Psychoanalytic Studies MA

Birkbeck, University of London

The MA Psychoanalytic Studies provides you with a unique opportunity to critically explore the origins of psychoanalysis, its central concepts, and their application to areas of culture, society, history and politics. Starting with the foundational texts of Sigmund Freud, and tracing the development of psychoanalytic ideas from nineteenth-century Vienna to the global present, you will learn how psychoanalysis has come to provide one of the most important and controversial ways of understanding the forces that shape the mind, and the social and political worlds we live in. Why choose this course? You will be taught by internationally acclaimed, research-active scholars at the forefront of their field. This course has close links with the Institute of Psychoanalysis, one of the main training providers for psychoanalysts in the country, through its shared events and teaching staff. If you have strong clinical interests and the necessary experience, by choosing the Foundation Course at the Institute of Psychoanalysis as one of your option modules you will learn psychoanalytic theory from some of the most senior and eminent psychoanalysts in the country. What you will learn This course focuses on the interface between psychoanalysis as an evolving clinical practice, as a form of knowledge, and as a mode of critique. You will explore how psychoanalytic thought has been used to illuminate pressing social and political concerns, and examine the controversies that have surrounded its application outside the clinical setting. You will be introduced to the key psychoanalytic concepts in detail, starting with Freud and moving through the history of psychoanalysis to contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice. You will then critically assess the use of psychoanalysis to think about contemporary experiences of gender and sexuality, love and care, violence, war, racism and colonialism. How you will learn You can study this course full- or part-time. It has an evening timetable with classes taking place in the evening which may include lectures, seminars, small-group work and group tasks such as class presentations. We provide you with creative and accessible learning materials including pre-recorded lectures, films, radio broadcasts, artistic work and online resources. You will also be encouraged to seek out psychoanalytic events beyond Birkbeck to write about them regularly. You will devise your own independent research project, individually supervised by an expert in your area of interest. You will also choose option modules covering a wide variety of related areas to broaden your knowledge and skills, from race, empire and postcoloniality to mental health, past and present. This course is part of our Birkbeck Flexible Master’s UK, which gives you the choice of how you want to study - on campus, online or via flexible learning, which combines both. If you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to apply for the on-campus study option for this course. Online and flexible options will not be available to you because they may affect the conditions of your visa.