The culture of psychoanalysis has many traditions and multiple schools of theory and thought. This work presents informative and original investigations into three overlapping areas of psychoanalytic tradition: the history of psychoanalysis; psychoanalytic culture criticism; and the application of psychoanalytic methods to the study of history. In this carefully crafted evaluation of various authors and subjects, Fisher's perceptions are informed by a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the psychoanalytic movement, its interaction with the wider context of European cultural and political history, and its philosophical and clinical origins. In examining the history of the movement, Fisher attempts to discover the fundamental inspiration of psychoanalysis by returning to the origins of the discipline. Freud is the central figure here, but Fisher also looks to the second generation of European analysts, including such maverick figures as Lacan and Spielrein, and mainstream figures as Fenichel to gain insight into the multidimensional and creative personalities who were drawn to Freud and his ideas. In his discussion of psychoanalytic culture criticism, Fisher analyzes symbolic meanings and psychological themes from a variety of written works. In an analysis of Freud's Civilization audits Discontents, the author argues that the figure of Romain Rolland is pervasive throughout the text as symbol, muse, stimulus, and adversary. Reading analytic theory and applying it to personalities and situations from the past allowed historians to address issues of their own inner world and to develop breathtaking possibilities for understanding the past. Brilliantly written and historical and critical in method, Cultural Theory and Psychoanalytic Tradition offers valuable insights into significant themes and ambiguities in the diverse areas of psychoanalysis. Intellectual historians and psychoanalysts will find reliable introductions and springboards f

Why do humans hold onto traditions? Many pundits predicted that modernization and the rise of a mass culture would displace traditions, especially in America, but cultural practices still bear out the importance of rituals and customs in the development of identity, heritage, and community. In Explaining Traditions: Folk Behavior in Modern Culture, Simon J. Bronner discusses the underlying reasons for the continuing significance of traditions, delving into their social and psychological roles in everyday life, from old-time crafts to folk creativity on the Internet. Challenging prevailing notions of tradition as a relic of the past, Explaining Traditions provides deep insight into the nuances and purposes of living traditions in relation to modernity. Bronner's work forces readers to examine their own traditions and imparts a better understanding of raging controversies over the sustainability of traditions in the modern world.

While psychoanalytic scholars often address specific aspects of diversity such as gender, race, immigration, religion, sexual orientation, and social class, the literature lacks a set of core principles to inform and support culturally competent practice. This approachable volume responds to that pressing need. Drawing on the contributions of psychoanalytic scholars as well as multicultural and feminist psychologists, Tummala-Narra presents a theoretical framework that reflects the realities of clients' lives and addresses the complex sociocultural issues that influence their experiences, identity, and psychological health. Psychoanalytic theory proves to be particularly valuable in exploring: The client's and the therapist's indigenous cultural narratives, and the conscious and unconscious meanings and motivations that accompany these narratives The role of context in how clients use language and express affect in psychotherapy The experience of social oppression and its impact on the therapeutic process The dynamic nature of culture, which means that individuals negotiate complex, intersecting cultural identifications An expanded form of self-examination in which the therapist reflects on his or her own sociocultural context In examining these questions, the author provides engaging case illustrations from her own clinical practice, as well as findings from her research with youth of immigrant origin. This book will appeal not only to practitioners of psychoanalytic psychology but to all those interested in the constantly evolving theory and research on effective practice with diverse clients.

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Psychoanalytic Cultural Criticism and the Soul -- Towards a Psychoanalytic Understanding of Fascism and Anti-Semitism: Perceptions From the 1940's -- On Parenting and Playing -- The Relationship and Debates Between Bruno Bettelheim and Rudolf Ekstein -- In Memoriam: Rudolf Ekstein (1912-2005) -- A Final Conversation With Bruno Bettelheim -- The Suicide of a Survivor: Some Intimate Perceptions of Bettelheim's Suicide -- Homage to Bettelheim -- An Open Letter to Newsweek -- Concerning Bruno Bettelheim: A Reply To Former Patients From The Orthogenic School -- Two Letters From Bettelheim To The Author -- About the Author -- References -- Index -- Acknowledgements.

In The Psychoanalytic Ear and the Sociological Eye: Toward an American Independent Tradition, Nancy J. Chodorow brings together her two professional identities, psychoanalyst and sociologist, as she also brings together and moves beyond two traditions within American psychoanalysis, naming for the first time an American independent tradition. The book's chapters move inward, toward fine-tuned discussions of the theory and epistemology of the American independent tradition, which Chodorow locates originally in the writings of Erik Erikson and Hans Loewald, and outward toward what Chodorow sees as a missing but necessary connection between psychoanalysis, the social sciences, and the social world. Chodorow suggests that Hans Loewald and Erik Erikson, self-defined ego psychologists, each brings in the intersubjective, attending to the fine-tuned interactions of mother and child, analyst and patient, and individual and social surround. She calls them intersubjective ego psychologists—for Chodorow, the basic theory and clinical epistemology of the American independent tradition. Chodorow describes intrinsic contradictions in psychoanalytic theory and practice that these authors and later American independents address, and she points to similarities between the American and British independent traditions. The American independent tradition, especially through the writings of Erikson, points the analyst and the scholar to individuality and society. Moving back in time, Chodorow suggests that from his earliest writings to his last works, Freud was interested in society and culture, both as these are lived by individuals and as psychoanalysis can help us to understand the fundamental processes that create them. Chodorow advocates for a return to these sociocultural interests for psychoanalysts. At the same time, she rues the lack of attention within the social sciences to the serious study of individuals and individuality and advocates for a field of individuology in the university.

