Vision and the gaze are key issues in the analysis of racism, sexism and ethnocentrism. In recent radical theory, generally, and French theory in particular, vision has been seen as a means of control. But this view is often unnuanced. It bypasses questions such as: Why is it that contemporary theories have been so critical of vision, and generous towards listening (in psychoanalysis) and language (in philosophy)? This collection of original essays brings together historical studies and contemporary theoretical perspectives on vision. The historical papers focus in turn on Ancient Greece, medieval theology, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the nineteenth century. These historical studies are themselves thoroughly informed by poststructuralist theory. They provide a rigorous background for several new, exciting articles on vision and its bearings for feminism, race, sexual orientation, film and art. This collection is the first of its kind in juxtaposing historical and contemporary

It has long been realised that the poorer countries of the south have paid for the unstoppable onward rush of globalization in the exploitation of their natural and human resources. Recent events have made it clear that there may be a price to be paid in the West as well.
In this elegant, lucidly argued account, Teresa Brennan argues that the evidence already exists that globalization has for years been harming not just the poor of the Third World but also its alleged beneficiaries in the affluent West. She shows how the speeding up of contemporary capitalism in which space is substituted for time means that neither the environment nor the people who live in it are given the opportunity to regenerate and how this leads directly to pollution-induced, immune-deficient and stress-related disease. In a final chapter she suggests some alternative ways forward through a return to regionally based production and an emphasis on local economies.

It has long been realised that the poorer countries of the south have paid for the unstoppable onward rush of globalization in the exploitation of their natural and human resources. Recent events have made it clear that there may be a price to be paid in the west as Well.
In this elegant, lucidly argued account, Teresa Brennan argues that the evidence already exists that globalization has for years been harming not just the poor of the third world but also its alleged beneficiaries in the affluent West. She shows how the speeding up of contemporary capitalism in which space is substituted for time means that neither then environment nor the people who live it are given the opportunity to regenerate and how this leads directly to pollution-induced, immune-deficient and stress-related disease. In a final chapter she suggests some alternative ways forward through a return to regionally based production and an emphasis on local economies.

Teresa Brennan marshalls the insights of Marx and Freud to provide a compelling and insightful analysis of the exhaustion pervading modern capitalism: environmental collapse, the rising poverty levels, and the increase in global economic disparity. Linking the consumption of environmental resources to our own depleted psychic life, she shows that modernity must be rethought if we are to find a sustainable future for both the environment and our own psychic life. This book should prove of value to political and social theorists, philosophers, economists, and anyone interested in the environment.

Author Biography:
Teresa Brennan is Schmidt Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Florida Atlantic University, USA.

Vision and the gaze are key issues in the analysis of racism, sexism and ethnocentrism. In recent radical theory, generally, and French theory in particular, vision has been seen as a means of control. But this view is often unnuanced. It bypasses questions such as: Why is it that contemporary theories have been so critical of vision, and generous towards listening (in psychoanalysis) and language (in philosophy)? This collection of original essays brings together historical studies and contemporary theoretical perspectives on vision. The historical papers focus in turn on Ancient Greece, medieval theology, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the nineteenth century. These historical studies are themselves thoroughly informed by poststructuralist theory. They provide a rigorous background for several new, exciting articles on vision and its bearings for feminism, race, sexual orientation, film and art. This collection is the first of its kind in juxtaposing historical and contemporary

In "History After Lacan, " Teresa Brennan argues that Jacques Lacan was not an ahistorical post-structuralist. She tells the story of a social psychosis, beginning with a discussion of Lacan's neglected theory of history which argued that we are in the grip of a psychotic's era which began in the seventeenth century and climaxes in the present.
By extending and elaborating on Lacan's theory, Brennan develops a general theory of modernity. Contrary to postmodern assumptions, she argues, we need a general historical explanation. An understanding of historical dynamics is essential if we are to make the connections between the outstanding facts of modernity--ethnocentrism, the relation between the sexes, and ecological catastrophe.
A challenging feminist, interdisciplinary study, "History After Lacan" will be essential reading for social, cultural, and political theorists, historians, psychoanalysts, and literary theorists.

