Everyone talks abut their feelings, but what exactly are they? What are the distinguishing features of feelings, and how do they differ from emotions and affects? How do our feelings influence the kinds of people we are, and the sorts of communities and societies in which we live?

In this wonderful short book, acclaimed author Stephen Frosh interrogates the terrain of feelings and asks how this ?hidden? dimension of the self helps shape our worlds. The book provides an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to the major debates around feelings in the modern world.

Feelings is an accessible and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in gaining a better understanding of this fundamental area of life.

Everyone talks about their feelings, but what exactly are they? What are the distinguishing features of feelings, and how do they differ from emotions and affects? How do our feelings influence the kinds of people we are, and the sorts of communities and societies in which we live?

In this wonderful short book, acclaimed author Stephen Frosh interrogates the terrain of feelings and asks how this hidden dimension of the self helps shape our worlds. The book provides an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to the major debates around feelings in the modern world.

Feelings is an accessible and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in gaining a better understanding of this fundamental area of life.

Psychoanalysis has always been a source of controversy throughout academic and popular culture. This controversy relates to questions of its true value, its scientific status, its politics and its therapeutic effectiveness. Psychoanalysis' defenders regard it as a body of knowledge built on careful and painstaking exploration of complex clinical encounters, offering more detailed and valid insights than can be obtained from other sources. Psychoanalysis is also a building block for considerations of human subjectivity in a wide range of academic disciplines and practical areas of work, from social theory to feminist studies, to counseling and psychotherapy.
In this thoroughly revised and updated second edition of "For and Against Psychoanalysis," Stephen Frosh examines the arguments surrounding psychoanalysis at some key points: its standing as a scientific theory, its value as a method of therapy, its potency as a contributor to debates around identity construction, gender, homosexuality andracism. At each of these points, there is something to be said 'for and against' psychoanalysis, with the balance depending on whether it deepens our understanding of human functioning, whether it is consistent with its own perceptions and theories or seems subservient to social pressures and norms, and whether it is coherent or muddled, evocative or sterile.
"For and Against Psychoanalysis" provides an accessible introduction and critical guide to the current standing of psychoanalysis. It is essential reading for students of psychoanalysis, counseling, psychotherapy and psychology, and for social researchers and social theorists, as well as for those who are simply interested in what placepsychoanalysis has in the modern world.

During the last decade and a half there have been dramatic changes in psychoanalytic theory, as well as in cultural, social and political theory. This book examines these changes and explores the relationship between psychoanalysis and theory. New directions in psychoanalytic thinking are introduced, including the work of Castoriadis, and Freudian and object-relational approaches are examined from new or different perspectives. In addition, the contributors review the post-Lacanian writings of Kristeva, Irigaray and Zizek, and the contemporary Anglo-American writings of Benjamin, Kovel, Segal and others. The book creates a dialogue between different psychoanalytic approaches to the study of subjectivity, social action and modern societies. It should be of use to those interested in the connections between psychoanalysis and cultural theory.

During the last decade and a half there have been dramatic changes in psychoanalytic theory, as well as in cultural, social and political theory. This book examines these changes and explores the relationship between psychoanalysis and theory. New directions in psychoanalytic thinking are introduced, including the work of Castoriadis, and Freudian and object-relational approaches are examined from new or different perspectives. In addition, the contributors review the post-Lacanian writings of Kristeva, Irigaray and Zizek, and the contemporary Anglo-American writings of Benjamin, Kovel, Segal and others. The book creates a dialogue between different psychoanalytic approaches to the study of subjectivity, social action and modern societies. It should be of use to those interested in the connections between psychoanalysis and cultural theory.

"Sexual Difference: Masculinity and Psychoanalysis" offers a critical exploration of issues of gender in psychoanalysis. It acknowledges and unpacks the complexity of theory and writing in this area, particularly the way sexual difference can only be thought about from a gendered position. As the book is written by a male academic and psychologist, its orientation is towards the way masculinity is expressed in theory and practice, and how this influences the experience and construction of both masculinity and femininity in contemporary culture. In addition, Stephen Frosh describes how psychoanalysis itself can be seen as a system and approach heavily imbued with gender assumptions, and how the form and content of its theories express many of the dilemmas of sexual difference which it seeks to overcome. The text is written in an accessible and self-reflexive style. It introduces major strands of psychoanalytic theory on sexual difference, particularly those associated with the Kleinian and Lacanian traditions, and includes a detailed exploration of the gender assumptions apparent in some of Freud's work.

