Author Archives: PsyArt

By: David Mathew Abstract: This UK-centric paper explores Freud’s theories of groups and the influence that they have had on contemporary horror fiction, using the British riots of the summer of 2011 as working examples. Initially drawing on Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, I explore the presentation of characters who, when facedContinue reading “The Collected Monster”

By: Amira Karray Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyse the spontaneous drawings of houses produced by 45 street children in Haiti after the earthquake of 12 January 2010. The drawings were made during workshops held in children’s homes and child reception centres. Given that over half of the random sample free drawingsContinue reading “The depiction of the house in the free drawings of Haitian street children: Dreaming of and recreating a habitat.”

By: Missy Molloy Abstract: Freud’s defensive stance toward female psychosexual development has two clear sources: one, his sensitivity to feminist critiques; and two, his awareness that female sexuality remained slippery despite his sustained effort to incorporate it into his major theories. Like the psychoanalytic process, which brings patients into direct contact with areas of psychicContinue reading “Mother-Daughter Ambivalence According to Sigmund Freud and Chantal Akerman”

By: Dyutiman Mukhopadhyay Abstract: The definition of ‘Archetype’ typically refers to an original which has been imitated. The origin of the concept of Archetype in the traditional sense of the term refers to the primitive, universal perceptual imprint – a theory that dates back to Plato. The idea of the archetypal image is conceptually integratedContinue reading “The neuro-philosophy of archetype in visual aesthetics: from Plato to Zeki and beyond”

By: Andrew M. Spencer Abstract: Carl Jung writes in Psychology and Religion: West and East that “It is not I who create myself, rather I happen to myself.” This surprisingly Taoist statement is perhaps a perfect way to define the distinction between spirituality and religion in children’s picture books. While religious children’s books can beContinue reading “Happening to Oneself: Zen, Taoism, and Jungian Individuation as Paths to Spirituality in Edward Gorey’s The Object Lesson and Shel Silverstein’s The Missing Piece.”

By: Adrian Chapman Abstract: R. D. Laing’s critically neglected verse volume Knots (1970) is treated as a literary text and related to games, game theory and Cold War politics. The main focus is Laing’s use and view of language. He attempts, Zen-like, to reveal its conventionality and point towards another order of being. Knots participatesContinue reading “‘Knots’: Drawing out Threads of the Literary Laing”

By: Anna Walker Abstract: This paper explores the repetitive nature of the flashback and discusses Cathy Caruth’s notion of the flashback as a traumatic event from outside that has moved inside without any mediation. Freud writes about Nachtraglichkeit – or deferred action trauma constituted by the relationship between two-events or experiences of two competing impulses.Continue reading “The trauma of the flashback: memory and its suffering (negotiated through Gerhard Richter’s painting ‘September.’)”

By: Laura B. Vogel Abstract: This essay presents contrasting psychosexual profiles of Shakespeare’s heroines Isabella, in Measure for Measure, and Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra. Isabella, a classic Freudian hysteric, has no conscious awareness of her desire or her seductiveness, and protects her chastity. Cleopatra is fully cognizant of her powerful and playful sexuality, andContinue reading “Is This Her Fault or Mine?”

By: Robert Silhol Abstract: In this paper, I would like to clarify two particular notions–illustrations–which Lacan used to present his own reading of Freud’s model, a representation in fact which amounts to a development of psychoanalytical theory along what I take to be very freudian lines : the object and the law.

By: Jonathan F. Bassett Abstract: This paper offers an analysis of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy (SOA) through the lenses of Terror Management Theory (TMT) and Moral Foundations Theory (MFT). TMT asserts that, in order to mitigate death anxiety, people merge their identities with something larger and more powerful than their corporeal selves.Continue reading “Every Day is a Box for the Reaper Crew: The Quest for Death Transcendence and Conflicting Moral Virtues in Sons of Anarchy?”