Unsettling Oedipus. Psychoanalysis and the ancient Greek chorus
Event description
Presenting an HRC - Centre for Classical Studies Distinguished Lecture
Many of us insist on an idea of living as a sequence of events, moving through challenge, conflict, space, and eventually finding an end. The linear trajectory of many figures in ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus being the most famous, has been taken up by psychoanalysts ever since Freud, cohering with a commitment to notions of progress, of moving forward, of engaging in conflict (an agon) and finding eventual resolution. The ancient Greek chorus, however, provides a challenge to this mode of thinking. Drawing on the process of 'containment' articulated by British psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion (1897-1979) we can begin to reassess the function and psychological work of the chorus of Greek drama. In doing so we can illuminate a truer vision of the world, one that embraces an 'everywhen' and unsettles the supremacy of the individual.
Speaker
Lucy C. M. M. Jackson is Associate Professor in Classics (Greek Literature) at Durham University. Her research interests include Greek drama in the classical period, particularly Greek tragedy and Greek choral performance. Her most recent book is The Chorus of Drama in the Fourth Century BCE (2020, Oxford University Press). Lucy comes to the ANU as an HRC-Centre for Classical Studies Visiting Fellow.
Lecture followed by refreshments.
This lecture is by the ANU Humanities Research Centre in partnership with the ANU Centre for Classical Studies in the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics.
Image: ANU Classics Museum 1976.10