Main description:

Originally published in 1999 Social Theory and Psychoanalysis in Transition is a benchmark critique of Freudian theory in which a dialogue between the Frankfurt School, the Lacanian tradition and post-Lacanian developments in critical and feminist theory is developed. Considering afresh the relations between self and society, Elliot argues for the importance of imagination and the unconscious in understanding issues about the self and self-identity, ideology and power, sexual difference and gender.

Contents:

Acknowledgements Preface Introduction 1. Subjectivity and the Discourse of Psychoanalysis: Freud and Social Theory 2. The Manipulation of Desire: Critical Theory and the Problem of Fragmentation 3. Repression and Social Transformation: Critical Theory Beyond the Politics of Domination 4. The Language of Desire: Lacan and the Specular Structure of the Self 5. Psychoanalysis, Ideology and Modern Societies: Post-Lacanian Social Theory 6. Sexual Division, Gender-Identity and Symbolic Order: Feminist Politics and Post-Lacanian Theory 7. Social Theory and Psychoanalysis in Transition: The Possibilities of the Social Imagery Notes and References Index