The Psychoanalytic Art of Living; or: Learning to Love One's Fate

Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University. She specializes in twentieth century continental philosophy, critical theory, feminist theory, and social and political theory. Allen received her PhD in Philosophy from Northwestern University. She has held Fellowships from the American Association of University Women, the Whiting Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In 2024, she was awarded the Lotte Koehler Prize from the Sigmund Freud Institute in Frankfurt for her contributions to psychoanalytic theory. Her books include The Politics of Our Selves: Power, Autonomy, and Gender in Contemporary Critical Theory (Columbia University Press, 2008), The End of Progress: Decolonizing the Normative Foundations of Critical Theory (Columbia University Press, 2016), and Critique on the Couch: Why Critical Theory Needs Psychoanalysis (Columbia University Press, 2020).