The class was very interesting and compelling. I felt I learned much more than in other classes because the subject was presented in such a fascinating way and we were free to use a wide variety of materials when searching for information. The seminars had a good mix of lecture/ student participation- Overall, an excellent class with good, solid background on the theories of Freud, Jung, and Lacan.
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I thought the course was extremely well structured, very interesting and well organised, I really enjoyed it!!. The lectures were clear and therefore I was able to understand all the complex theories thoroughly.
The workshop was interesting, and I enjoyed working in a group, producing a presentation as a team, and admiring the end result!!
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A very good course. Interesting and well structured. Intend to apply the theories I have learnt. Actually, this was one of the most engaging courses I have followed at university.
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This course is certainly mind-expanding and makes a refreshing change from the dominant approach of the English department-that of simply read the text and throw in some literary criticism.
You have to be prepared to reject all your assumptions about psychoanalysis, and I really think that this course is a massive learning experience. As to the structure of the sessions, it would have been nice to spend longer on Lacan.
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the course is really interesting and it will really help us to pass our theory exam in january.
i think that the layout and the structure of the course is really clear and helpful.
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Interesting and informative. I t was particularly good that we applied the theories to specific works of literature , as this was both challenging and useful for the course as a whole. The presentations were interesting, although getting up at nine on a Sunday didn't put me in the best of moods. I generally enjoyed the course and felt that I learned a lot from it.
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I found the course extremely interesting and without wishing to sound melodramatic I learnt a lot about myself. It was the best course I have taken at university, my degree is down the tube but its courses like this that that make the degree seem secondary
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One of the most enjoyable and enlightening courses I have taken on the English course. The theories were very thought provoking and I think I have become more self-aware since taking the course. I wish we could have spent more time on Lacan and female french theorists, but we had a lot to cram in. The course does require a good general knowledge of literature so that you can find relevant texts to analyse. The presentation was a good idea as it encouraged team work and starting the essay early. Thanks Tom!
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Thoroughly interesting course from which I have learned a lot. Clearly structured and final presentation effectively brought everything together in an innovative way. Many of the theories learnt on this course can usefully be applied to other modules, therefore relevant as well as interesting.
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So much to learn so little time, springs to mind. The course has set up a process of inquiry, wanting to know more about the three main theorists. A helpful introduction, a point to journey from. Ties in so well with tai chi, would recommend that as part of the syllabus!
Feel Lacan very much passed me by, invariably relate better to the theorist used in the presentation.
Presentation worthwhile, in spite of workload. Provides a sense of what everyone has achieved and learnt.
Gives a handle on psychoanalysis which seemed inaccessible beforehand.
A strong sense of wanting to know more.....
Provides a real sense of perspective re - life the universe etc, helps confirm own philosophy.
Nice that there is no pressure to agree with theorists.
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Interesting to have the chance to go over again what we only really touched upon in the theories section of the first year course - the course has really inspired me to get into the later Jungian stuff - it seems to apply to practically every bit of mass culture the late 20th century has produced!
Equally, a greater knowledge of these ideas has given me the confidence to apply the theories to the world around us too - if the Princess Diana hype of the last few months is not evidence of the archetypal characteristics of a nation coming out under the pressure of hysteria, then I don't know what is.....
On the structure of the course;
Seminars were occasionally fun but I didn't feel the group bonded as much as we could have - might be an idea to have a 'get to know you' sesh earlier on which would have made the grouping for the presentations easier...
Tom was very eager to listen to any new ideas in the seminars which is always encouraging..
Correspondence course useful in making sure you keep up with the work...
In the end, I felt the presentation workshop brought the course together very nicely and ended on a nice social high.
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Thanks a lot for this very interesting course! I really enjoyed it. The course access in the internet was very useful. Also to hand in the homework via email is quite progressive. There could have been less Freud and instead more focus on Lacan. I feel that I don't know enough about his theory, but I'll probably do more on it during the Christmas holiday.
The idea of the project is a very good one, especially as one practises presentation techniques, which I consider very important. Every course should teach more interesting presentation techniques than just reading a seminar paper.
So, last but not least I say: great, continue this course in the following years!!
Thanks!
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Having done a theory course last semester I wasn't too sure about whether there would be a lot of overlapping but it turned out that this course went into a lot of detail on the three main theorists of the mind and explained much that was not too clear before.
I think it was a good idea that we HAD to prepare work for every seminar as that kept the interest level high as well as ensuring that I did actually work. I think the intermittent lectures also helped to achieve this as well as being very practical and useful.
The correspondence course was helpful and I especially liked the idea of still being able to keep up with what was happening even when not being able to attend a seminar for whatever reason. Being able to go back and refresh my memory on aspects of each theorist was helpful, although I am not sure whether being put on the spot is always a good thing, especially if all points that are relevant to your understanding of something have already been made. It can cause tenuous links to be made.
On the whole it was a useful, informative and thoroughly enjoyable course. Thank you very much!
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A good introduction to the theories of Freud, Jung and Campbell, but a knowledge of Lacan was not encouraged to the extent it might have been. The lack of a 'dictionary task' allowed one to walk away from Lacan without even trying to understand it. I personally found the other 'dictionary tasks' useful for discovering both the meanings of individual terms and the interdependent relationship between terms.
With regards to the workings of the course, the Correspondence Course effectively discouraged laziness and provided a second chance, and the Presentation format encouraged an in-depth discussion of a particular subject and provided a useful communion of ideas.
I feel I have learn things about the theorists and things about myself.
Thank you.
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I thought that this course was probably the most interesting and informative one that I have done so far in the second year, there were times however when I found it very difficult but I think that the teaching made it as easy as it could have been and the rest was left up to us, I would recommend it to anyone!