This edited volume provides a critical history of psychoanalysis in Brazil. Written mainly by Brazilian historians and practitioners of psychoanalysis, the chapters address some central questions about psychoanalysis' social role. How did psychoanalysis develop and flourish in a society in which modernisation was accompanied by inequality, authoritarianism and violence? How did psychoanalysis survive in Brazil alongside censorship and repression? Through a variety of lenses, the contributors demonstrate how psychoanalysis in Brazil presented itself as progressive and transformative and maintained this self-image even as it developed institutional structures that reproduce the authoritarianism of the wider society. This novel work offers rich conceptual and practical insights for academic researchers and practitioners of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and addresses methodological questions of concern to academics working across the social sciences. Crucially, it also outlines a distinctive vision of psychoanalysis seen through a Brazilian lens, which will be of interest to readers seeking to confront the Eurocentric and North American bias of much psychoanalytic debate.

In this collection of conversations that were conducted in Calcutta, at the London School of Economics, through Jewish Book Week, and on the radical website openDemocracy, internationally renowned Jewish scholar Jacqueline Rose explores the debates that have fueled her writing and thinking over three decades. Drawn out by her interlocutors, Rose discusses the difference between political and sexual identity and inquires whether psychoanalysis can be considered a radical form of thought that can be used fruitfully in dialogue about political struggle. Most significantly--since each of these conversations were sparked by her recent and controversial writing on Zionism, Israel, and Palestine--Rose reflects on the role of Jewish dissent in our time. In these conversations, Rose appears courageous, passionate, ethical, and never afraid to engage politically on issues that are of human concern in the ongoing Middle and Near East crisis.

This edited volume provides a critical history of psychoanalysis in Brazil. Written mainly by Brazilian historians and practitioners of psychoanalysis, the chapters address some central questions about psychoanalysis' social role. How did psychoanalysis develop and flourish in a society in which modernisation was accompanied by inequality, authoritarianism and violence? How did psychoanalysis survive in Brazil alongside censorship and repression? Through a variety of lenses, the contributors demonstrate how psychoanalysis in Brazil presented itself as progressive and transformative and maintained this self-image even as it developed institutional structures that reproduce the authoritarianism of the wider society. This novel work offers rich conceptual and practical insights for academic researchers and practitioners of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and addresses methodological questions of concern to academics working across the social sciences. Crucially, it also outlines a distinctive vision of psychoanalysis seen through a Brazilian lens, which will be of interest to readers seeking to confront the Eurocentric and North American bias of much psychoanalytic debate.

Psychosocial studies challenges the traditions of psychology and sociology from a genuinely transdisciplinary perspective. The book reflects this agenda in its varied theoretical and empirical strands, producing a newly contextualised and restless body of understanding of how 'psychic' and 'social' processes intertwine.

Psychosocial studies challenges the traditions of psychology and sociology from a genuinely transdisciplinary perspective. The book reflects this agenda in its varied theoretical and empirical strands, producing a newly contextualised and restless body of understanding of how 'psychic' and 'social' processes intertwine.

Die psychosozialen Studien im Vereinigten Königreich sind ein vielfältiger Arbeitsbereich, der sich durch Innovation in Theorie und empirischer Forschung auszeichnet. Die außerordentliche Lebendigkeit dieses Bereichs zeigt sich in diesem Buch, das die Forschungsarbeiten der Abteilung für psychosoziale Studien an der Birkbeck University of London, UK, vorstellt und drei zentrale Bereiche der Disziplin beleuchtet: Psychoanalyse, Ethik und Reflexivität sowie Widerstand. Das Buch befasst sich auf psychosoziale Weise mit einer Vielzahl von Themen, von der Sozialkritik der Psychoanalyse über postkoloniale und Queer-Theorie bis hin zu Studien über psychische Gesundheit und Widerstand gegen Diskriminierung. Diese "New Voices in Psychosocial Studies" bieten eine kohärente und doch weitreichende Darstellung der Forschung, die in einem "Dialekt" des neuen Terrains der psychosozialen Studien stattgefunden hat, und ein Agenda-setzendes Manifest für einige der Arten von Arbeit, die die fortgesetzte Kreativität der psychosozialen Studien in der nächsten Generation sicherstellen könnten. Dieses Buch zeigt die kontinuierliche Entwicklung der psychosozialen Studien als innovative, kritische Kraft und wird sowohl neue als auch etablierte Forscher aus allen Bereichen inspirieren, die ihren transdisziplinären Ansatz beeinflussen, einschließlich: kritische Psychologie und radikale Soziologie, feministische, queere und postkoloniale Theorie, kritische Anthropologie und Ethnographie und Phänomenologie.  

