The Seminar of Jacques Lacan:
Freuds Papers on Technique (Book I)
(The Seminar of Jacques Lacan) by
Jacques Lacan
Lacan For Americans
A complete translation of the seminar that Jacques Lacan gave in the
course of a years teaching within the training programme of the Société
Française de Psychanalyse. The French text was prepared by Jacques-
Alain Miller in consultation with Jacques Lacan, from the transcriptions of
the seminar. .
Personal Review: The Seminar of Jacques Lacan: Freuds
Papers on Technique (Book I) (The Seminar of Jacques Lacan)
by Jacques Lacan
reports that the works of jacques lacan are difficult reading ring true,
especially his first seminar. but, gentle reader, remember the seminars
were talks, some of them interactive, and each seminar delivered over a

period of 20 weeks for the training and edification of french speaking
psychoanalysts, and the curiousity of the noted french intellectuals of the
day and numerous students in attendance. the average american reader of
the works of lacan is probably more interested in literary studies than
psychiatry, psychoanalysis and psychology. and not without reason. in
addition to explicating the word and works of freud, lacan, a voracious
reader, sent to our shores, caught up in his texts, what could only be
phrased as an enormous reading list of poets, philosophers, literary
masterpieces, greek dramas, books of the bible, and the maxims of
famous authors
the first 7 chapters, the first 7 weeks, aren't of much interest for the
`american reader' searching for knowledge of the legend of lacan. but in
the 8th week, the 8th chapter of the book, ms lefort shares a case of her
own about a male infant hospitalized for various childhood illnesses in 25
different institutions for children before his 4th birthday before arriving at
the denfert repository, confined `on account of an unclearly defined para-
psychotic state,' to be treated by ms lefort. here lacan, and those in
attendance, are presented with a case of a seminar's participant's own
account, and it's her asking lacan for a diagnosis and the discussion which
follows, that should remind the `american reader' of the purpose of the
seminar(s), which it's sometimes easy to forget during the scintillating
webbing of words spun by lacan.
as difficult as the text is, the seminars are the best introduction to lacan
and his work, and worth the effort needed to get thru the first seminar for
anyone truly in interested in lacan's work. once one learns the
psychoanalytic terminology and the topics discussed and reads the texts
suggested by lacan, reading the other seminars becomes easier.
jacques lacan presided over 27 seminars. his intention was to have his
seminars published. lacan passed the publishing task on to jacques-alain
miller. so far miller has published more than half of the seminars in french.
english translations have proceeded at a slower pace. with the recent
publication of seminar 17, the total seminars in print, under the norton
heading, counting the `four fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis' and
`on feminine sexuality, the limits of love and knowledge', bring the number
to 7. 7 translations by 6 translators. in the acknowledgements following the
text of the 7th seminar the editor, jacques-alain miller welcomes any
readers who would like to collaborate in the revision of texts for publication.
unfortunately, jacques lacan's seminars have not found its james strachey.
those of us who do not speak french can hope mr miller's invitation finds
more ears attuned to french and english.
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