U7 - Crisis and Storytelling in the Age of Climate Change, AI, and Populist Authoritarianism

Alternate Titles:

• Narrating Crisis: Authoritarianism, Climate Change, and the Power of Story

• Fictions of Control: Politics, Climate, and the Narratives of Collapse

• Myths of the End: Storytelling, Power, and the Age of Crisis

• Crisis & Culture: Authoritarianism, Climate Change, and the Stories We Tell

1. Course Description

This interdisciplinary seminar explores the intersection of psychoanalysis, literary studies, and political theory to understand how stories of crisis—both real and imagined—shape collective consciousness. Drawing on five key blog posts that address Trump-era politics, psychoanalysis and authoritarian personality, and climate-change denial, the course examines how cultural narratives (from Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day to modern apocalyptic discourse) reveal deeper anxieties about personal identity, social order, and the fate of the planet. We will supplement these blog posts with essential readings in literature, climate studies, and political theory, considering how “the end” is repeatedly invoked, manipulated, and resisted. By the end of the seminar, students will have engaged various theoretical frames to analyze why crisis narratives are so pervasive—and what possibilities for action and hope they may also contain.

2. Learning Objectives

1. Interrogate Crisis Discourses Understand how concepts of “crisis” (economic, political, ecological) are constructed and used in both literature and contemporary media.

2. Analyze Authoritarianism through Psychoanalysis Apply psychoanalytic frameworks (Freud, Adorno, Fromm) to interpret the rise of populist movements and “cult” followings, particularly in the Trump era.

3. Examine Climate Narratives Investigate how eschatological (end-times) thinking, apocalyptic rhetoric, and climate denial shape public discourse around environmental crises.

4. Bridge Literature and Socio-Political Discourse Read classic and contemporary texts (e.g., Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day) through the lens of psychoanalysis, political theory, and ecological critique to see how “end of the world” narratives emerge and function.

5. Develop Critical & Creative Responses Produce research and/or creative projects that synthesize these interdisciplinary perspectives and propose new ways of understanding and responding to crisis narratives.

3. Required Blog Posts (Primary Course Texts)

1. “Proposal: Losing Our Grip: Rereading Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day in Trump’s America.”

2. “Unpacking the Trump Cult: Psychoanalysis and Authoritarian Personality in Contemporary Political Discourse.”

3. “Crisis, the Humanities, and Storytelling in the Age of Climate Change, AI, and Populist Authoritarianism.”

4. “The Certainty of Climate Change and the Convenience of Apocalypse: How Eschatology Shields Climate Deniers.”

5. “Crisis Narratives, Climate Change, and the Politics of Storytelling: The Sense of an Ending and Ecol.”

(Available at undecidableunconscious.net)

4. Supplementary & Essential Readings

• Literary Texts & Criticism

  • Seize the Day by Saul Bellow

  • The Sense of an Ending by Frank Kermode (excerpts)

  • “Apocalypse from Now On” by Ursula K. Heise (in Sense of Place and Sense of Planet)

• Psychoanalysis & Authoritarianism

  • Excerpts from Sigmund Freud, “Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego”

  • Theodor W. Adorno et al., The Authoritarian Personality (selected chapters)

  • Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom (selections)

• Climate & Apocalyptic Rhetoric

  • Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate (selected chapters)

  • Amitav Ghosh, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable

  • Dipesh Chakrabarty, “The Climate of History: Four Theses”

• Political Theory & Populism

  • Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works (selected chapters)

  • Hannah Arendt, “Ideology and Terror” (from The Origins of Totalitarianism)

• Secondary Scholarly Articles (all available via the university library or course website)

  • Excerpts from Jacques Derrida, Of Grammatology (for rhetorical analysis and textual interpretation)

  • Selections from Raymond Williams, Keywords (for analyzing key cultural concepts like “crisis”)

5. Course Schedule & Topics

Week 1: Introduction – What Is a ‘Crisis’?

• Read: Blog Post #3 (“Crisis, the Humanities…”), short excerpt from Raymond Williams, “Crisis” in Keywords.

• Discussion: Defining “crisis” historically, culturally, psychologically; overview of the course themes.

