Franklin&Marshall College

MSS141:
Sleep & Dream

Keiper 104
291-4026
carolyn.fay@fandm.edu

Sleep and Dream: Theory, Representation, Imagination

Why do we sleep and why do we dream? Do dreams have a meaning? What is the relationship of sleep and dream to waking life? Who are we during this absent third of our lives? Despite the twentieth-century discoveries of REM sleep and circadian rhythms, sleep still mystifies and intrigues, as it has for centuries, providing fertile subject material for writers, artists and philosophers. In this course we will pursue a double route. 1) We will study the evolving path of sleep theory in the western world, from Aristotle to Freud to present day. 2) We will investigate strategies employed throughout the ages to represent sleep and dream. In addition to select readings on theories of sleep and dream, we will examine short stories, plays, essays and films which seek to render the sleep experience into something we can grasp. Throughout, we will consider the relationship between sleep and the creative imagination.

Preceptor: We are fortunate to have Erin Sipe as the Preceptor for MSS141. Erin will participate in class and help organize small group discussions. In addition she will be available outside of class to provide guidance on papers and projects, to discuss the readings, to show films, and to be a sounding-board for your ideas and questions.

Required Material (available at the Student Bookstore):

Additional Readings in Course Packet (available for purchase at CopyPrint)

On Edisk
Gautier. "The Mummy's Foot."

On Reserve (at ATS)
"Brazil" (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
"Abre los ojos" (Alejandro Amenábar, 1997)
"Vanilla Sky" (Cameron Crowe, 2001)
"The Matrix" (Wachowski Brothers, 1999)

Course Program:

January:
22: Introduction

What is Sleep? Why do we Dream? History and Theory
27: Lavie: The Enchanted World of Sleep: ch. 1-4 (pp.1-33); Klinkenborg (Course Packet)
29: Lavie: The Enchanted World of Sleep: ch. 5, 7-8; (pp.35-53; 65-88) Quiz

February:
3: "Young Doctor Freud." (PBS film, 2002)
5: Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams: ch. 1: A-D; ch. 2 (pp. 35-80; 128-54); Quiz
[ Questions ]

10: Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams: ch. 3-4 (pp.155-195);
[ Questions ]
12: Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams: ch. 6: A-B (pp. 311-344); Quiz
[ Questions ]

Do I Wake or Do I Dream?
17: Canceled due to snow
19: Gautier: "The Coffee Pot" (Course Packet); [ Questions ]; Dream Journal due
Oral Presentations (1 pg. summary) [ Paper Topics ]

24: Gautier: "The Dead in Love" (in Kessler) [ Questions ]
26: Gautier: "The Mummy's Foot" (on Edisk); [ Questions ]
Draft 1 of Paper due

March
3: Calderon: Life is a Dream: Act I [ Questions ]; Writing Workshop:
[Guidelines for Commenting Papers]
5: Calderon: Life is a Dream: Act II [Questions ]; Quiz

10: Calderon: Life is a Dream: Act III [ Questions ]; [Additional Questions for Dreaming in the Lotus]
12: "The Matrix [Questions];" Paper (final version) due

17: Spring break
19: Spring break

Dream, Madness and Double Life
24: Shakespeare: Macbeth: Acts I,II,III (pp. 6-115) [Questions]
26: Shakespeare: Macbeth: Acts IV, V (pp. 118-191); Dement (Course Packet); Lavie: pp. 208-212; [Questions] Quiz

31: Nerval: Aurélia (in Kessler): part 1; [Holmes (Course Packet): pp. 201-222=optional]. [Questions]; Quiz
April
2: Nerval: Aurélia (in Kessler): part 2; Oral Presentations (1 pg. summary)

7: "Brazil;" [Questions]; Dream Journal due: submit a 1pg. reflective statement
9: Palahniuk: Fight Club: ch.1-14 (pp.11-111); [Questions] Quiz

14: Palahniuk: Fight Club: ch.15-30 (pp. 112-208); [Questions]

Sleep, Dream and Creativity
16: Lavie: ch. 9; Project Report/Draft due; Meet in Shad-Fack.

21: "Open Your Eyes;"["Vanilla Sky"= optional][Questions]

SCHEDULE OF PRESENTATIONS
23: Final Project Presentations

28: Final Project Presentations
30: Final Project Presentations; distribution of final exam

Final Exam: TBA

Important Dates:

Grade Breakdown:

Requirements and Guidelines

1. Readings:
All readings must be completed for the date assigned on the syllabus. I will provide you with exact page numbers, or in some cases a list of scenes or sections. Readings will vary in length, but will generally not exceed 50 pages per class meeting. This means that you must start reading early and pace yourselves as you go, reading a little bit every day.

I may also post reading discussion questions on the Blackboard Web Site before each class meeting. Details to come.

2. Participation:
Regular contributions to class discussion are vital to your learning experience. Please do not hesitate to speak up in class, ask questions, try out an idea, agree or disagree with the class discussion. We are all here to learn and all ideas and opinions are worthy of attention. MSS141 is not a lecture class and although there are a lot of us, everyone will be expected to contribute to discussion as best as he or she can.

