In May, 1968, a bold and innovative new series made its debut on the scientific program at the 55th annual meeting of the Association in Boston. The Interdisciplinary Colloquia embodied an idea central in importance to our science, that of mutual communication and cross-fertilization between psychoanalysis and the humanities. The Colloquia were the culmination of thoughtful deliberation and debate within the Program Committee, then chaired by Dr. Martin Wangh of New York. Since then the Colloquia have become a regular feature of our biannual meetings. Their popularity and significance have steadily increased, both for participating psychoanalysts and distinguished guests, and for psychoanalysis in general.
The Colloquia were conceived, in part, in response to the allegation that psychoanalysts were hoarding the “secrets” gleaned from their clinical work in the “ivory towers” of their consulting rooms, and in part, as one way to improve our public relations. Planned to provide a forum bringing together psychoanalysts with a particular interest and expertise in the applications of psychoanalysis in the social sciences and humanities with distinguished colleagues from those fields, the Colloquia met a long recognized need for such dialogues. Presented on Thursday, infrequently Friday, and most often Sunday afternoons, the choice of the topic for individual Colloquia has been the responsibility of Colloquia chairmen. The chairmen have also been responsible for publicizing the Colloquium and for inviting the non-analyst guests. Registration has generally been by invitation only, and the number of participants has been limited to approximately twenty analysts and guests. In the several continuing colloquia, a core group of analysts and guests has maintained continuity of the discussion from year to year.
A listing of the subjects covered
by the Colloquia Series reveals the breadth and depth of the interests of psychoanalysts. The two initial offerings in 1968 consisted of Colloquia on “Affect and Cognition” chaired by Dr. Max Schur, and “Psychoanalysis and Biography” chaired by Dr. David Beres (who replaced Dr. Bernard C. Meyer because of the latter's illness). Subsequently, some fourteen different Colloquia have been offered, two of which have continued from 1968 to the present: “Psychoanalytic Questions and Methods in Anthropological Fieldwork” (originally chaired by Drs. Warner Muensterberger and Robert A. Levine, currently chaired by Dr. L. Bryce Boyer), and “The Relevance of Psychoanalysis to Contemporary Social Work” (whose analyst-chairmen have included Drs. George Wiedeman, Edward Weinshel, and Stanley Cath).
The eagerness with which participants greeted the opportunity afforded by the Colloquia for critical evaluation of each discipline's points of view, and for exchange of mutually stimulating ideas and theoretical concepts, has been noteworthy. A list of invited guests from the social sciences would include scientists and educators of national and international prominence. For instance, Dr. Stanley Hoffman, the noted Harvard political scientist, has co-chaired the Colloquium “The Alternations of War and Peace” since 1970, first with Dr. Wangh and currently with Dr. Francis Baudry. Other noteworthy non-analyst co-chairmen of Colloquia have included Professor Frederick Crews of Berkeley (“The Psychoanalytic Climate in Modern Literature”); Shirley Cooper and Myron Rockmore, both well-known social workers (“The Relevance of Psychoanalysis to Contemporary Social Work”); Dr. Terrence Tice of Ann Arbor (“Psychoanalysis and Teacher Education: Approaches for Working with Underprivileged Children and Youth”); and Dr. Franz Reichsman, a well-known Brooklyn internist and researcher (“The Interrelation Between Soma and Psyche: Vicissitudes of Object Relations and Physical Illness”).
The attitudes of the participants toward their experience in the Colloquia, as reflected in comments by the past chairmen, have been diverse and thought-provoking. The format of individual Colloquia has varied from an informal, open-ended discussion of a topic without prepared presentation to a more formal presentation and discussion of pre-circulated material. This latter mode has been used to good effect by the Colloquium on anthropological fieldwork. One of the anthropologists in this Colloquium has since become a serious student of psychoanalysis, and has contributed significantly to the psychoanalytic understanding of socialization phenomena. Many of the chairmen believe that the Colloquia have led to a better understanding of the points of view, theoretical positions, and problems of each other's discipline. On the other hand, one chairman notes that each discipline has had its own “axe to grind,” and in certain areas meaningful dialogue hasn't been easy to establish. There is general agreement among the chairmen, however, that the Colloquium experience is mutually enriching to both analyst and non-analyst participants. Indeed, in certain Colloquia, additional meetings have been scheduled outside the biannual schedule of Association meetings. In addition, the Colloquia Series has directly reinforced the idea of interdisciplinary exchanges in the scientific program planning on local Society and Institute levels.
Under the able chairmanship of Dr. Nathan Segel since May, 1972, the Program Committee has continued to foster the growing interest of the membership in the Colloquia series. There are five ongoing Colloquia scheduled for either the December, 1974, or the May, 1975 meetings of the Association. These are: “Alternations of War and Peace,” chaired by Dr. Francis Baudry; “Psychoanalytic Questions and Methods in Anthropological Fieldwork,” chaired by Dr. L. Bryce Boyer; “Social Work and Psychoanalysis,” chaired by Dr. Irving Kaufman; “Problems of the Psychoanalytic Theory of Aggression,” chaired by Dr. Leo Stone; a d “Psychoanalysis and Teacher Education,” co-chaired by Drs. Howard Schlossmann and Tom Stauffer.
The seminal effect of the Colloquia on the development of other parts of our scientific program has been considerable. During Dr. Segel's imaginative term of leadership of the Program Committee, the number and variety of the Wednesday and Thursday afternoon Discussion Groups has burgeoned. Several of these groups have reflected a direct extension or particularization of topics initially considered at a Colloquium. In the December, 1974 meeting, Dr. Jean Briggs, an anthropologist who has participated in the Colloquium on anthropological fieldwork will discuss her book Never in Anger at a session of the “Meet the Author” series initiated in the 1974 Annual Meeting in Denver. We may anticipate that the Colloquia will also exert their influence on the selection of topics for panel presentations and in scientific papers presented by individual members. Two new offerings conceived during Dr. Segel's tenure, the Panel Workshops and the increased use of videofilm presentations, provide additional vehicles for future inter-displinary exchanges.
The future place of the Interdisciplinary Colloquia in the scientific proceedings of the Association now seems assured. Initially a somewhat controversial idea which required the loving and determined midwifery of Dr. Wangh and the Program Committee of the late sixties to assure its early survival, the Colloquia today have been commended by members of a panel charged with the task of surveying the Future of Psychoanalysis, chaired by Dr. Irving Sternschein. The panelists were unanimous in their opinion that interdisciplinary exchanges were essential to the continued development of psychoanalytic theory and practice. As we look forward to 1976, and the 65th annual meeting of the Association in Baltimore, the city of its birth, analysts can confidently expect our science to weather the ubiquitous criticism of its relevance to contemporary Society. Its foundation is the more secure and its superstructure the more cohesive as a result of the efforts of those men and women dedicated to the advancement of our science via the sometimes rocky, but usually rewarding path of free, interdisciplinary exchanges with other behavioral scientists.
—George Roark, M.D.