White Privilege: Psychoanalytic Perspectives looks at race and the significant role it plays in society and in clinical practice. Much of the effort going into racial consciousness-raising rests on the concept of unearned "white privilege". In this book, Neil Altman looks deeply into this notion, suggesting that there are hidden assumptions in the idea of white privilege that perpetuate the very same racially prejudicial notions that are purportedly being dismantled.
Key Features
- Examines the structure of racial categories, polarized between white and black.
- Critically analyses concepts such as privilege, guilt, and power.
- Explores the implications for psychoanalytic psychotherapy theory and practice.
- Offers clinical illustrations discussing contemporary societal problems.
- Appeals to clinicians, psychoanalytic therapists, and those interested in social issues.
Additional Information
The book suggests that political positions are artificially polarized into categories of "liberal", "left" and "conservative", "right", contributing to stereotyping between individuals with different political leanings, which forecloses mutual respect, dialogue, and understanding. Drawing on Altman’s rich clinical experience and many years of engaging with racial and societal problems, this book offers a new agenda for understanding and offering analytic practice in contemporary society.
