Disseminating Lacan

Brings together parts of the Lacanian discourse that have remained isolated in their respective research areas and outlines the shape of Lacanian discourse, showing the relation of Lacan's thought to philosophy, science, literature and aesthetics, gender and sexuality, and psychoanalytic theory.

The distinguishing feature of Disseminating Lacan is its decidedly interdisciplinary approach. This book brings together diverse research efforts which have remained, until now, isolated in their respective subject-matter areas.

The essays selected here exhibit a threefold discursive movement of dissemination which is implicit in Lacan's texts. First, they bring to light the way in which Lacan's text has been formed through diverse "borrowings" from various theoretical discourses such as sociology, linguistics, and philosophy. Second, they trace how Lacan's text, in turn, has engaged, affected, and transformed those theoretical disciplines. Third, they suggest some possible critical readings of Lacan from various perspectives and concerns. These critiques, far from refuting Lacan's undeniable contribution to psychoanalysis and to the intellectual world, enrich and advance Lacanian discourse.

The book features four prominent French Lacanians: Juan-David Nasio, Joël Dor, Moustapha Safouan, and Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen. Essays by two of them, Nasio and Dor, appear here in English for the first time. Additionally, the volume features authors who have established and continue to guide Lacanian studies in the United States, and it introduces emerging voices in Lacanian studies.