Freud's Drive: Psychoanalysis, Literature and Film: Psychoanalysis, Literature and Film

by Teresa de Lauretis

Teresa De Lauretis makes a bold and orginal argument for the renewed relevance of the Freudian theory of drives, through close readings of texts ranging from cinema and literature to psychoanalysis and cultural theory.

Genres: Psychology, Film, Literature

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Born and educated in Italy, de Lauretis came to the United States shortly after completing her doctorate in modern languages and literatures at Bocconi University in Milan. Before joining the History of Consciousness Department at UCSC, she taught Italian and comparative literature, semiotics, women's studies, and film studies at several American universities, including the University of Colorado and the University of Wisconsin. She has also held visiting professorships in Canada, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, as well as the United States.

The author of seven books and over one hundred essays, de Lauretis writes in both English and Italian. Her works have been translated into 14 other languages of Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Reviews

[Ayanna Dozier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teresa de Lauretis does a remarkable job at distilling Freud's configurations and appropriations of the sex drive and its contributions to the death drive. De Lauretis takes us through the filmography of David Cronenberg and through the largely overlooked and forgotten novel Nightwood by Djuna Barnes using psychoanalysis to convey and visualize the abstraction that is the psyche of the sex drive. A perfect read for those who enjoy Freud and those who don't.