Race and the Unconscious
Freudianism in French Caribbean Thought

Celia Britton

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Research Monographs in French Studies 12

Legenda

1 November 2002  •  124pp

ISBN: 1-900755-68-8 (paperback)  •  RRP £75, $99, €85

FrenchPhilosophy

In this ground-breaking study Britton looks at the different ways in which Freudian psychoanalysis has been incorporated into arguments about racial identity and difference in the French Caribbean. Freud is often accused of Eurocentrism and in particular of making unjustifiable generalizations on the basis of European family structures. Although French Caribbean intellectuals such as Fanon, Césaire and Glissant have joined in these criticisms, they have also made strikingly positive use of psychoanalysis. Much intellectual energy has been invested in notions of repression, the Oedipus complex and the psychoanalytic cure, while at the same time Freudianism has been no less vigorously criticized for its political quietism and its potential as a means of social control. Thus Freudian theory, and the controversies it arouses, remains a surprisingly persistent element in Caribbean culture. The crucial issue is the link between the unconscious and race.

Celia Britton is Professor of French at University College London. She has published widely on French Caribbean literature, in particular on the work of Edouard Glissant, and on the Nouveau Roman.

Reviews:

  • ‘In this original, succinct, and highly relevant book, Celia Britton ... traces the various distortions and reformulations of Freudian thought within the Antillean context. ... The book combines intricate close reading with in-depth knowledge of the psychoanalytic field, and this brief but punchy sequence of arguments successfully points the way towards further questioning and research in a rich and complex area.’ — Jane Hiddleston, Modern Language Review 100.2, 2005, 515 (full text online)
  • ‘Fascinating essay ... Britton does not so much draw a conclusion as bring the argument to a point of (provisional) closure. But it is equally her triumph to be in a position to point to certain stable notions.’ — Belinda Jack, French Studies LVIII.3, 2004, 438-9
  • ‘A succinct, tightly-argued study... Britton's reading of this already much-interpreted and misinterpreted text [Peau noire, masques blancs] is complex and original.’ — Sam Haigh, Journal of Romance Studies 6.3, 2006, 127-35

Bibliography entry:

Britton, Celia, Race and the Unconscious: Freudianism in French Caribbean Thought, Research Monographs in French Studies, 12 (Legenda, 2002)

First footnote reference: 35 Celia Britton, Race and the Unconscious: Freudianism in French Caribbean Thought, Research Monographs in French Studies, 12 (Legenda, 2002), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Britton, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Britton, Celia. 2002. Race and the Unconscious: Freudianism in French Caribbean Thought, Research Monographs in French Studies, 12 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Britton 2002: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Britton 2002: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

This Legenda title was first published by European Humanities Research Centre, University of Oxford but rights to it are now held by Modern Humanities Research Association and Routledge.

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