HSCI-235: The Dream

This is a multi-disciplinary class about dreams, focusing on the science of sleep and dreaming, the structure of dreaming, and the way "dream logic" informs the work of writers, artists, and filmmakers. Students will learn about the physiology of sleep and sleep disorders, and about the neurology and phenomenology of dream content. We will discuss earlier ways of analyzing content (Freud), as well the contemporary scientific understanding of the narrative structure of dreams. We'll also see how artistic works can be accessed through the same methods that can be used in making meaning in dreams. Dreams create a sense or experience of meaning: how artists translate these dream experiences into artistic expressions will be a continuing theme throughout the course.