Course Descriptions
CTMP 4301 Freud, Lacan and the Critique of Psychoanalysis
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Is psychoanalysis a medical practice, a method of interpretation, or an account of the social symbolic? The modern skepticism about consciousness and conscious life is most thoroughly voiced in psychoanalytic thought as first developed by Freud and pursued in the work of Jacques Lacan. This course will consider the question of the modern psyche, the nature of symbolic practices in art and literature, and the construction of libidinal economies in society. The central question of the course will concern the way in which the individual subject is incorporated in symbolic practices. The recent attacks on Freud and Freudian methodologies will also be considered.
FORMAT: Seminar
CTMP 4302 French Feminist Theory
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course will concentrate on some of feminism's most challenging voices, those that emerged from France at the end of the last century Kristeva, Cixous and Irigaray. The course will attempt to illuminate the intellectual background against which these women write, particularly in the areas of linguistic and anthropological structuralism, and in psychoanalytic theory. The course will be organized in part by the historical evolution of feminist thought, in part by the consideration of central feminist concerns.
FORMAT:
CROSS-LISTING:
GWST 4402.03
EXCLUSIONS: Former CTMP 2030.06 and 4300.06
CTMP 4315 Psychoanalysis and Politics
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Freudian psychoanalysis and its Lacanian successor have added new dimensions to the analysis of contemporary political issues. In the mid-twentieth century Sigmund Freud’s theory of the unconscious was drawn upon to supplement liberal and Marxist analyses of fascism. Lacanian psychoanalysis has recently been employed in the understanding of nationalism, ethnic conflict and religious fundamentalism through such categories as identification, recognition and trauma. The course will begin with some key texts by Freud and Lacan, and then move to a consideration of recent examples of the conjunction of psychoanalytic and political theory.
FORMAT: Seminar
CTMP 4330 Ethics after the Holocaust
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Shortly after World War II ended, thinkers such as Arendt, Adorno, and Buber reflected on the causes of the genocide and its impact on humanity. It has taken decades, however, for others (such as Fackenheim, Habermas or Derrida) to confront "Auschwitz." In this course, we will inquire into the challenges the Holocaust poses to philosophy, and to ethics in particular. The thinkers discussed reflect on the collapse of traditional ethical systems in the wake of National Socialism. In various ways and in different religious and cultural contexts, they try to find an alternative moral foundation "after Auschwitz".
FORMAT: Seminar
CTMP 4340 Giants of 20th Century Jewish Thought
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course introduces students to a constellation of seminal 20th Century Jewish thinkers and writers – Franz Kafka, Gershom Scholem, Franz Rosenzweig, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, and Abraham Heschel – and examines their enduring significance, not only for Jewish thought but for contemporary developments in literature, theology, and political theory.
FORMAT:
EXCLUSIONS:
CTMP 4415.03 for the 2018/19 academic year only and
CTMP 4410.03 for the 2020/21 academic year only
CTMP 4410 Special Topics in Contemporary Social and Political Thought in the 20th Century
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The Special Topics courses focus on one author or one particular school of thought in an interdisciplinary context.
NOTES: No more than two special topics courses (one full credit) can be taken for credit towards the Contemporary Studies Program. Students can enrol only once in
CTMP 4410.03.
FORMAT: Seminar
PREREQUISITES: Students must complete at least 2 years of university study (minimum 10 full credits) prior to enrollment.
CTMP 4411 Special Topics in Contemporary Science and Technology
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The Special Topics courses focus on one author or one particular school of thought in an interdisciplinary context. Topics very each year.
NOTES: No more than two special topics courses (one full credit) can be taken for credit towards the Contemporary Studies Program. Students can enrol only once in
CTMP 4411.03.
FORMAT: Seminar
PREREQUISITES: Students must complete at least 2 years of university study (minimum 10 full credits) prior to enrollment.
CTMP 4415 Special Topics in Contemporary Aesthetic and Critical Theories
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The Special Topics courses focus on one author or one particular school of thought in an interdisciplinary context. Topics vary each year.
NOTES: No more than two special topics courses (one full credit) can be taken for credit towards the Contemporary Studies Program. Students can enrol only once in
CTMP 4415.03.
FORMAT: Seminar
PREREQUISITES: Students must complete at least 2 years of university study (minimum 6 full credits) prior to enrollment.
CTMP 4456 Honours Thesis Seminar in Contemporary Studies Part 2
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Students intending to complete an honours thesis in CSP are required to register in the Honours Thesis Seminar Part 2. One seminar will be held during the winter term in preparation for a thesis defence that takes place in March. Students will work individually with thesis supervisors on completing their theses. Students are required to submit drafts and final copies of the theses by the deadlines specified in the “Honours Thesis Memo.”
FORMAT: Seminar
PREREQUISITES: Approval of Director required.
CTMP 0456 &
CTMP 4456 must be taken in the same academic year to fulfill the requirements of the CTMP Combined Honours degree.
EXCLUSIONS: CTMP 0455X/Y,
CTMP 0457
CTMP 4510 Independent Readings in Contemporary Studies
CREDIT HOURS: 3
In a reading course the student is assigned to a member of staff for regular meetings to discuss readings in a selected area. Papers and research projects are expected.
NOTE: Course Details listed here also apply to
CTMP 4511/CTMP 4515.
FORMAT COMMENTS: Individual instruction
PREREQUISITES: Honours registration in Contemporary Studies and permission of the instructor and director.
CTMP 4511 Independent Readings
CREDIT HOURS: 3
See
CTMP 4510.
PREREQUISITES: Honours registration in Contemporary Studies and permission of the instructor and director.