Psychosocial studies in the UK is a diverse area of work characterised by innovation in theory and empirical research. Its extraordinary liveliness is demonstrated in this book, which showcases research undertaken at the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, highlighting three domains central to the discipline - psychoanalysis, ethics and reflexivity, and resistance. The book engages psychosocially with a wide variety of topics, from social critiques of psychoanalysis through postcolonial and queer theory to studies of mental health and resistance to discrimination. These 'New Voices in Psychosocial Studies' offer a coherent yet wide-ranging account of research that has taken place in one 'dialect' of the new terrain of psychosocial studies and an agenda-setting manifesto for some of the kinds of work that might ensure the continued creativity of psychosocial studies into the next generation. This book demonstrates the ongoing development of psychosocial studies as an innovative, critical force and will inspire both new and established researchers from across the fields that influence its transdisciplinary approach, including: critical psychology and radical sociology, feminist, queer and postcolonial theory, critical anthropology and ethnography and phenomenology.

Psychosocial studies in the UK is a diverse area of work characterised by innovation in theory and empirical research. Its extraordinary liveliness is demonstrated in this book, which showcases research undertaken at the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, highlighting three domains central to the discipline - psychoanalysis, ethics and reflexivity, and resistance. The book engages psychosocially with a wide variety of topics, from social critiques of psychoanalysis through postcolonial and queer theory to studies of mental health and resistance to discrimination. These 'New Voices in Psychosocial Studies' offer a coherent yet wide-ranging account of research that has taken place in one 'dialect' of the new terrain of psychosocial studies and an agenda-setting manifesto for some of the kinds of work that might ensure the continued creativity of psychosocial studies into the next generation. This book demonstrates the ongoing development of psychosocial studies as an innovative, critical force and will inspire both new and established researchers from across the fields that influence its transdisciplinary approach, including: critical psychology and radical sociology, feminist, queer and postcolonial theory, critical anthropology and ethnography and phenomenology.

This book explores the legacies of suffering in relation to 'those who come after' - the descendants of victims, survivors and perpetrators of traumatic events. It draws on recent discussions of 'postmemory' and 'haunting' that are concerned mainly with the transgenerational impact of personal and social trauma. It examines how we are connected to past events for which we have no direct responsibility yet in which we might in some way be 'implicated' and it asks how we might attain a position of active witnessing that helps resolve the suffering of others. Those Who Come After includes vivid accounts of witnessing from a variety of perspectives, ranging from Biblical and Jewish stories to contemporary art and music. The book draws on psychosocial studies and psychoanalysis to help make sense of this material and to develop an understanding of acknowledgment and responsibility that is both ethical and emancipatory. Those Who Come After will be of great interest to readers in psychosocial studies and psychoanalysis and to all who are concerned with the question of how to put past suffering to rest.

Hauntings: Psychoanalysis and Ghostly Transmissions shows how the present is troubled by the past and by the future, using the idea of haunting to explore psychoanalytically how identities, beliefs, intimacies and hatreds are transmitted across generations and between people. It deals with the secrets that we inherit, the 'pull' of the past, and the way emotions, thoughts and impulses enter into us from others as a kind of immaterial yet real communication. It demonstrates how past oppressions return, demanding acknowledgement and reparation, and it explores how recognition and forgiveness can arise from this. Rooted in psychoanalysis, postcolonial and psychosocial studies, this book addresses the question of what passes through and between human subjects and how these things structure psychosocial and psychopolitical life.

This text explores how the present is troubled by the past and the future. It uses the idea of haunting to explore how identities, beliefs, intimacies and hatreds are transmitted across generations and between people and how these things structure psychosocial and psychopolitical life.

"Offers superb coverage of the key concepts in psychoanalysis."
--Anthony Elliott, author of "Psychoanalytic Theory: An Introduction"

Over 100 years since its origins, psychoanalysis continues to be a key source of insights across the humanities and social sciences. Being well-versed in psychoanalytic concepts is a crucial element in cultural literacy today.

Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis accessibly introduces the core psychoanalytic concepts. In contrast to existing dictionaries, the volume does not simply offer cursory definitions, and it is not overly entrenched in a particular psychoanalytic tradition.

