From the Old Testament to Sigmund Freud, from August Kekulé’s vision of the ouroboros to Salvador Dali’s melting clocks, dreams have been an integral part of both an individual’s well-being and the creative spirit. Dreams have manifested themselves as clues to personal problems, solutions to stubborn intellectual conundrums, and even as works of art. What role do they play in our own inner and outer lives?

This two-quarter, interdisciplinary program will provide an opportunity for students who are interested in doing intensive work in the areas of dreams and photography to cultivate awareness of the interplay of inner and outer experience through challenging readings, creative work, and self-reflection. We will examine our beliefs about the nature of reality as manifest in the expressive arts and physical reality from a variety of disciplinary viewpoints including photography, psychology, literature, and biology.

During fall quarter, we will study the basics of black-and-white photography as a means of learning how to see and appreciate the world around us. We’ll also learn how we (and others throughout history) have used dreams to “see” our inner world. We’ll use Greek literature to examine the emotional and behavioral interactions that we call “love” and try to understand the concept of “light” from both a physical and philosophical perspective. During winter quarter, we’ll continue and deepen our study and use of photography and dreams and include a study of relevant topics in biology such as neuroplasticity, epigenetics, and the physiology of the eye. We’ll also examine alternative areas of research such as lucid dreaming and paranormal phenomena, as well as the approach of the Surrealists to examining the nature of reality through art and dreams. Students will have the opportunity to give a presentation to their peers using the skills learned during the two quarters.

This is an experiential and rigorous full-time program in which students will be expected to participate in all program activities and document 48 hours of program-related work per week.