Lacan postulated that the psyche can be understood by means of certain structures, which control our lives and our desires, and which operate differently at different logical moments or stages of formation. In these seminars we aim to uncover the topological structures that Lacan elaborated as structures within language itself. The first seminar considers Lacan’s turn to knot theory and to the Borromean chain which presents a completely new way to theorize the relation of the three registers of the Real, Symbolic and Imaginary.

By elaborating the Borromean clinic we aim to better place certain properties - fantasy, the drive, jouissance, discourse and ethics and politics, and to isolate their functions. The second seminar examines the way in which Lacan would re-formulate hysteria in his later work, a movement from discourse theory to the Borromean clinic.

• PresenterEllie Ragland is a Lacanian literary critic, psychoanalyst, professor of English literature, and author of several books on Lacanian thought including Jacques Lacan and the Philosophy of Psychoanalysis (1986), Lacan: Topologically Speaking (2004), The Logic of Sexuation: From Aristotle to Lacan (2004) and the forthcoming Hysteria: The Logic of Paradox.

• Hosted by Study Groups in Psychoanalysis and Politics

These seminars are hosted by Study Groups in Psychoanalysis and Politics, a collective of researchers, students, political militants, philosophers, and psychoanalysts interested in exploring the problems of contemporary politics. We invite participants working in areas of psychoanalysis, populism, critical theory, and other disciplines to join this working group. Our objective is to share research, diagnose significant issues, identify common problems, and further build contributions on matters related to psychoanalysis contemporary politics. These seminars are open to the public and do not require specific credentials to participate other than a keen interest and seriousness in the subject material.