The End of Dissatisfaction?: Jacques Lacan and the Emerging Society of Enjoyment

by Todd McGowan

Overview

Explains why the American cultural obsession with enjoying ourselves actually makes it more difficult to do so.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791459683
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	11/20/2003
Series:	SUNY series in Psychoanalysis and Culture
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Todd McGowan is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Vermont and the author of The Feminine "No!": Psychoanalysis and the New Canon, also published by SUNY Press.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Psychoanalysis after Marx

1. From Prohibition to Enjoyment

2. The Decline of Paternal Authority

3. Embracing the Image

4. Shrinking Distances

5. Interpretation under Duress

6. The Appeal of Cynicism

7. The Politics of Apathy

8. A Missing Public World

9. Explosions of Incivility, Aggressiveness, and Violence

Conclusion: From Imaginary Enjoyment to Its Real Counterpart

Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is a compelling and indeed paradigm-shifting book that successfully combines Lacanian theory with cultural criticism to provide an in-depth analysis of the effects of global capitalism on contemporary American subjects. It is essential reading for those interested in cultural studies, psychoanalysis, contemporary film criticism, and contemporary literature."

From the Publisher