PSY4353/5353 Psychology in Literature

Summer, 2007

 

Professor: Dr. Travis Langley                Office: McBrien Hall Room 301-F, 230-5222, langlet@hsu.edu

 

PSY 5353. Psychology in Literature. Psychological study of literature, exploring its structure, function, and psychological value. Topics of discussion include symbolism, the purpose of storytelling, application of psychological theories and concepts, different literary genres, accuracy in the depiction of psychological variables and mental health professionals, how writing and reading reflect cognitive processes, and the therapeutic value of literature. Character analyses involve examination of personality, mental illness, developmental issues, conflicts, and motivation. This course counts as an interdisciplinary elective for Henderson's Master of Liberal Arts program.

 

QUIZZES ON READINGS

 

You will take a number of short quizzes over your assigned readings. The quizzes will collectively add up to count the same as one test. There will be no makeup quizzes.

 

EXAMS

 

There will be one 40-point test covering lecture notes, assigned readings, and class discussion (or two 20-point tests if you'd rather do it that way).

 

GRADING

 

Test questions range in difficulty to get an accurate idea of exactly how much you know and understand about the course material. I do not feel it is right to establish a curve based on the highest grade in the class, in which case only one score would determine everyone's grade. The scale on the 40‑point test (although bonus credit makes them worth more than 40) is simply this:

 

A 35.1 ‑‑>         B 30.1 ‑ 35.0         C 25.1 ‑ 30.0          D 20.1 ‑ 25.0          F <‑‑ 20.0

 

PARTICIPATION

 

A participation grade will be based on attendance, appropriate involvement in classroom discussions (contributing without monopolizing), and demonstrations that you know your assigned readings. This grade will be equal to one test. It will be weighed more heavily for people who are not doing what they are supposed to do or maybe for someone who has participated exceptionally well.

 

You will read the things you're supposed to read. Discussions can be fun and interesting if everyone has read the same things. Discussions would be painful chores if they haven't. Do it.

 

ATTENDANCE

 

Be here.

 

PROJECTS

 

Character creation (40 points). Create a fictional character. Keep a notebook in which you elaborate on that character's nature and history. Flesh the character out along the way by relating him/her/it to different concepts covered in the course material. For example, you will assess your character for each of the Big Five personality factors.

 

Character analysis (40 points). Analyze a famous literary character. Keep a notebook in which you relate that character to concepts covered in the course. By midterm, you will draft a paper about him/her/it as analyzed up to that time. At the course's end, you will turn in an APA style paper presenting your complete character analysis. Graduate students will also present this paper to the class in PowerPoint format.

Examples: 2007 students analyzed Ahab, Huck Finn, Chillingworth, Daisy Miller, Hamlet, Iago, and Romeo.

 

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

By the end of the course, the student should be able to . . .

 

1. Examine themes that are psychologically significant in works of literature.

2. Describe how literature can be used in therapeutic, healing, or educational ways.

3. Describe what psychology says about literature and what literature says about psychology.

4. Tender literary examples of characters who embody different personality attributes and how they may illustrate theories of personality.

5. Describe at least one literary example of a character with a mental disorder and be able to give examples of how the disorder was presented.

6. Describe ways in which literature has a powerful impact on stereotyping in the area of culture, gender or ethnicity.

 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

 

As a learning community of scholars, Henderson State University emphasizes the ethical responsibility of all its members to seek knowledge honestly and in good faith. Students are responsible for doing their own work, and academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Violations of academic integrity include but are not limited to cheating, plagiarism, or misrepresentation of information in oral or written form. Such violations will be dealt with severely by the instructor, the dean, and the standards committee. Plagiarism means presenting someone else's idea or writing as if it were your own. If you use someone else's idea or writing, be sure the source is clearly documented. Other guidelines for acceptable student behavior are specified in the university catalogue.

 

EXAMPLES OF ASSIGNED READINGS

 

Literature

 

short story "Memento Mori"

play Hamlet or Othello by William Shakespeare

play Hedda Gaebler by Henrik Ibsen

novel Frankenstein or Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - take your pick

 

a psychological thriller – your choice subject to my approval

a fairy tale

a comic book

a comic strip

two poems

 

Meta-literature (literature analyzing literature)

 

Harper, P., & Gray, M. (1997). Maps and meaning in life and healing. From K. N. Dwivedi (Ed.), The therapeutic use of stories, pp. 42-63. London, England: Routledge.

 

Oatley, K. (1999). Why fiction may be twice as true as fact: Fiction as cognitive and emotional simulation. Review of General Psychology, 3, 101-117.

 

Smith, R. (1995). Is bibliotherapy helpful? From Challenging your preconceptions: Thinking critically about psychology, pp. 103-112.

 

Zunshine, L. (2006, November/December). Why we read fiction. The Skeptical Inquirer 30 (6), 29-33.