Plenty of new books on Lacanian theory and practice were published or announced for publication last month. Perhaps fittingly so given that November marks the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Lacan’s Écrits by Seuil.

Firstly, released at the end of October is Raul Moncayo’s Lalangue, Sinthome, Jouissance, and Nomination. Coming hot on the heels of the English publication of Seminar XXIII itself by Polity last month, Moncayo’s work is billed as a companion and commentary on that text, though less about Joyce and more about Lacan’s treatment of Joyce. Moncayo opens with a comparison of the treatment of psychosis in this Seminar against the earlier Seminar III on the same subject, before providing a session-by-session commentary on Seminar XXIII. The book is released on 31st October by publishers Karnac.

Secondly, the ever-popular Slavoj Žižek’s Antigone , was published by Bloomsbury on 20th October. A short treatise, Žižek’s latest offering questions the status of Antigone – heroine of Lacan’s Seminar VII on ethics – as the innocent and pure embodiment of human dignity and proposes a re-write of the fable in darker tones. More details here.

Thirdly, the Palgrave Lacan Series continues its publication schedule showcasing the best of new Lacanian theory. Announced last month for publication in January 2017 is a volume edited by Diana Caine and Colin Wright, Perversion Now! The collection re-examines the category of perversion through clinical cases, literature, film and art. The book is also available to pre-order on Amazon here.

On the same topic, the Freud Museum, London, is organising a half-day seminar on Sunday 27th November titled ‘What are Perversions?’ An array of Lacanian speakers will be presenting, including Sergio Benvenuto, Dany Nobus, and Darian Leader. The seminar will consider how psychoanalysis defines perversion as something more than just deviations from the ‘norm’ and the grounds for the criteria it applies to justify this category. Booking is available on Eventbrite where there is also a full programme list.

Finally among new book publications is Herman Westerink’s The Heart of Man’s Destiny: Lacanian Psychoanalysis and Early Reformation Thought, an exploration of Lacan’s Seminar VII (on ethics) in connection with the ideas of the early Protestant Reformation. It is also due for publication in January.

Among events, the Argument for the PIPOL 8 Congress coming up in Brussels on 1st and 2nd July next year was published last month, authored by Patricia Bosquin-Caroz. An English translation, kindly provided by Raphael Montague, is available here. The title of the Congress, ‘Non-Standard Clinical Practices’, relates to the practice of psychoanalysis as a practice built on a respect for the singularity and uniqueness of individual cases, and therefore resistant to the ‘push-to-the-norm’ of standarisable, generally applicable psychotherapeutic techniques in the medico-psychosocial field.

One of Lacan’s former students, Stuart Schneiderman, himself a practicing analyst until he abandoned the field, will be giving a talk hosted by Analytica in New York on Fri 4th November with the title ‘The Late Lacan and Beyond (Schneiderman): What Is it Like to Work in Analysis with Lacan?’. Although now critical of psychoanalysis, Schneiderman wrote some interesting books while still in the fold, including Jacques Lacan: Death of an Intellectual Hero and Returning to Freud, which contains the only known transcript from one of Lacan’s sessions with a psychotic patient. His talk is bound to be of historical interest even in spite of the divergences in theory.

The 5th symposium organised by the Jung/Lacan Research Network will take place at Middlesex University, London on Saturday, 12 November between 2 and 4 p.m. The theme of this meeting is Psychosis and discussants are Alistair Black and Trevor Jameson, who will elaborate on the Jung’s and Lacan’s theories of psychosis and their implications for clinical practice. Further details and registration are available here.

The ICLO-NLS in Dublin is hosting a series of four seminars on the development of Lacan’s ideas on language over the course of his work, under the heading ‘The Trauma of Language’. Presented by Rik Loose, the first seminar takes place on 11th November, and is free and open to all. More details on the group’s Facebook page.

In Spain, Madrid will see the XVth Study Days of the Escuela Lacaniana de Psicoanálisis (ELP) on 19th and 20th November on the theme ‘Women: A Question for Psychoanalysis’. The event is in Spanish but there is considerable content on the event’s site for Spanish speakers.

Finally, the NLS has published a new journal in the Netherlands, from the Dutch affiliate Kring voor Psychoanalyse. via Lacan is the successor to the previous journal iNWiT, and the first edition is presented under the title ‘The Body: Between Terror and Creation’. The publication is in Dutch but for speakers of that language contents and a link to order are here.

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