Literary theory has often been seen as a field of its own, with narratological and stylistic tools that constitute the founding principles of its analytical method. In this seminar, students will be asked to reflect upon ways in which literature can also be approached from other disciplines such as physics, engineering, sociology, economy, etc. The seminar will also raise the issue of what literature does to other disciplines, in a fruitful dialogue whereby literature also shapes new methods and new directions in non artistic fields. Following an overview of these approaches (intersemiotic, sociological, cultural and others), I will then take the example of psychiatry and medicine to look at two novels that have tried to write their own history of mental health treatment and have thus changed the way psychiatry sees its own field.
