Freud in the Antipodes: A Cultural History of Psychoanalysis in Australia

Psychoanalysis—one of the most important intellectual developments of the twentieth century—is perhaps as much a cultural experience as a clinical one. This groundbreaking book is the first to examine the history and impact of Freudian ideas in Australia. Joy Damousi shows that ways of understanding our emotional and interior lives have a notable and complex history that challenges Australian stereotypes of shallow hedonism and emotional barrenness. By linking psychoanalysis with modernity, the book is, in effect, an alternative history oftwentieth century Australia.