Week 2: Psychoanalysis, Authority, and the Modern Crowd

• Read: Blog Post #2 (“Unpacking the Trump Cult…”), Freud’s “Group Psychology…,” Adorno et al. (selected).

• Discussion: How psychoanalysis explains group loyalty, authoritarian personality, and the mechanics of “cult” leadership.

Week 3: Literary Anxiety – Seize the Day and Personal Catastrophe

• Read: Bellow’s Seize the Day, Blog Post #1 (“Losing Our Grip…”).

• Discussion: Economic desperation and psychic turmoil in Bellow’s novel; parallels with Trump-era populism.

Week 4: Storytelling in the Age of Climate Change

• Read: Blog Post #3 revisited, Naomi Klein (selected chapters).

• Discussion: Humanities vs. climate emergency; how the rhetoric of crisis influences policy and personal action.

Week 5: Apocalyptic Frames & Eschatological Thinking

• Read: Blog Post #4 (“The Certainty of Climate Change and the Convenience of Apocalypse…”), Kermode’s The Sense of an Ending (selections).

• Discussion: Eschatology as a coping mechanism, the politics of fear and inevitability.

Week 6: Climate Denial and Strategies of Disavowal

• Read: Amitav Ghosh, The Great Derangement; Adorno’s authoritarianism framework (continued).

• Discussion: Why do people deny climate science? How does “apocalypse talk” paradoxically reinforce denial?

Week 7: Crisis Narratives & the Politics of Storytelling

• Read: Blog Post #5 (“Crisis Narratives, Climate Change…”), Ursula K. Heise, “Apocalypse from Now On.”

• Discussion: The narrative forms that produce or disrupt a sense of inevitable ending; “Ecol” interpretations.

Week 8: Populist Authoritarianism in the Context of Ecological Collapse

• Read: Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works (selected); Hannah Arendt, “Ideology and Terror.”

• Discussion: Linking populist strategies to environmental crises, rhetorical overlaps in fear-based mobilization.

Week 9: Student Presentations – Case Studies in Crisis Discourse

• Activity: Students present on a chosen text or political moment illustrating crisis or apocalyptic framing.

• Discussion: Integrating psychoanalytic, literary, and political theories covered so far.

Week 10: Toward a Reflective Humanity – Can We Exit Crisis Mode?

• Read: Concluding reflections from Dipesh Chakrabarty, “The Climate of History: Four Theses.”

• Discussion: Examining possibilities for new narratives, the role of hope/agency, and final course reflections.

6. Assignments & Evaluation

1. Reading Responses (25%)

   • Weekly online posts (300–400 words) connecting course readings (blog posts + essential texts).

   • Encouraged to integrate personal reflection with textual analysis.

2. Short Comparative Essay (20%)

   • 4–5 pages comparing Seize the Day with one blog post (or relevant theoretical text).

   • Focus on how crisis is constructed or experienced at personal vs. collective levels.

3. Group Presentation (15%)

   • Students form small teams to analyze a current event, political rhetoric, or cultural artifact, applying psychoanalytic or ecological frameworks from the course.

4. Final Research/Creative Project (30%)

   • Students choose either a traditional research paper (8–10 pages) or a creative piece (podcast, short video, multimedia essay) that synthesizes the course’s major themes (authoritarian personality, climate narratives, literary crisis).

5. Participation (10%)

   • Regular attendance, active involvement in discussions, preparedness with assigned readings.

7. Course Policies & Additional Notes

• Attendance & Engagement: Given the seminar format, participation is crucial. Students should come prepared to discuss the assigned blog posts and supplementary readings.

• Academic Integrity: All written work must be original. Sources (including the blog posts) should be cited appropriately (MLA, APA, or Chicago style).

• Office Hours: By appointment or during scheduled hours for extended discussion of readings, assignments, or research ideas.

• Accessibility: The instructor is committed to providing an inclusive learning environment. Students with documented accommodations should contact the instructor at the start of the term.

Concluding Note

This course aims not just to highlight crisis rhetoric but to dissect its foundations—whether psychological, literary, or ecological. By combining psychoanalytic approaches with literary readings, political theory, and climate criticism, students will grasp how these discourses converge in times of existential threat. The ultimate goal is to cultivate critical awareness and imaginative thinking that can move beyond narratives of doom to more nuanced, potentially transformative forms of engagement.