This book comprises a collection of the distinguished psychoanalyst Elisabeth Young-Bruehl 's papers ranging from 'Psychoanalysis and Social Democracy', 'Civilization and its Dream of Contentment', 'Reflections on Women and Psychoanalysis' and 'Psychobiography and Character Study'. Each essay is of value in its own right, and the collection together will be found to make an important contribution to our understanding of the history of psychoanalysis. Description: ‘This sterling, wide-ranging set of papers, provides more than ample evidence of Elisabeth Young-Bruehl’s stature as a leader in psychoanalytical thought, as an original thinker, and as a bold commentator, able to celebrate the successes of the psychoanalytical movement, and to examine the causes of its often regrettable failures. Few workaday clinicians have the time or the training to master historiography, biography, political theory, feminism, sexual politics, critical theory, queer theory, and sociology as well as Elisabeth has done, not to mention the sprawling literature of psychoanalysis itself. 'With a rich capacity for synthesis, which never dips into shallowness, Elisabeth had the unique ability to draw from these many reservoirs to marvellous effect. Psychoanalysis should be proud to claim her as an important political thinker who admired Freud and his followers, and appreciated the traumas which inhibited the field from developing in a more robust, influential, compassionate, and non-sectarian way. 'The Clinic and the Context: Historical Essays serves as a potent reminder of the power of Elisabeth’s mind, of the breadth of her vision, and of the vibrancy of her authorial voice. Although she cannot be replaced or brought back to life, we hope that this selection of papers will keep the essence of Elisabeth Young-Bruehl’s mind and spirit alive for many decades to come.’
- From the Series Editor’s Preface by Professor Brett Kahr Notes about the author and editors: Elisabeth Young-Bruehl (1946–2011) was a faculty member at the Columbia Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research and a practising psychoanalyst in Manhattan. She was a member of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and the author of biographies of Hannah Arendt and Anna Freud plus many other books. Peter L. Rudnytsky is Professor of English at the University of Florida, a Visiting Scholar in the Psychoanalytic Studies Program at Emory University, and the editor of American Imago. Honorary Member of the American Psychoanalytic Association and Corresponding Member of the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, he is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a private practice in Gainesville. He received the Gradiva Award in 2003 for Reading Psychoanalysis: Freud, Rank, Ferenczi, Groddeck, and in 2004 was the Fulbright/Freud Society Scholar of Psychoanalysis in Vienna. Gillian Preston, née Coltart, trained as a primary school teacher. She established a branch of the Preschool Play Group Movement in Bournemouth and, in the early 1980s, joined the newly formed Adult Literacy Scheme. She worked for many years as a Welfare Officer for the Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon and is currently involved with local groups of Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International. |
