( P.D.F. )

Procrastination Literature

Taught by Izzy Ampil

Thursdays, 4/9 – 5/14, 2026

Interrobang (Greenwood, Brooklyn)

How do you explain procrastination? The ancient Greek concept of akrasia (often translated “as weakness of will”)? A defect of “those wrecked by success”? A delusion of immortality? An embodiment of wild irrationality necessary for creativity? A paranoia exhibited by those in search of the perfect moment at which to begin? In this course, we will evaluate representations of procrastination in film and literature alongside philosophical and psychoanalytic reflections on why we not only delay necessary tasks, but do so under the expectation that said delay will come at a significant—and avoidable—cost.

Syllabus

  1. Week 1

    • “Later” by James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, 2010
    • The Thief of Time: Philosophical Essays on Procrastination, eds. Chrisoula Andreou, Mark D. White, 2010 (“Introduction” and “Is Procrastination Weakness of Will?” by Sarah Stroud)

  2. Week 2

    • Concrete by Thomas Bernhard, 1982
    • Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, 2021 (“Facing Finitude”)

  3. Week 3

    • Practice by Rosalind Brown, 2024
    • “Some Character Types Met with in Psychoanalytic Work” by Sigmund Freud, 1916 (“II. Those Wrecked by Success”)

  4. Week 4

    • Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D.H. Lawrence by Geoff Dyer, 1997
    • “On Giving Up” by Adam Phillips, London Review of Books, 2022

  5. Week 5

    • 8 ½, dir. Federico Fellini, 1963 [IA can host screening weekend of 5/2–3]
    • On Being and Time by Simon Critchley, The Guardian, 2009

  6. Week 6

    • Showing Up, dir. Kelly Reichardt, 2022 [IA can host screening weekend of 5/10–11]
    • Feminist, Queer, Crip by Alison Kafer, 2013 (“Time for Disability Studies and a Future for Crips”)