History on the Couch: Essays in History and Psychoanalysis

Bridging the academic gap between psychoanalysis and history, this collection of essays and case studies offers an empirical and methodological challenge to accepted understandings of identity, nationalism, and gender. Contributors including Judith Brett, Marilyn Lake, John Rickard, and James Walter use the lens of psychoanalysis in their considerations of such topics as the holocaust, prisoner-of-war experiences, gay identity, crises in the Balkans and Ireland, and national identity in Australia. The interdisciplinary scope of the writing offers new insight into existing debates on using psychoanalysis to heal trauma and understand the unconscious.