Freud's Rat Man and the Case Study: Genre in Three Keys

TitleFreud's Rat Man and the Case Study: Genre in Three Keys
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2003
AuthorsWells, Susan
JournalNew Literary History
Volume34
Pagination353–366
Keywordscase study, genre, literary, rhetorical
Abstract

“Freud’s Rat Man and the Case Study: Genre in Three Keys” analyses the Rat Man case in terms of literary, sociolinguistic, and rhetoric genre theories, focusing on his use temporality and quotation to create the institutional setting in which the case is read. Freud’s case is then contrasted with a contemporary psychiatric case study, in which clinical and institutional discourses are juxtaposed. The essay argues for a productive dialogue among literary, sociological, and rhetorical approaches to genre.