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CALLING ALL BAT-NERDS

2/23/2016

1 Comment

 
I have the awesome opportunity to craft a syllabus for my long-imagined Psychology of Batman course, "The Bat's Belfry".

It's not just an Abnormal Psych course. I'd rather this be a sort of nerdy, upper-level survey:
  • Developmental psych
  • Family dynamics and family systems (ooh, that's going to be fun, maybe an entire week on fathers and sons alone, with a whole class dedicated to Alfred)
  • some positive psychology (the benefits of enduring friendship)
  • some integrative things like "Would Batman have existed if Bruce Wayne had had effective therapy?" (requiring you to discuss whether Batman is an adaptive or maladaptive coping mechanism...or a coping mechanism at all...)
  • Neuropsychology (fear toxin, sure, but also the question "Can adult Bruce be anything other than Batman?")
  • maybe some political psychology in a discussion of real-world vigilantism.
  • I suppose I should include some psychodynamics...but I really don't want to...
The abnormal psych aspects will include exploration of childhood trauma and the concept of real-world fit of DSM diagnoses.  Because if you diagnose Bruce one way, I guarantee you'll miss some other aspect of his pathology.  During this class, I may argue that he doesn't have any psychopathology to diagnose, leading up to that question involving the cape-and-cowl as a coping mechanism.

And I'll study the villains, although very short shrift will be given to Joker.
  • The true Bat-heads know, the best *relationship* for study is Batman/Two-Face
  • Definitely Hugo Strange and Scarecrow (seems like it's required of me).
  • Mr. Freeze (pre-New 52, when DC stripped the character of every interesting facet).
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In Kingdom Come, Superman turns our conception of Batman on its head by alleging that the Dark Knight is entirely a creature of deepest HOPE, not fear.
My questions, Bat-nerds and psych-nerds:
  1. Any other villains and/or topics I should cover?
  2. What sorts of essay topics would excite you if you took my course?
  3. Also, please please peruse my tentative required reading/viewing list and recommend additions/subtractions (I'm skipping all of the academic stuff I'll assign as well).

Main Text: Batman and Psychology, by Travis Langley (if you haven't read it, you should)

Other Required stuff:
  • Detective Comics #27 and Action Comics #1
  • The Killing Joke
  • The Long Halloween
  • A Lonely Place of Dying (Death in the Family optional)
  • Either the "Dark Knight Over Metropolis" storyline (when Superman gave Batman the Kryptonite ring) or Superman/Batman #1-2 (2003)
  • "Hush"
  • Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come (for different versions of Old Bruce)

From the DC Animated Universe:
  • "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne"
  • "Heart of Ice"
  • "Tales of the Dark Knight" (optional)
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The Sons of the Bat, or "When Birth Order Dynamics Don't Require Shared Parenthood"
1 Comment
Kentucky Welding link
4/10/2023 01:51:42 am

Appreciatee your blog post

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