Understanding Lacan, Understanding Modernism

Presents the most wide-ranging and in-depth exploration of the influence of modernist art and literature on Jacques Lacan, emphasizing the valences of Lacanian psychoanalysis for interpretations of modernism.

A notorious presence in French intellectual circles throughout the 20th century, Lacan was personal friends with modernists such as André Breton and Salvador Dalí, and in 1923 was present at the legendary reading of Ulysses at the Shakespeare and Company bookshop by James Joyce, to whom Lacan would devote a year of his seminar in 1975-76. Lacan also contributed to several Surrealist publications, including the famous magazine Minotaure, the inaugural edition of which featured special mention of Lacan's early work on psychosis. However, despite his affinity with early 20th-century modernism, Lacan's name is still more routinely associated with the category of so-called "postmodernism," thus rendering the question of style and periodization somewhat out of focus.

Understanding Lacan, Understanding Modernism asks and responds to a series of questions, including: Is Lacan a modernist or a postmodernist, and what is the difference? How significant was the influence of modernist literature and art on the development of Lacan's ideas? How does our understanding of modernism change when viewed through a Lacanian lens?

The final section identifies key Lacaninan concepts, offering context and a discussion of their usage and relevance in current thought.