Psychoanalytic Theory: An Introduction, second edition, by Anthony Elliott,  Duke University Press, 2002,  196 pp., $22.95.

This deceptively short volume by the British social scientist and Professor, Anthony Elliott, will fill many needs left unmet by the increasingly voluminous literature of psychoanalysis, social psychology, political science, and philosophy. The author's stated goal is “to situate psychoanalysis in political context. This means looking at the claims of psychoanalysis without losing sight of culture, society, or politics” (page 2). Whether he is summarizing Freudian theory, the British object relations school, Lacan, or psychoanalytic feminism, professor Elliott steadfastly maintains his focus on the relationship between psychoanalytic theory and contemporary culture and politics.

Within this stated purpose the author identifies three main themes of his work. The first involves his dissection of human subjectivity and the development of selfhood. Elliott's ambitious goal includes expositions of diverse theoretical standpoints for the conceptualization of the self, self-identity, and subjectivity. The second theme involves the relationship between the internal world of the individual and the contemporary social and political world. Professor Elliott is well aware that links exist between self-experience, life experience, and individual psychology on the one hand and contemporary culture and society on the other. The