GOVT175C CM - Psychoanalysis and Politics

This course examines how the discipline of psychoanalysis can prove useful in the understanding of political behavior and political thinking. Concern with the relation between psychological investigation and political activity has a long history, and goes back to the portrayal of Achilles in The Iliad and Suetonius’ investigation of perverse leadership in The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. In its modern form it originates in Freud’s 1921 essay, “Mass Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego.” In the realm of political science, Harold Lasswell (Psychopathology and Politics) studied politics through psychoanalytic ideas, and he has been followed by many other political analysts.

Prerequisite: GOVT 020 CM

Offered: Occasionally

Credit: 1

Course Number: GOVT175C CM