A Compendium of Lacanian Terms

Jacques Lacan (1901-81) was one of the most original and controversial thinkers of the post-war period. His ideas had a profound effect on the intellectual movements of his time and his work is of continuing importance to a wide range of disciplines: psychoanalytic theory and practice, literary criticism, critical social theory, linguistics, cinema, art criticism and political science. Lacan's ideas can, however, be notoriously difficult: convoluted, idiosyncratic, arcane, and almost always obscure! A Compendium of Lacanian Terms provides students of Lacan with a clear and helpful exposition on some 40 key terms. Each entry outlines the conceptualization of the idea, locating it within Lacanian discourse, and the evolution of the term within the development of Lacan's ideas. A list of references is provided at the end of each entry. The editors' brief essay-like descriptions of key Lacanian terms are a superb idea, much needed in both academic and clinical arenas of psychoanalytic world. - Choice - Jan 2002