15. The Postmodern Psyche

Introduction to Theory of Literature (ENGL 300)

In this lecture on the postmodern psyche, Professor Paul Fry explores the work of Gilles Deleuze, and Felix Guattari. and Slavoj Žižek. The notion of the "postmodern" is defined through the use of examples in the visual arts and architecture. Deleuze and Guattari's theory of "rhizomatic" thinking and their intellectual debts are elucidated. Žižek's film criticism, focused on the relation between desire and need, is explored in connection with Lacan.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Žižek, Deleuze, and the Political
08:37 - Chapter 2. What Is Postmodernism?
16:22 - Chapter 3. Postmodernism, Doubt, and Vision
22:52 - Chapter 4. Dehumanization
28:31 - Chapter 5. Deleuze, Guattari, and Lacan
35:16 - Chapter 6. The Rhizome
39:25 - Chapter 7. Žižek
46:53 - Chapter 8. Holbein's The Ambassadors
50:08 - Chapter 9. Language and Desire

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2009.