PSYCHOANALYSIS AND POLITICS ACTION A LIMIT OF PSYCHOANALYSIS?

CALL FOR PAPERS ULSTEINVIK, NORWAY, JULY 29TH AUGUST 5TH 2013
In "Remembering, Repeating and Working Through" Freud (1914g) posits acting out as the obverse of remembering. "'Agieren' write Laplanche and Pontalis (1973), "is nearly always coupled with 'erinnern', to remember, the two being contrasting ways of bringing the past into the present." In Freud's words: "the patient acts it before us, as it were, instead of reporting it to us" (1940a [1938]) yielding to the compulsion to repeat. Acting out is thus located alongside repetition and resistance. But, can psychoanalytic discourse conceptualise actions, or political praxis, otherwise than as acting out? Is political praxis, from a psychoanalytic perspective, always to be understood as resistance to remembering in the context of transference? In Laplanche and Pontalis' formulation: "One of the outstanding tasks of psycho-analysis is to ground the distinction between transference and acting out on criteria other than purely technical ones or even mere considerations of locale (does something happen within the consulting room or not?). This task presupposes a reformulation of the concepts of action and actualisation and a fresh definition of the different modalities of communication." Along this line of questioning, we might ask: is it possible to conceptualise psychoanalytically different kinds of acting? In relation to political activism, Hanna Segal cites Nadejda Mandelstam on the dangers of keeping silent about politics, as is common practice in psychoanalysis, by asserting: "Silence is the real crime against humanity" (Segal, 1987). Thus a question is raised about the place the analyst can or should occupy when it comes to political praxis. Are neutrality, abstinence and silence techniques that can be understood as political praxes as well, and if so, do they conceal the danger of political passivity? Are there any other possibilities for the analyst to occupy a political place? The passivity of the analyst, however, is meant to promote the patients speech, thinking and memory. Can political action or praxis be understood as promoting memory and thinking rather than avoiding them? Segal's position, along these lines, identifies articulation of psychic mechanisms like denial, projection and magical thinking in political life as a political act allied with memory and reflection: "To be acquainted with facts and recognize psychic facts, which we of all people know something about, and to have the courage to try to state them clearly, is in fact the psychoanalytic stand." We invite contributions that discuss the potential political role of psychoanalytic thinking and reflections on psychoanalytic understandings of action, activism, 'engagement' and 'neutrality' within and beyond the frame of the consulting room. This is an interdisciplinary conference we invite theoretical contributions and historical, literary or clinical case studies on these and related themes from philosophers, sociologists, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, literary theorists, historians and others. Perspectives from different psychoanalytic schools will be most welcome. Presentations are expected to take half an hour; another 20 minutes is set aside for discussion. Please send an abstract of 200 to 300 words to psychoanalysis.politics@gmail.com by May 10th 2013. Abstracts received after this date will not be considered. We will respond by, and present a preliminary programme on, May 15th 2013. If you would like to sign up to participate without presenting a paper, please e-mail us to let us know, and say a few words about yourself if you have not participated in previous Psychoanalysis and Politics symposia.

ABOUT PSYCHOANALYSIS AND POLITICS

Psychoanalysis and Politics is a conference series that aims to address how crucial contemporary political issues may be fruitfully analyzed through psychoanalytic theory and vice versa how political phenomena may reflect back on psychoanalytic thinking. The series is interdisciplinary; we invite theoretical contributions and historical, literary or clinical case studies from philosophers, sociologists, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, group analysts, literary theorists, historians and others. Perspectives from different psychoanalytic schools are most welcome.

PSYCHOANALYSIS AND POLITICS ACTION A LIMIT OF PSYCHOANALYSIS?

We emphasise room for discussion among the presenters and participants, thus the symposium series creates a space where representatives of different perspectives come together and engage with one another's contributions, participating in a community of thought. We aim to be non-discriminatory and egalitarian. Disrespect or discrimination towards the forum or any of its participants on the basis of nationality, skin colour, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexuality will not be tolerated. We aim to disseminate the knowledge produced in these fora by means of publications.

Non-exclusive list of some relevant literature Auestad, L. ed. (2012) Psychoanalysis and Politics. Exclusion and the Politics of Representation. London: Karnac. Borossa, J./Ward, I. (2009) "Psychoanalysis, Fascism and Fundamentalism", Psychoanalysis and History Special Issue, vol. 11 no 2. Danto, E. A. (2005) Freuds Free Clinics: Psychoanalysis & Social Justice, 1918-1938 New York: Columbia University Press. Freud, S. (1908d) 'Civilized' Sexual Morality and Modern Nervous Illness. S.E., 9. Freud, S. (1914g) Remembering, Repeating and Working-Through, S.E., 12. Freud, S. (1921c) Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, S.E., 18. Freud, S. (1927c) The Future of an Illusion, S.E., 21. Freud, S. (1933b [1932]) Why War?, S.E., 22. Freud, S. (1940a [1938]) An Outline of Psycho-Analysis, S.E., 23. Frosh, S. (2010) Psychoanalysis outside the Clinic. Interventions in Psychosocial Studies. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Hoggett, P. (1992) Partisans in an Uncertain World: The Psychoanalysis of Engagement. London: Free Association Books. Jacoby, R. (1983) The Repression of Psychoanalysis. Otto Fenichel and the Political Freudians. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. Laplanche, J. and Pontalis, J.B. (1973). The Language of Psycho-Analysis. Int. Psycho-Anal. Lib., 94:1-497 Layton, L/Hollander, N. C/Gutwill, S. eds. (2006) Psychoanalysis, Class and Politics. Encounters in the Clinical Setting. London and New York: Routledge. Milino, A./Ware, C. eds. Where Id Was. Challenging Normalization in Psychoanalysis. London and New York: Continuum. Rose, J. (1993) Why War? Psychoanalysis, Politics, and the Return to Melanie Klein. Oxford, UK & Cambridge, USA: Blackwell. Segal, H. (1987) "Silence is the Real Crime" in Int. Rev. Psycho-Anal. vol. 14. no 3. Steiner, R. (2000) "It is a New Kind of Diaspora". Explorations in the Sociopolitical and Cultural Context of Psychoanalysis. London: Karnac Books.