What is ‘psychoanalytic sociology’? Does it exist as a recognised field of
study, either as a sub-field of sociology, or as a sub-field of
psychoanalysis? Referencing the Brexit-Trump phenomenon and Fintan
O’Toole’s recent book, Heroic Failure, I will argue the need for
psychoanalytic sociology to become established on a more resilient
basis. Despite the undoubted importance of Freud for some major
figures and schools of thought in sociology, the place of psychoanalysis
in the sociological field has seemed to be an elusive and tenuous one.
From time to time, there have indeed been fruitful interactions between
these two powerful paradigms, describing and explaining phenomena
that neither could fully grasp alone. But then, each of these ‘fields’ has
largely withdrawn to its own primary area of study, avoiding the other as
beyond its grasp and concern. In this paper I will seek to explain how this
situation has come about, and ask what might have to happen for this
situation to change.
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