1st Prague Conference: Otto Fenichel and his legacy - 23. – 25. 10. 2015

Fear of Strangeness

Antisemitism, xenophobia and uncanny experience

First year of our conference is aimed at creating a space for psychoanalytic exploration of worries of „the strange“ and „the strangers“ in the clinical situation, but also invites experts from humanities into a dialogue and rethinking these phenomena in different contexts.

Thus, we would like to continue in Fenichel’s tradition of open and critial discussions of various psychoanalytic topics. Fenichel was open-minded person, he was assigned to a Freudian psychoanalytic tradition and his free approach welcomed also psychoanalysts and non-psychoanalysts who thought differently.

Otto Fenichel played an important role in establishing psychoanalytic group in Prague. However, his impact goes far beyond Mid-European context: Fenichel became one of the most eminent figure of the international psychoanalysis. His wide ranging interests covered psychoanalytic theory and development of treatment technique but he also focused on overlaps of psychoanalysis and outer social reality (also topical in current Czech Republic). He coupled his psychoanalytic identity with political commitment.

The announced conference is meant to explore systematically Fenichel’s complex heritage for the Czech and international psychoanalysis. It is planned to be the first meeting in Prague: we would like to dedicate our meetings to Fenichel’s legacy regularly every 2-3 years.Conference is organised especially for clinicians, psychoanalysts and psychodynamically oriented psychotherapists, but also for other researchers and students from various related disciplins are warmly welcome.

More info here: http://fenichelspragueconference.com/en/