1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910983069803321

Autore

Hook Derek

Titolo

Whiteness at the Abyss : A Lacanian Reading of ‘White Anxiety’ / / by Derek Hook

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer Nature Switzerland : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2025

ISBN

9783031785092

3031785096

Edizione

[1st ed. 2025.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (153 pages)

Collana

The Palgrave Lacan Series, , 2946-420X

Altri autori (Persone)

GeorgeSheldon

MossDonald

ŽižekSlavoj

Disciplina

305.80019

Soggetti

Psychoanalysis

Culture - Study and teaching

Race

Clinical psychology

Critical theory

Literature - Philosophy

Cultural Theory

Race and Ethnicity Studies

Clinical Psychology

Critical Theory

Literary Theory

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

1. Fragments From a Research History -- 2. Petrified Life -- 3. White Anxiety -- 4. Reflections on a Scene of Attack.

Sommario/riassunto

‘Whiteness’ is an omnipresent term within research on race and racism. This book differs from existing conceptualizations by adopting a psychoanalytic line of approach and by directing its attention to a particular socio-historical instantiation of whiteness—the investments, fantasies and fears apparent within (post) apartheid South African contexts. It foregrounds the notion of ‘white anxiety’, which is



conceptualized not only via notions of psychical temporality, but with reference to the dystopian visions of the future, ideas of inter-generational guilt, and fantasies of demise. To posit an imagined ‘end to whiteness’ is not, of course, an uncontroversial gesture; the closing section of the book surveys the key themes—antisemitism, white Nationalism, the trope of the race traitor—in online attacks the author was subjected to. This compelling work will appeal to all those with an interest in psychoanalytic approaches to race and racism, and to anyone working in the areas of critical race and whiteness studies.