Seminar XI of Jacques Lacan with Todd McGowan

Seminar XI is Jacques Lacan’s first and only attempt to formulate a comprehensive theory of subjectivity that follows from the discovery of psychoanalysis. We will read Lacan’s Seminar XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, with the aim of grasping this seminar’s importance both for Lacan’s thought and for the understanding of desiring subjectivity. Each meeting of the course will carefully work through the sessions of the seminar in order to clarify what Lacan is saying and what’s at stake in his claims. The course will cover the philosophical stakes at play in the seminar while paying close attention to Lacan’s singular way of formulating his ideas (including how the English translation can render them more obscure).

Tier 1: AUDIT: Access to the lecture Zoom calls + 6 months of access to the lecture recordings and the forum. 

Tier 2: LONG-TERM BUY-IN: Everything from Tier 1 + Long-term buy-in and access to the course, forum, and lectures.

Tier 3: CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: Everything from Tiers 1 & 2 + Direct constructive critical feedback from Dave (via voice messages and/or marked up reviews of your assignments). This includes the writer’s workshop and office hours package.

Tier 4: ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY: Everything from Tiers 1-3 + (1) Access to any of the live and recorded exegetical reading sessions of this text that Dave will do + (2) Two 1-on-1 Zoom calls with Dave. The first is to be scheduled while the course is ongoing, and the second is to be conducted after the course is over, for a constructive criticism session dealing with your final project.