The `riddle of femininity', like Freud's reference to women's sexuality as a `dark continent', has been treated as a romantic aside or a sexist evasion, rather than a problem to be solved. In this first comprehensive study, Teresa Brennan suggests that by placing these theories in the context of Freud's work overall, we will begin to understand why femininity was such a riddle for Freud.

The "riddle of femininity," like Freud's reference to women's sexuality as a "dark continent," has been treated as a romantic aside or a sexist evasion rather than as a problem to be solved.
"The Interpretation of the Flesh," the first comprehensive study of Freud's theory of femininity, concludes that this riddle can indeed be answered. Teresa Brennan argues that the solution to Freud's "riddle of femininity" entails a different approach to mind and flesh, ideas and matter, from that traditionally mooted by Freudian studies. She states that the riddle can only be solved once outdated assumptions of the dualism of mind versus body are discarded--and such assumptions can only be discarded by a theory that goes beyond biological reductionism. Freud himself laid the basis for overcoming this dualism (although rejected up until now), and it is by overcoming it that the "riddle of femininity" becomes a soluble one.
"The Interpretation of the Flesh" offers a new way of thinking about the relation between the psychical, the social, and the physical, pointing out that the real riddle of femininity is primarily a problem for women suffering from what Freud described as "femininity's" negative effects on curiosity, intelligence and activity.
"The Interpretation of the Flesh" is relevant to all the debates on psychoanalysis and feminism. It is an important work for serious study in feminism, psychoanalysis, and the philosophy of science, and is invaluable for anyone interested in the ongoing feminist struggle.

In this landmark collection of original essays, outstanding feminist critics in Britain, France, and the United States present new perspectives on feminism and psychoanalysis, opening out deadlocked debates. The discussion ranges widely, with contributions from feminists identified with different, often opposed views on psychoanalytic criticism. The contributors reassess the history of Lacanian psychoanalysis and feminism, and explore the significance of its institutional context. They write against the received views on 'French feminism' and essentialism. A remarkable restatement of current positions within psychoanalysis and feminism, the volume as a whole will change the terms of existing debates, and make its arguments and concerns more generally accessible.

Lacan was not an ahistorical post-structuralist. Starting from this controversial premiss, Teresa Brennan tells the story of a social psychosis. She begins by recovering Lacan's neglected theory of history which argued that we are in the grip of a psychotic's era which began in the seventeenth century and climaxes in the present.
By extending and elaborating Lacan's theory, Brennan develops a general theory of modernity. Contrary to postmodern assumptions, she argues, we need general historical explanation. An understanding of historical dynamics is essential if we are to make the connections between the outstanding facts of modernity - ethnocentrism, the relationship between the sexes and ecological catastrophe.

The idea that one can soak up someone else's depression or anxiety or sense the tension in a room is familiar. Indeed, phrases that capture this notion abound in the popular vernacular: "negative energy," "dumping," "you could cut the tension with a knife." The Transmission of Affect deals with the belief that the emotions and energies of one person or group can be absorbed by or can enter directly into another.

The ability to borrow or share states of mind, once historically and culturally assumed, is now pathologized, as Teresa Brennan shows in relation to affective transfer in psychiatric clinics and the prevalence of psychogenic illness in contemporary life. To neglect the mechanism by which affect is transmitted, the author claims, has serious consequences for science and medical research.

Brennan's theory of affect is based on constant communication between individuals and their physical and social environments. Her important book details the relationships among affect, energy, and "new maladies of the soul," including attention deficit disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, codependency, and fibromyalgia.

In an era of backlash and supposed stagnation, feminist philosophers are still providing fresh and challenging perspectives - you just have to know where to look. Continental feminist theory continues to address pressing questions of equality and difference, identity and subjectivity. Modern thinkers such as Judith Butler, Kelly Oliver and Drucilla Cornell present strikingly new perspectives on sex, gender, sexual politics and the various social apparatuses that underlie gender inequality. Yet their theories are not always well received. This work is a response to the marginalization of these modern thinkers. In this volume, Ann J. Cahill and Jennifer Hansen collect the most groundbreaking work of the theorists. In their introductory pieces, Cahill and Hansen translate the often esoteric and mystifying work of the women in Continental philosophy to those outside the field and outside academia. With these essays, Continental Feminism Reader begins the process of reanimating feminist politics through the critical tool of its contributors.