clinical positions developed within the Jungian and post-Jungian traditions for those working in other fields will be elucidated. The wide diversity of topics covered in this course is deliberate; it is intended to explore the broad applicability of these theories whilst at the same time to illustrate the methodology of how general principles are applied to social and cultural issues.
- Module Supervisor: Orsolya Lukacs
