27 Rue de Fleurus, a Salon Meeting of the Contemporary Freudian Society
“Psychoanalysis and Thought Control :Reflections on Cold War Culture and Clinical Knowledge”
Daniel Pick, Presenter: Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 8:00 to 10:00pm, Location: TBA
How did “the talking cure” contribute to understanding politics, especiallythe extreme right in the last century? What were the enduring legacies of this Freudian “mobilization” in the Allied struggle against Germany? In this informal talk, I will think aloud about encounters between psychoanalysis and fascism, and suggest some of the outcomes, post-war, in culture, clinical knowledge and political thought. I will draw here upon my research in the archives on both sides of the Atlantic, and various stories in my recent book, The Pursuit of the Nazi Mind: Hitler, Hess and the Analysts.
In many ways psychoanalysis has helped shape contemporary understanding of fascist psychopathology, especially in its various contributions to group psychology. In turn, I want to suggest psychoanalysis was also significantly reshaped by its painful historical encounters with the Third Reich. In the final part of the talk, I would like to ponder how Freudian ideas, and clinical knowledge were also co-opted in the Cold War, and to invite debate about the role of psychoanalysis more widely in modern thought on totalitarianism and brainwashing.
Daniel Pick is a psychoanalyst and cultural historian. He read English at Cambridge, before embarking on a Ph. D in history, and later clinical training. Alongside his private clinical practice, he is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is a fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society and of the Royal Historical Society. He currently co-runs an MA programme at Birkbeck on Psychoanalysis, History and Culture, and leads undergraduate courses, as well as supervising a variety of doctoral projects. Daniel has written on the history of psychoanalysis and psychiatry; evolutionary theory and the idea of degeneration in the nineteenth century, eugenics and social Darwinism; modern ideas of war; the myth of Svengali; popular culture at the turn of the century, and cultural attitudes to crime and madness in the Victorian period. His publications include The Pursuit of the Nazi Mind: Hitler, Hess, and the Analysts (2012), Rome or Death: The Obsessions of General Garibaldi (2005), as editor (with Lyndal Roper), Dreams and History: The Interpretation of Dreams from Ancient Greece to Modern Psychoanalysis (2004), and Faces of Degeneration: A European Disorder, c. 1848-1918 (1989). He has frequently contributed to radio programmes about psychoanalysis and cultural history has also written numerous academic articles as well as feature pieces for newspapers and magazines. He is an editor of History Workshop Journal, a member of the advisory board of the journal Psychoanalysis and History and the Cambridge University Press book series, Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture. He is also on the editorial board of the New Library of Psychoanalysis.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this program, participants will be able to:
1) consider the impact of the political world on shaping psychoanalysis
2) think about the impact of the Third Reich, particularly on the future of psychoanalysis
3) discuss how psychoanalytic thinking can impact the larger culture.
CE Credits:
Psychologists: The Contemporary Freudian Society is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education programs for psychologists. CFS maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CE credits are granted to participants with documented attendance and completed evaluation forms. Attendance is monitored. Credit will not be granted to registrants who arrive late, or depart early. It is the responsibility of participants seeking APA-approved CE credits to comply with the requirements outlined below. Upon completion of these requirements, participants will be given 2 CE credits.
The fee for the 2 CE credits is $20.00. An evaluation form will be emailed to you. You will receive a Certificate of Attendance with your CE credits upon receipt of the completed evaluation form.
Important Disclosure Information: None of the planners and presenters of this CE program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Suggested Program Contribution: $15.00
CE Credits (Optional): $20.00
Nancy Cromer Grayson and Debra Gill, Co-Chairs, Susan N. Finkelstein, Moderator
For additional information, please contact Debra Gill (212-534-0669 or debra.gill@gmail.com) or Nancy Cromer-Grayson (212-427-9023 or cromergrayson@gmail.com).
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The Contemporary Freudian Society
Salon Meeting – 4/2/14
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