PA108-4-SP-CO:
Psychoanalysis and Screens: Film, TV, and Social Media

The details
2027/28
Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Monday 17 January 2028
Friday 24 March 2028
15
16 July 2026

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

(none)

Key module for

BA C890 Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies,
BA C89072 Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies,
BA C89A Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA C89B Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies (Including Year Abroad),
BA C89C Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies (Including Foundation Year)

Module description

This module introduces students to psychoanalytic approaches to screen media, exploring how film, television, and social media shape identity, desire, emotion, and unconscious fantasy.


Drawing on key ideas from thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jacques Lacan, and contemporary media scholars, students will examine how screen texts engage viewers psychologically and culturally. Through case studies from cinema, streaming television, influencers, memes, and digital platforms, the module investigates themes including spectatorship, narcissism, voyeurism, fantasy, trauma, and the performance of the self online. Students will learn to analyse visual and narrative forms while considering how media technologies affect attention, intimacy, and social behaviour. The course combines an introduction to various psychoanalytic and analytic psychological theories with a crash-course in film analysis, encouraging students to connect psychoanalytic concepts to everyday media experiences. By the end of the module, students will be able to critically interpret a wide range of screen media using foundational psychoanalytic frameworks. 

Module aims

The aims of this module are:



  • To introduce students to foundational psychoanalytic theories and their relevance to screen media.

  • To develop a critical understanding of how film, television, and social media construct identity, desire, and spectatorship.

  • To explore the psychological and cultural effects of visual and digital media in contemporary society.

  • To enable students to apply psychoanalytic concepts to the analysis of diverse screen texts and media practices.

  • To encourage critical reflection on the relationship between media technologies, emotion, fantasy, and everyday experience. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to: 



  1. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the major concepts in Freudian, Jungian, and contemporary psychoanalytic theory. 

  2. Critically demonstrate how such methods and concepts can be applied to visual media, specifically film, television, and social media.

  3. Show how psychoanalytic and analytic psychological concepts have affected the content of modern visual culture, particularly film, television, and social media

  4. Identify and discuss themes such as desire, fantasy, voyeurism, identity, and performance in screen media.

  5. Critically evaluate how contemporary digital platforms shape subjectivity, attention, and social interaction. 

  6. Communicate informed academic arguments in written and verbal forms using relevant theoretical and textual evidence. 


Key Skills 


The module will:



  • Help you develop your critical capacity and analytical skills

  • Provide the opportunity to improve and develop your writing style

  • Foster your ability to assess when and under what conditions psychoanalytic knowledge may be applied to other fields and or topics 


Employability Skills 


The module will: 



  • Help you develop strong research skills

  • Help you develop rhetorical skills, for instance, the ability to structure and present a persuasive argument

Module information

For students taking PA108 as an outside option, the module provides both an accessible and critical introduction to Freudian and Jungian ideas. This module also complements 'The Unconscious Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society' (PA208 6 AU FREUD)' and 'The Unconscious Analytical Psychology, Culture and Society' (PA209 6 SP JUNG).

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

  • Weekly one-hour lectures by staff, followed by one-hour seminars. 

Students are expected to have seen and be familiar with the films before the seminar in which they will be discussed. In the case of the television series Stranger Things, students are expected to be familiar with the plot line of seasons 1 & 2, however, articles that explain some of the main themes of the series will be provided.

Bibliography

This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Chenyang Wang, email: cwangab@essex.ac.uk.
From the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies
Student Administrator 5A.202; telephone 01206 87 4969; email ppsug@essex.ac.uk 01206 874969 Room 5A.202

 

Availability
Yes
Yes
No

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies

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