An Evening with Freud's Mourning and Melancholia

What does it mean to mourn a loss? And what happens when we cannot fully understand—or even identify—what we have lost?
In his influential 1917 essay Mourning and Melancholia, Sigmund Freud explores the relationship between grief, unconscious attachment, and the formation of the self. Distinguishing between mourning as a response to loss and melancholia as a more mysterious, inwardly directed experience, Freud raises questions that continue to resonate across philosophy, psychoanalysis, literature, and art.

Join writer, editor, and author Kellye McBride for an accessible introduction to Freud's essay and its enduring philosophical and cultural significance. We'll explore how melancholia complicates our understanding of grief, desire, identity, and the unconscious—and why this strange little essay continues to inspire thinkers and artists more than a century later.

No prior knowledge of Freud or psychoanalysis is required. Whether you're a longtime reader of psychoanalytic theory or simply curious about the darker corners of human experience, all are welcome.

The evening will include a lecture followed by time for questions and discussion.

Presented in collaboration with Teaching Mother Foucault's.