Sigmund Freud is another towering figure of the twentieth century who gets a bad press. But, like it or not, he gave us the language that we use when we speak about our personalities, early childhood development and mental health (he also provided PR and ad agencies with effective strategies for persuading us to, yes, go shopping). In this session, we’ll look at psychoanalysis as cultural theory; as a way of thinking about what we dream about, how we behave and how we learn to distinguish ourselves according to the roles we’re expected to play.

This session is part of our Introduction to Cultural Studies: Culture, Technology & Power, a free course and introduction to the subject taught by senior academics moonlighting from their day jobs at the University of East London. For more information on the course click here.