Japan in Analysis: Cultures of the Unconscious

by Ian Parker

This book is about the development of psychoanalysis and modern subjectivity in Japan, and addresses three key 'Why is there psychoanalysis in Japan?', 'What do we learn about Japan from its own forms of analysis?', and 'What do we learn about ourselves from Japan?'

185 pages, Hardcover

First published June 17, 2008

About the author

Ian Parker is a British psychologist who has been a principal exponent of three quite diverse critical traditions inside the discipline. His writing has provided compass points for researchers searching for alternatives to ‘mainstream’ psychology in the English-speaking world (that is, mainstream psychology that is based on laboratory-experimental studies that reduce behavior to individual mental processes).

The three critical traditions Parker has promoted are ‘discursive analysis’, ‘Marxist psychology’ and ‘psychoanalysis’. Each of these traditions is adapted by him to encourage an attention to ideology and power, and this modification has given rise to fierce debates, not only from mainstream psychologists but also from other ‘critical psychologists’. Parker moves in his writing from one focus to another, and it seems as if he is not content with any particular tradition of research, using each of the different critical traditions to throw the others into question.

Reviews

[Matt Casey]

An impulse pull off a library shelf. Has interesting and insightful moments when it dives into actual analysis and comparison. However, the time spent recounting conflict among Japan’s psychoanalytic organizations was not for me - which makes sense because I never took a psych credit. I’m sure some would find value.

Despite the author having visited Japan for the book, it’s big on secondary research and comparative textual analysis. And it reads as heavily as you’d expect.

[Mariam]

started a while ago but finished today. quick read, only about 100 pages. good overview on history of psychoanalysis, modern topics / conflicts, and sociological analysis. wish there was more in the chapters on online culture and religion. feminism was mentioned every so often but I wish it was a more focused on aspect.