The Non-De-Hupped Err
Join us this spring for an in-depth study of Lacan’s pathbreaking 21st seminar, Les non-dupes errent. ✨
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you say. “Why the fancy French title, McCormick?”
Not just because it’s tricky to translate into English, but also because, when you give it a try nonetheless, you get a pretty good sense of what this lecture and discussion series on Seminar XXI will be all about:
Les non-dupes = “The non-duped” or “those who are not deceived.”
Errent = “err” or “wander,” but also implies making a mistake or losing one’s way.
Translation: Those who think they’re not deceived are among the most misguided.
Note also the la-la-languistic resonance of les non-dupes errent with another key concept in Lacan’s thought: les noms du père. Maybe it’s the symbolic authority of the name-of-the-father that the non-duped try to evade and thus fail to escape?
Or maybe we’re just talking about birds, hoopoes in particular, of which we say, “de huppe,” recalling the etymology of Lacan’s dupe. Wait, you don’t know about hoopoes?! Those long-billed, extravagantly crested, reputedly stupid birds whose name — hoopoe — is an onomatopoeia of their cry:
Yet another la-la-langtasic way to translate the title of Seminar XXI — and one I rather like: The Non-De-Hupped Err. Can’t wait to see how far this one gets us!
Schedule of Events:
In addition to sharing recorded lectures with all registered participants, I’ll be hosting five online discussions in this spring series on Seminar XXI, with the goal of making this key text in Lacan’s later teaching — it’s title as well — clear, coherent, and accessible:
14 February: Zoom Discussion, 10am PST. Readings to be discussed: Lacan, Seminar XXI, Lessons 1-3.
7 March: Zoom Discussion, 10am PST. Readings to be discussed: Lacan, Seminar XXI, Lessons 4-6.
28 March: Zoom Discussion, 10am PST. Readings to be discussed: Lacan, Seminar XXI, Lessons 7-9.
18 April: Zoom Discussion, 10am PST. Readings to be discussed: Lacan, Seminar XXI, Lessons 10-12.
9 May: Zoom Discussion, 10am PST. Readings to be discussed: Lacan, Seminar XXI, Lessons 13-15.
Registration Costs:
In an effort to keep Lectures on Lacan accessible to all, this series on Seminar XXI, lectures and discussions included, is offered on a donation basis.
The suggested donation for the complete series is $200 for professionals or $100 for students and trainees, but any donation, big or small, will allow you to register for the series.
Several of you have also asked about sponsoring students and trainees in our community — a wonderful idea that I’m excited to put into action. If you’d like to sponsor a student or trainee, just let me know when you make your donation. Your generosity will ensure that someone who might not otherwise have the means to participate can join this series for free.
To register or donate via Venmo, scan the QR code below or use @smlmccrmck.
To donate via PayPal, click here.
Thank you for supporting Lectures on Lacan!
About Prof. Dr. McCormick:
Samuel McCormick, Ph.D., is an award-winning teacher and scholar. He lectures widely on Lacanian psychoanalysis, is Professor of Communication Studies at San Francisco State University, and was recently appointed EURIAS & Marie-Curie Research Fellow at Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies in Denmark. His first book, Letters to Power: Public Advocacy Without Public Intellectuals, won the Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression, the James A. Winans - Herbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address, and the Everett Lee Hunt Award. His second book, The Chattering Mind: A Conceptual History of Everyday Talk, was recently published by the University of Chicago Press, with an Italian translation to be published later this year.
More about Lectures on Lacan and Prof. Dr. McCormick HERE.