This collection covers all the topics relevant for understanding the importance of Sándor Ferenczi and his influence on contemporary psychoanalysis. Pre-eminent Ferenczi scholars were solicited to contribute succint reviews of their fields of expertise. The book is divided in five sections. 'The historico-biographical' describes Ferenczi's childhood and student days, his marriage, brief analyses with Freud, his correspondences and contributions to daily press in Budapest, list of his patients' true identities, and a paper about his untimely death. 'The development of Ferenczi's ideas' reviews his ideas before his first encounter with psychoanalysis, his relationship with peers, friendship with Groddeck, emancipation from Freud, and review of the importance of his Clinical Diary. The third section reviews Ferenczi's clinical concepts and work: trauma, unwelcome child, wise baby, identification with aggressor, mutual analysis, and many others. In 'Echoes', we follow traces of Ferenczi's influence on virtually all traditions in contemporary psychoanalysis: interpersonal, independent, Kleinian, Lacanian, relational, etc.

This Companion addresses the contemporary transformation of critical and cultural theory, with special emphasis on the way debates in the field have changed in recent decades. Features original essays from an international team of cultural theorists which offer fresh and compelling perspectives and sketch out exciting new areas of theoretical inquiry Thoughtfully organized into two sections – lineages and problematics – that facilitate its use both by students new to the field and advanced scholars and researchers Explains key schools and movements clearly and succinctly, situating them in relation to broader developments in culture, society, and politics Tackles issues that have shaped and energized the field since the Second World War, with discussion of familiar and under-theorized topics related to living and laboring, being and knowing, and agency and belonging

The classic, in-depth history of psychoanalysis, presenting over a hundred years of thought and theories Sigmund Freud's concepts have become a part of our psychological vocabulary: unconscious thoughts and feelings, conflict, the meaning of dreams, the sensuality of childhood. But psychoanalytic thinking has undergone an enormous expansion and transformation since Freud's death in 1939. With Freud and Beyond, Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black make the full scope of twentieth century psychoanalytic thinking-from Harry Stack Sullivan to Jacques Lacan; D.W. Winnicott to Melanie Klein-available for the first time. Richly illustrated with case examples, this lively, jargon-free introduction makes modern psychoanalytic thought accessible at last.

Personality Theories: A Global View by leading scholar Eric Shiraev takes a dynamic, integrated, and cross-cultural approach to the study of personality. The text is organized around three general questions: Where did personality theories come from? How did the theorists study facts? How do we apply personality theories now? These questions provide a consistent focus on social context, interdisciplinary science, and applications. Going beyond traditional research from the Western tradition, the book also covers theories and studies rooted in the experiences of other countries and cultures.

As historians rediscover human society to be as much about desire, fantasy, and irrationality as it is about interest, reality, and reason, the history of psychoanalytic thought takes on an increasing significance. Its growth and interconnection with other fields appealed to the eclectic and holistic interests of historians so much so that the term "psychohistory" was coined, admiringly, ambivalently, or perjoratively. The methodological intersection of psychology and history also helped move us toward a more inclusive social history through investigation of the institutional history of medical sciences of the mind. "Treating Mind and Body "examines the recent history of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and medicine in Germany through a series of original essays by Geoffrey Cocks. The first section, "Psychotherapy," analyzes the history of psychotherapy in the Third Reich and includes such essays as "The Professionalization of Psychotherapy in Germany" and "The Nazis and C.G. Jung," which examines Jung's association with the Nazi regime and the rift between Jungians and Freudians. Section two, "Psychoanalysis," considers the repression of memory evident among German psychoanalysts, a more disturbing historical reality than the traditional view of a Nazi destruction of psychoanalysis. Essays include "Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in Germany Since 1939," as well as a discussion of Heinz Kohut's "self psychology" in light of Kohut's life experience in Austria and America. In section three, Cocks treats medicine, the history of professions, and the increasing awareness among historians of the place of medicine hi Nazi plans and projects. Essays include "Jews and Medicine in Modern German Society" and "The Nuremberg Doctor's Trial and Medicine in Modern Germany." As a historian of Germany, psychoanalysis, and medicine, Cocks's writings reflect an abiding interest in the intersections of psychology and history. To his selection of previously published essays he adds a new introduction, placing the essays in newer, richer contexts. This book will be of interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists, as well as those in the fields of medicine, history, and sociology.