The Freudians: A Comparative Perspective

Every country unconsciously creates the psychoanalysis it needs, says Edith Kurzweil. Freudians everywhere, even the most orthodox, are influenced by national traditions, interests, beliefs, and institutions. In this original and stimulating book, Kurzweil traces the ways in which psychoanalysis has evolved in Austria, England, France, Germany, and the United States. The author explains how psychoanalysis took root in each country, outlines the history of various psychoanalytic institutes, and describes how Freudian doctrine has been transmuted by aesthetic values, behavioral mores, and political traditions of different cultures. The Germans, for example, took Austrian humanism and made it "scientific." The British developed object relations. French psychoanalysts emphasized linguistics and structuralism and developed an abiding fascination with text, language, subtext, and plot structures. In her new introduction, Kurzweil reexamines her argument that countries develop their own psychoanalysis according to their needs. She describes evidence supporting her theories and why they continue to hold true today. She also discusses what led her to write this book initially. The Freudians is a major work in confirming the importance of psychoanalytic thought across national and cultural boundaries.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; One: Psychoanalysis Before 1945; 1: The Reception of Freud’s Theories; Chapter 2: From Informal Group to Formal Structures; Chapter 3: From Therapy to Theory; Chapter 4: Promises to Culture; Part Two: Applications Of Psychoanalysis; Chapter 5: Psychosomatic Medicine; Chapter 6: Education; Chapter 7: The Psychology of Women; Chapter 8: Literature and Criticism; Part Three: Psychoanalysis Since 1945; Chapter 9: The Organizational Network; Chapter 10: The Cultural Unconscious in National Costume; Chapter 11: Theoretical Innovations; Chapter 12: Psychoanalysis and Politics; Conclusion

Review :
-[This book] is the loving work of a scholar steeped in the nuances and controversies of a field that is second to none in provoking magnificent creativity, outspoken hostility, and the endlessly enticing likelihood that there is indeed far more to human behavior than meets the eye of the ordinary social scientist, psychologist, or lay person.- --Gordon Fellman, Contemporary Sociology -Edith Kurzweil's lucid and intelligent book is one of the few to suggest that national cultures have influenced psychoanalysis.- --David George, The Jerusalem Post "[This book] is the loving work of a scholar steeped in the nuances and controversies of a field that is second to none in provoking magnificent creativity, outspoken hostility, and the endlessly enticing likelihood that there is indeed far more to human behavior than meets the eye of the ordinary social scientist, psychologist, or lay person." --Gordon Fellman, Contemporary Sociology "Edith Kurzweil's lucid and intelligent book is one of the few to suggest that national cultures have influenced psychoanalysis." --David George, The Jerusalem Post "[This book] is the loving work of a scholar steeped in the nuances and controversies of a field that is second to none in provoking magnificent creativity, outspoken hostility, and the endlessly enticing likelihood that there is indeed far more to human behavior than meets the eye of the ordinary social scientist, psychologist, or lay person." --Gordon Fellman, Contemporary Sociology "Edith Kurzweil's lucid and intelligent book is one of the few to suggest that national cultures have influenced psychoanalysis." --David George, The Jerusalem Post