An interdisciplinary team-taught course dealing with the application of three major psychological theories to the interpretation of major literary works is described. Two important features of the course were: (a) the use of literature as the basis for extended theoretical analysis of human behavior, and (b) the application of a more sophisticated approach to the psychological interpretation of literary works. Student reactions over 2 years indicate that these objectives are being realized. This course has been a highly successful component of an integrated liberal arts curriculum.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BennettS. M. (1985). Coordinated teaching of psychology and composition: A valuable strategy for students and instructors. Teaching of Psychology, 12, 26–27.
2.
ChopinK. (1976). The awakening: An authoritative text, contexts, criticism.New York: Norton. (Original work published 1899).
3.
FreudS. (1963). Analysis of a phobia in a five-year-old boy. In RieffP. (Ed.), The sexual enlightenment of children (pp. 47–183). New York: Collier Books.
4.
HallC. S.LindzeyG. (1978). Theories of personality (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.
5.
IbsenH. (1965). A doll's house. In FjeldeR. (Ed. and Trans.), Four major plays (pp. 39–114). New York: New American Library. (Original work published 1879).
6.
LawrenceD. H. (1968). Sons and lovers.New York: Viking. (Original work published 1913).
7.
LeaheyT. H. (1980). A history of psychology.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
8.
MayR. (1962). Introduction. In SartreJ. P.BranesH. (Trans.), Existential psychoanalysis (pp. 1–17). Chicago: Henry Regnery.
9.
OrwellG. (1961). Nineteen eighty-four.New York: New American Library. (Original work published 1949).
10.
ScheirerC. J.RogersA. M. (1985). The undergraduate psychology curriculum: 1984.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
11.
ShakespeareW. (1963). In HublerE. (Ed.), Hamlet.New York: New American Library. (Text based on Second Quarto of 1604).
12.
SkinnerB. F. (1948). Walden two.New York: MacMillan.
13.
SkinnerB. F. (1969). Contingencies of reinforcement: A theoretical analysis.New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
14.
Sophocles (1949). The Oedipus cycle (FittsD.FitzgeraldR., Trans.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
15.
WolpeJ.RachmanS. (1960). Psychoanalytic evidence: A critique based on Freud's case of Little Hans. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 130, 135–148.