Christopher J. Lane
Encyclopedia
Christopher J. Lane is a British-American literary critic and intellectual historian who is currently the Pearce Miller Research Professor of Literature at Northwestern University
. Previously, he taught at Emory University
, where he was also director of the Psychoanalytic Studies Program in the Psychiatry Department. A Victorianist by training, Lane has secondary expertise in 19th-century psychology, psychiatry, and intellectual history.
Lane graduated with a B.A. in English and Philosophy from the University of East Anglia
(1988), and subsequently earned an M.A. in Critical Theory from the University of Sussex
(1991) and his Ph.D. from the University of London
in 1992.
His book Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness critiques the broadness of the concept of social phobia
as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
. Drawing heavily on unpublished papers at the American Psychiatric Association that document the creation and revision of the manual's third and fourth editions, Shyness also criticized the definitions of other mental disorders, including in a Los Angeles Times
article that covered the controversies surrounding the drafting of the DSM-V. In Slate
, he discussed some of the disputes over the direction of the DSM
and the secrecy surrounding the revision of its fifth edition.
Lane has published more than fifty peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Raritan, Novel, Victorian Studies, Theory and Psychology, English Literary History, Modernism/Modernity, PMLA, Common Knowledge, the Oxford Literary Review, the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and the International Literary Quarterly.
His work has also appeared in the New York Times , Washington Post , Boston Globe , Los Angeles Times,, , New York Sun , and Chronicle Review .
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. Previously, he taught at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, where he was also director of the Psychoanalytic Studies Program in the Psychiatry Department. A Victorianist by training, Lane has secondary expertise in 19th-century psychology, psychiatry, and intellectual history.
Lane graduated with a B.A. in English and Philosophy from the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
(1988), and subsequently earned an M.A. in Critical Theory from the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
(1991) and his Ph.D. from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1992.
Publications
Lane is the author of five books and editor of two more:- The Ruling Passion (Duke University Press, 1995)
- The Burdens of Intimacy (University of Chicago Press, 1999)
- Hatred and Civility: The Antisocial Life in Victorian England (Columbia University Press, 2004)
- Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness (Yale University Press, 2007)
- The Age of Doubt: Tracing the Roots of Our Religious Uncertainty (Yale University Press, 2011).
- The Psychoanalysis of Race (Columbia University Press, 1998, editor)
- Homosexuality and Psychoanalysis (University of Chicago Press, 2001, coeditor).
His book Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness critiques the broadness of the concept of social phobia
Social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder , also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear in social situations causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some parts of daily life...
as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
. Drawing heavily on unpublished papers at the American Psychiatric Association that document the creation and revision of the manual's third and fourth editions, Shyness also criticized the definitions of other mental disorders, including in a Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
article that covered the controversies surrounding the drafting of the DSM-V. In Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, he discussed some of the disputes over the direction of the DSM
DSM
-Business:* DSM , an international life science and performance materials company from the Netherlands* Delhi school of music, a music school in India...
and the secrecy surrounding the revision of its fifth edition.
Lane has published more than fifty peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Raritan, Novel, Victorian Studies, Theory and Psychology, English Literary History, Modernism/Modernity, PMLA, Common Knowledge, the Oxford Literary Review, the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and the International Literary Quarterly.
His work has also appeared in the New York Times , Washington Post , Boston Globe , Los Angeles Times,, , New York Sun , and Chronicle Review .