Repetition and Subjectivity

Reviews / Votes

"Repetition and Subjectivity is a truly extraordinary achievement of thinking through one of the most challenging and intriguing concepts to emerge at the site of contemporary philosophy, as well as psychoanalysis, with Lacan declaring repetition one of the 'four fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis.' Kolenc takes us through different facets of this concept with clarity, precision, and intellectual boldness. This is a profoundly engaging book, filled with new and crucial insights at every turn." - Alenka Zupancic, author of Disavowal

"Lucidly written and incredibly readable, Repetition and Subjectivity puts repetition to work as a historical, spatial, and contemporary concept. Why, Bara Kolenc asks, does modernity keep repeating itself? Showing how Kierkegaard anticipates Freud, Kolenc argues that we can't quite lay modernity to rest, and perhaps we don't want to. Modernity functions like an otherworldly earworm in time, elevating muse-like figures-the poet, the thinker, the lover, and so on-to vain images of themselves, repeatedly. The subject serves as a willing dupe to this movement, and yet, Kolenc's notion of the 'duty,' as opposed to the 'command,' to repeat reinvigorates at least the minimal agency of the subject. Filled with 'a-ha!' moments, this book is sure to be seriously discussed and debated by scholars situated at the nexus of psychoanalysis and philosophy." - Cindy Zeiher, author of Stupidity and Psychoanalysis: Lacanian Perspectives on New Subjectivities and Social Form