HL8001_Grace Chia Krakovic_SEM1AY2013-2014
HL8001: Madness in Literature and Film
SEM1AY2015-2016
Instructor: Michelle Chiang
Meets: _______, ____- ____ , LT__
Email: mich.chiang@outlook.com
Consultation: In class or via email consultations.
Subject Description
This course looks at the ways in which “madness” is presented and interpreted in
selected literature and films from the late 19th century onwards. Through close
reading of literary and visual narratives, students will consider how representations of
mental illnesses are employed to critique aspects of society and challenge the
audience member or reader’s habitual framework of understanding. The depicted
mental illnesses in each work will be discussed in the contexts of existing constructs
of reality; the representation of women; societal expectations; sexual transgressions,
and the uses of technology.
Core texts available in the Opentrolley bookstore:
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar (1963), Perennial, 2005
J. G. Ballard, Crash (1973), with an introduction by Zadie Smith, Fourth Estate, 2014
Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997), Anchor Books, 1997
Core texts available on edveNTUre:
Antonin Artaud “To Have Done with the Judgment of God”, 1948
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, 1892
Secondary texts available on edveNTUre:
Excerpts from:
Michel Foucault’s Madness & Civilization
RD Laing’s The Divided Self
Sigmund Freud’s “Lecture XXXI The Dissection of the Psychical Personality”
Films (available in Business Library)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest directed by Miloš Forman (1975)
Breaking The Waves, directed by Lars von Trier (1996)
The Piano Teacher, directed by Michael Haneke (2001)
Spider, directed by David Cronenberg (2002)
Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese (2010)
Course Assessment
Coursework Essay (750 – 1000 words): 50%
- Essays due on_______________. Late essays will be marked down.
Final Exam: 50%
- Students to answer 2 questions, one on a film, another on a written text.
*Plagiarism will not be tolerated & will result in automatic failure of the course.
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HL8001_Grace Chia Krakovic_SEM1AY2013-2014
Tentative Lecture Schedule (subject to change)
Week
1
Topics
Lecture 1: Introduction
Readings
Overview of excerpts from
Michel Foucault’s Madness & Civilization,
RD Laing’s The Divided Self,
Sigmund Freud “Lecture XXXI The
Dissection of the Psychical Personality”
Film: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
directed by Milos Forman (1975)
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Lecture 2: The Institution I
3
Lecture 3: The Institution II
Radio play: Antonin Artaud’s ‘To Have
Done with the Judgement of God’ (1948)
4
Lecture 4: Gender & Confinement I
Short Story: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s
“The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892)
5
Lecture 5: Gender & Confinement II
Novel: Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar (1963)
6
Lecture 6: Expectations & Repression
Film: The Piano Teacher (2001), directed by
Michael Haneke
7
Lecture 7: Technology & Fetishism
Novel: J G Ballard, Crash (1973)
8
9
RECESS WEEK
Lecture 8: Reality as Construct
Novel: Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)
10
Essay Workshop
11
Lecture 9: The Divided Self & Trauma
Film: Spider (2002), directed by David
Cronenberg
12
Lecture 10: The Divided Self &
Schizophrenia
Film: Shutter Island (2010), directed by
Martin Scorsese
13
Lecture 11: Religion & Schizophrenia
Film: Breaking The Waves (1996), directed
by Lars von Trier
14
Review: Q&A
*Please Note:
Students are only required to write their essays and exam papers based on the CORE
TEXTS stipulated in the course syllabus. All SECONDARY TEXTS are meant for
supplementary reading to help students gain more expansive knowledge on the
subject material.
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