Providing short, reader-friendly descriptions of each concept, Key Concepts in Psychoanalysis shows both its place in the field as well its more general cultural usage. It is not simply a reference book, but can be read cover to cover to provide an overview of the therapeutic and cultural uses of central terms. Concepts are introduced in ways which make them truly available to a non-expert readership and to beginning students.

Examples of concepts introduced include: unconscious, repression, projection, Oedipus complex, interpretation, resistance, and transference.

Psychoanalysis has had a profound influence on twentieth-century thought in a wide variety of areas, from psychology and psychiatry to sociology, literature, feminism and politics. Most importantly, it offers insights into the relationship between individual subjectivity and social relations, making it a key discipline for understanding the links between social phenomena and personal experience. Since its first publication in 1987, The Politics of Psychoanalysis has been widely recognised as one of the best introductions to psychoanalytic theory from the point of view of its relevance for social relations. As well as describing Freud's work, it examines the basic assumptions and social implications of a broad spectrum of post-Freudian psychoanalytic thought, especially object relations, Kleinian and Lacanian theory. Feminist and critical psychoanalytic approaches are explored, along with questions of psychoanalytic practice andd its implications for social and personal change. For this second edition, the book has been thoroughly revised, with updated accounts of the theories covered in the first edition, plus new material on contemporary feminist psychoanalytic work and on the engagement of psychoanalysis with postmodernism. The result is a book that combines a lucid introduction to theory with a radical examination of the value of psychoanalysis for therapeutic and social practice.

'Frosh knows his material extremely well; he raises interesting questions and offers some suggestive insights...His interweaving of social theory with psychodynamic explanation is sophisticated and compelling...The book is valuable for its thoughtful and informed insights on contemporary psychoanalytic theories of the self and its pathologies' Contemporary Psychology Identity Crisis examines the psychological responses of people to the excitements and terrors that characterise the modern world. Beginning with a description of modernist and post-modernist accounts of contemporary life, it then moves into detailed discussions of narcissism and psychosis - two states of mind that seem to characterise the 'crises of self' to which the modern world gives rise. Identity Crisis will be of interest to students in a wide range of disciplines including psychology, sociology, psychoanalysis, politics and cultural studies.

Bringing together contributions on abuse from writers working in social policy, social work and psychotherapy, Psychodynamic Perspectives on Abuse explores the nature and ramifications of abuse in a new light.

Abuse is defined broadly and considered as a widespread phenomenon with a variety of manifestations and contexts. Its consequences, and the responses it may provoke, are discussed in detail with reference to three areas. In the personal context, the impact of abuse on an individual's development, emotional life and ability to participate in society is addressed. In the workplace, where the focus is upon working relationships and organizational goals, abuse may cause stress, undermine effectiveness and lead to legal redress: thus it involves a different set of problems and requires different treatment. In relation to society as a whole, the threat which abuse poses and the factors which determine policy are evaluated. Psychodynamic Perspectives on Abuse is unique in its range and focus, providing the cross-disciplinary approach to this problem which is essential for developing strategies to deal with it at all levels.

Psychoanalysis has always been a source of controversy throughout academic and popular culture. This controversy relates to questions of its true value, its scientific status, its politics and its therapeutic effectiveness. Psychoanalysis' defenders regard it as a body of knowledge built on careful and painstaking exploration of complex clinical encounters, offering more detailed and valid insights than can be obtained from other sources. Psychoanalysis is also a building block for considerations of human subjectivity in a wide range of academic disciplines and practical areas of work, from social theory to feminist studies, to counseling and psychotherapy.
In this thoroughly revised and updated second edition of "For and Against Psychoanalysis," Stephen Frosh examines the arguments surrounding psychoanalysis at some key points: its standing as a scientific theory, its value as a method of therapy, its potency as a contributor to debates around identity construction, gender, homosexuality andracism. At each of these points, there is something to be said 'for and against' psychoanalysis, with the balance depending on whether it deepens our understanding of human functioning, whether it is consistent with its own perceptions and theories or seems subservient to social pressures and norms, and whether it is coherent or muddled, evocative or sterile.
"For and Against Psychoanalysis" provides an accessible introduction and critical guide to the current standing of psychoanalysis. It is essential reading for students of psychoanalysis, counseling, psychotherapy and psychology, and for social researchers and social theorists, as well as for those who are simply interested in what placepsychoanalysis has in the modern world.