Seminar 8
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2002-2003 Schedule
 

Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society
 

presents
 

Heather Hirschfeld, Ph.D.
 

THE PAST AND FUTURE OF
PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM OF HAMLET
 

Saturday, March 29, 2003
9:15 AM - 12:45 PM
 

Medical Conference Room #1
Fort Sanders Medical Center
19th Street and Clinch Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37919
 

Welcoming Mental Health
Professionals of All Disciplines
 

SCHEDULE
9:15 AM Registration
9:30 AM Lecture and Discussion
11:00 AM Break
11:15 AM Lecture and Discussion
12:45 PM Complete Evaluations
 

SEMINAR OVERVIEW
This seminar will be dedicated to puzzling out the multiple relationships of psychoanalysis and Shakespeare's Hamlet, thus hinting at the multiple relationships between psychoanalysis and literary criticism more generally.  The program consists of three parts or "stages."  The first will be an introduction to and overview of the history of psychoanalytic criticism of Hamlet.  The second stage will open things up to conversation: group members will be asked to discuss the trajectory of uses and interpretations of the play as well as to engage in a discussion about how they see Hamlet, which seems to serve our culture as a kind of icon or emblem of the "psychological," functioning in their work or thought.  The final stage will be a more formal literary "reading" of the play based upon the presenter's recent work, which considers the way the protagonist, and the series of vengeful repetitions within which he is caught, can be seen as part of a traumatic symptomatology attendant on the inculcation of a belief in Original Sin.  The paper thus gestures to new opportunities for bringing psychoanalytic criticism together with issues of religion.  Note: Participants are strongly encouraged to attend a screening of Lawrence Olivier's film version of the play at the home of Jim Gorney and Bev Gibbons Friday evening, March 21 from 8 - 10 PM (please arrive by 7:45 PM). 
 

SEMINAR GOALS
Upon completion of the workshop, participants should be able to:
  1. To become familiar with a historic stretch of psychoanalytic criticism of Hamlet, and thus to become aware of the changing intersections of psychoanalysis and literary studies over the century.
  2. To pair this historic stretch with the development of psychoanalytic theory and practice in America, thus seeing the conjunctions and divergences of the literary critical field with the discipline of psychoanalysis.
  3. To explore new avenues for using psychoanalytic reading techniques to understand sympathetically as well as critically certain forms of religiosity.
 

PRESENTER
Heather Hirschfeld, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the English Department at the University of Tennessee, who has been interested in psychoanalysis and its intersections with literary studies since she was an undergraduate at Princeton University, from which she graduated in 1990.  She received her Ph.D. from Duke University in 1998, taught in a visiting position at Case Western Reserve University for two years, and came in the Fall of 2000 to Tennessee, where she specializes in the literature of the English Renaissance, particularly Shakespeare and the drama.  Dr. Hirschfeld's first book, on collaborative playwriting in the early 1600s, is forthcoming from the University of Massachusetts Press (2003) and her essay on Hamlet, trauma, and Original Sin is forthcoming in Shakespeare Quarterly.
 

PARTICIPANTS
This seminar is open to all APS members and interested mental health professionals who are not members.  It is not limited to individuals practicing in a predominately psychoanalytic mode.
 

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Continuing education credits (3.0 credit hours) will be offered by the Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society.  Upon completion of workshop evaluation form, a certificate will be provided.  This serves as documentation of attendance for all participants.  Psychologists will have their participation registered through Division 39.  Division 39 is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists.  Division 39 maintains responsibility for the program.