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Dreamscapes

5 weekly sessions on campus, on Thursdays at 11am - 1pm, starting from Thursday 8 October

Overview

We spend on average around one third of our lives asleep – but sleep is a far from uneventful state. We know we go through cycles of different levels of sleep, during all of which the brain remains active – but much remains mysterious.

On this course we shall look at the study of sleep, exploring different theories of what sleep is for, before engaging with the fascinating, bizarre and perplexing alternative ‘reality’ we all dip in and out of every night - Dream.

Here, we shall survey a range of understandings (and misunderstandings!) of dream, including psychological theories and the deployment of dream interpretation in psycho-therapy, ending up with an exploration of the relationship between psychology and wider cultural engagements with dream over the last couple of centuries, particularly in 19th century Symbolism, and 20th century Surrealism.

At the end of this course students will be have a better understanding of the science of sleep and the psychology of dream, along with a deeper grasp of the significance of sleep and dream in health, physical and mental, and a wider awareness of the role of dream in cultural movements of recent times.

This course will be useful to those engaged in health services, but also those with a general interest in the biology, psychology, culture and mystery of sleep and dreaming. No previous experience or background knowledge is required – just an open mind and a sense of curiosity! 

Syllabus

  • Week 1: What is Sleep? Research into stages and rhythms of sleep.
  • Week 2: Why do we sleep? Theories. Sleep and health.   
  • Week 3: Dream: What can science tell us? Theories of dream.
  • Week 4: Dream and the Unconscious; Dream in psychotherapy – Freud and after.
  • Week 5: Dream in Modern culture – Symbolism and Surrealism.

Course lecturer

David Rice has a BA (Hons) in psychology, and an MA in Cultural Studies, and has taught psychology at further and higher education levels for forty years. Retired from full time education, he has been teaching part-time at Continuing Education, University of Liverpool for nearly 10 years.

Course fee

  • Standard fee: £85
  • Concession fee: £45