You are permitted two (2) no-questions-asked unexcused absences during the semester. After the second unexcused absence, your grade will be lowered accordingly. Any student with excessive absences may earn an F for the course.

If you must miss class due to illness, family emergency, participation in a varsity sport (letter from your coach required), or religious holiday, please notify me as soon as possible.

3. Weekly Quiz:
Nearly every week there will be a short quiz on the reading material. Usually these will be administered on Wednesdays and they will always be announced in class the Monday before. The purpose of the quiz is to ensure that everyone keeps up with the readings and to verify basic comprehension of the texts. At the end of the semester I will drop your lowest quiz score.

4. Dream Journal:
This is your opportunity to engage with the ideas and questions of this course in a very personal way. I ask each student to keep a semi-regular dream journal throughout the semester: write down any dreams you can remember, as often as you can. It is usually a good idea to keep a notebook by your bed so that you can jot them down as soon as you wake while they are still vivid in your memory.
Questions I will ask you periodically throughout the semester: what does it feel like to write down your dreams? What do you notice about them? Is it easy or difficult to remember the dream? to put it into words? How does your own experience of dreaming correlate to the theories and stories of dreams we read in this course?
**N.B.: Dreams are very personal. I will not read or grade the dream journals. I will not collect them. I will simply ask you to bring your journal in from time to time to show me that you are doing it. There is no required number of entries. Some people remember their dreams readily; for others it is rare that they remember any at all. If you dream-journal regularly, you may find that you remember more and more of your dreams. In short, this is an assignment where you get to decide how much you put into it and how much you get out of it. Think of it as an experiment. You never know what you may discover.

5. Group Work:
Once we've settled into the semester, I will divide the class into roughly 6 groups (of no more than 4 people each). As this is a large class, we will frequently break into these small groups for discussion, so that everyone gets a chance to participate. The groups will also work together on individuals' papers and projects. Twice during the semester, each student will make an informal oral presentation to his or her group. There are two scheduled "Workshop" days where you will discuss your rough drafts, help each other with writing, etc. The specific paper & project process is explained below.

6. Oral Presentations:
Each student will do two (2) informal oral presentations on their paper & project topics. Think of this as the "germination" period for your ideas. Each presentation should last no more than 10 minutes. As part of your presentation, you will also write a one-page informal paper about your ideas which you will submit to me or Erin. You will receive specific instructions in a few weeks.

7. Papers and Projects:
Each student will write one analytical paper of 5-6 pages and will complete one creative project by the end of the semester. I will provide you with a list of possible topics for the paper as well as guidelines for the paper's format. We will follow a three-step process for paper-writing:

Step 1: Present the seeds of your ideas to your group in the form of a 10-minute oral presentation. You will also write a 1-page summary to submit to me or Erin. This may be very informal, but it should be typed and double-spaced. The idea is to get your thoughts out on paper to help you think them through.

Step 2: Write the first draft of the paper and submit copies to me and the other members of your group. On the workshop day, the groups will discuss each rough draft, ask questions, etc. Using your group's comments, as well as ones I or Erin may provide, you will revise the paper.

Step 3: Final revisions-- turn the polished product into me.

All drafts should be typed and double-spaced. The paper grades will reflect your work throughout each stage of the writing process, as well as the attention and care you give to your colleagues' work. Please note the due dates on the syllabus for all drafts. Grades will be lowered for papers submitted after the deadlines.

8. Final Project:
The creative project (for lack of a better term) will be much more open than the paper. The idea is this: all semester we will encounter stories, plays, films, art and perhaps even music that seek to tell us something about the elusive states of sleep and dream. For the final project, it will be your turn. You may write a short story, make a short film, direct a scene of a play, compose a piece of music or a song, paint a picture, write a collection of poems, design a Web Site, write a computer program--create anything that simultaneously makes the viewer, audience, etc. engage with the questions of sleep and dream.

During the final two days of the semester, each student will make a brief presentation of his or her project to the class and hand in to me a short written "preface" which will explain the goal of the piece, how it relates to the themes and questions we have discussed, etc.

We will brainstorm ideas for the projects during the semester and after spring break I will provide you with more specific guidelines. But you can start to think about this now and I encourage you to talk to me about your ideas. Sleep and dream have long been associated with creativity and imagination. This project should indeed allow you to put theory to practice.

9. Final Exam:
The final exam will be a take-home exam, distributed on the last day of class. Final due date to be annonced.

10. Academic Integrity:
The boon of readily available information on the Internet requires all members of the academic community to be clear and precise about citing sources used for written and oral assignments. In general, in MSS141 you will be writing and talking about your own ideas and will not spend time reading and researching secondary criticism, other than what is assigned on the syllabus.
Nonetheless, please be advised that you must credit all sources, whether print or digital, that you use in your work. I will provide you with the suitable format for citations during the semester.