Reading Lacan's Seminar Book VIII: Transference

Reading Lacan’s Seminar Book VIII: Transference

In this year’s seminar, we will read Lacan’s Seminar VIII: Transference. At this stage of his work, Lacan’s approach is deeply rooted in structural analysis. Love, desire, and transference are all understood as structures.

Transference is one of the most fundamental concepts in psychoanalysis. Wherever there is a subject, there is transference, and this is closely connected to a premise: the subject and the signifier share an “initial,” “inaugural,” and “logical” connection. The signifying chain of the unconscious constructs the speaking subject.

Transference lies at the core of the affects between the analyst and the analysand. This is why Lacan begins Transference with “In the Beginning Was Love.” After all, without love, who would like to go into analysis?

Analysts are often seen as cold and silent, but this isn’t the whole story. The analyst’s emotional presence is revealed in the cut—the act of cutting, of stopping the subject’s endless sliding along the chain of signifiers. Analysis is a creative act,  and a risky one, since transference can take effect at any moment.

We will have a close reading of the seminar together with a free associative open-ended discussion.

Readings:

Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book VIII: Transference. Trans. Bruce Fink. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2015.

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Dates and times: 8:30–11:00am, second and fourth Wednesdays each month, September to May (Beijing time, break in December and February).

Fee: US $400 or School Tuition.

Contact: celavieglove@126.com; cissyhongzhou@126.com.