The Logic of Secular Confession

Confession is everywhere today. From the pages of the NY Times, to TV shows and magazines, the value that our culture places on the practice of baring one’s sins, shame and desire in public seems limitless. But what is confession? What does it mean to ‘confess’ in a secular context, and why does confessional narrative have such aesthetic power over us? In this course, we trace the history of secular confession as a literary genre from Rousseau to today, and explore its logic and aesthetics through novels, philosophy and psychoanalysis. We also ask how confessional discourse and its peculiar relation to the concept of ‘truth’ can inform our understanding of the present historical and political moment. Readings from Rousseau, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Svevo, Mishima, Duras, Szabó, Coetzee, Freud, Foucault. No pre-requisites.