Subject to Ourselves

This book examines current debates about modernity and postmodernity from the viewpoint of psychoanalytic theory. The author develops a novel account of postmodernity that supplants current understandings of 'fragmented selves'. Using psychoanalytic theory as the basis for a fresh reassessment of the nature of modernity and postmodernity, Elliott analyses changing experiences of selfhood, desire, interpersonal relations, culture and globalization.

Elliott argues that postmodernity heralds 'the end of codes'. For better or for worse, postmodernity promotes a reflexive mapping of ourselves, a mapping of selves multiple, other and strange. Subject to Ourselves provides fascinating insights into postmodern culture and ideology and includes a diverse set of case studies, including the role of fantasy in the Bosnian war, the debate over sexual seduction in psychoanalysis, and the cultural uses of media in the O. J. Simpson trial. It will be essential reading for students and professionals of social and political theory, psychoanalytic studies, psychology and cultural studies, as well as those with an interest in the modernity/postmodernity debate.