Within this important and insightful book, Sally Swartz introduces readers to early entanglements of psychoanalytic theory with colonialism and how it has led to significant and long-lasting implications for psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis and Colonialism is unique in drawing together a wide array of sources and a span of history from the beginnings of psychoanalysis to current theory and practice. The book explores ways in which Freudian theory incorporated the idea of the primitive into the centre of mapping the untamed territories of the unconscious, via notions of taming instinctual excess, civilizing the primitive and conquering and bringing order to wildness. The text describes the influences of colonialism on the thinking of Freud and Jung and goes on to describe anti-colonial voices, including C-ire and Mannoni, Memmi and Fanon, and their contribution to psychoanalytic theory. It concludes with thoughts on the challenges of decolonizing psychoanalysis.
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