Renata Salecl
Encyclopedia
Renata Salecl is a Slovenia
n philosopher, sociologist and legal theorist. She is a senior researcher at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana
. She has been a visiting professor at London School of Economics
for several years and is about to take over similar tasks at Birkbeck College University of London, lecturing on the topic of emotions and law. Every year she lectures for a couple of weeks at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York
, on Psychoanalysis and Law. Renata Salecl is a leading scholar on this particular subject.
, Slovenia
(then part of former Yugoslavia
). She studied philosophy at the University of Ljubljana, graduating with a thesis on Foucault
's theory of power under the supervision of the Marxist philosopher Božidar Debenjak
. In the 1980s, she became associated with the intellectual circle known as the Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis
, which combined the study of Lacan
ian psychoanalysis
with the philosophic legacy of German idealism
and critical theory
. In the late 1980s, she became active in the left liberal opposition to the ruling Slovenian Communist regime. In the first democratic elections in Slovenia in April 1990, she unsuccessfully ran for the Slovenian Parliament on the list of the Alliance of Socialist Youth of Slovenia - Liberal Party. After 1990, she left party politics, but remained active in the public life, especially as a commentator.
From 1986, she started working as a researcher at the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
In 1991, she obtained a PhD at the Department of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana under the supervision of Drago Braco Rotar.
Her work focuses on bringing together law, criminology and psychoanalysis. She has worked on the theories of punishment, and on the analysis of the relation between late capitalist
insistence on choice and the increased feelings of anxiety and guilt in post-modern subjects. The book also analyses how matters of choice apply to law and criminology.
Salecl is associated with the critical legal studies
movement. She was Centennial Professor at the department of law at the London School of Economics
(LSE) and is now visiting professor at the LSE's BIOS Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society
, as well as visiting professor at the School of Law at the Birkbeck College in London
. She often teaches as Visiting Professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York
. She has been fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin
(1997/8), visiting professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin
, visiting humanities professor at George Washington University
in Washington, DC, and visiting professor at Duke University
.
She also writes columns in various European newspapers, including Delo
(Ljubljana) and La Vanguardia
(Barcelona
).
She was married to the Slovenian Marxist-Lacanian philosopher Slavoj Žižek
. They have one son.
In 2010, Renata Salecl was awarded the title of "Slovenian woman scientist of the year". In December of the same year, she was named "Slovenian person of the year" by the daily newspaper Delo
. On March 8, 2011 she was named the most successful woman in Slovenia and got the title ONA 365 by the women magazine Ona (She in English translation).
Her books were translated into ten languages.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n philosopher, sociologist and legal theorist. She is a senior researcher at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
. She has been a visiting professor at London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
for several years and is about to take over similar tasks at Birkbeck College University of London, lecturing on the topic of emotions and law. Every year she lectures for a couple of weeks at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, on Psychoanalysis and Law. Renata Salecl is a leading scholar on this particular subject.
Biography and scholarly achievements
She was born in Slovenj GradecSlovenj Gradec
Slovenj Gradec is a town and a municipality in northern Slovenia. It is part of the historic Lower Styria region, since 2005 it belongs to the NUTS-3 statistical region of Carinthia...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
(then part of former Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
). She studied philosophy at the University of Ljubljana, graduating with a thesis on Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
's theory of power under the supervision of the Marxist philosopher Božidar Debenjak
Božidar Debenjak
Božidar Debenjak is a Slovenian Marxist philosopher, social theorist and translator.He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia...
. In the 1980s, she became associated with the intellectual circle known as the Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis
Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis
Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis , also known as the Ljubljana Lacanian School is a popular name for a post-structuralist and Lacanian school of thought centred around the Society for Theoretical Psychoanalysis based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Prominent members of the school include Slavoj Žižek,...
, which combined the study of Lacan
Lacan
Lacan is surname of:* Jacques Lacan , French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist** The Seminars of Jacques Lacan** From Bakunin to Lacan: Anti-Authoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power, a book on political philosophy by Saul Newman** Lacan at the Scene* Judith Miller, née Lacan...
ian psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
with the philosophic legacy of German idealism
German idealism
German idealism was a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with romanticism and the revolutionary politics of the Enlightenment...
and critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
. In the late 1980s, she became active in the left liberal opposition to the ruling Slovenian Communist regime. In the first democratic elections in Slovenia in April 1990, she unsuccessfully ran for the Slovenian Parliament on the list of the Alliance of Socialist Youth of Slovenia - Liberal Party. After 1990, she left party politics, but remained active in the public life, especially as a commentator.
From 1986, she started working as a researcher at the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
In 1991, she obtained a PhD at the Department of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana under the supervision of Drago Braco Rotar.
Her work focuses on bringing together law, criminology and psychoanalysis. She has worked on the theories of punishment, and on the analysis of the relation between late capitalist
Late capitalism
"Late capitalism" is a term used by neo-Marxists to refer to capitalism from about 1945 onwards, with the implication that it is a historically limited stage rather than an eternal feature of all future human society. Postwar German sociologists needed a term to describe contemporary society...
insistence on choice and the increased feelings of anxiety and guilt in post-modern subjects. The book also analyses how matters of choice apply to law and criminology.
Salecl is associated with the critical legal studies
Critical legal studies
Critical legal studies is a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical theory to law. The abbreviations "CLS" and "Crit" are sometimes used to refer to the movement and its adherents....
movement. She was Centennial Professor at the department of law at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(LSE) and is now visiting professor at the LSE's BIOS Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society
BIOS Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society
The BIOS Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society is an international centre for research and policy on social aspects of the life sciences and biomedicine located at the London School of Economics , England...
, as well as visiting professor at the School of Law at the Birkbeck College in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She often teaches as Visiting Professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She has been fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin
Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin
The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin in an interdisciplinary institute created 1981 in Berlin-Grunewald for studies in natural, social sciences for various research projects. It is a member of the group Some Institutes for Advanced Study....
(1997/8), visiting professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, visiting humanities professor at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in Washington, DC, and visiting professor at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.
She also writes columns in various European newspapers, including Delo
Delo
Delo is the largest national daily newspaper in Slovenia. It was established on May 1st, 1959, when two newspapers Ljudska pravica and Slovenski poročevalec merged. Nowadays, it is the most influential and credible daily newspaper in Slovenia...
(Ljubljana) and La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia is Catalonia's leading daily newspaper as well as the fourth best-selling in Spain. It has its headquarters in Barcelona, Catalonia's largest city....
(Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
).
She was married to the Slovenian Marxist-Lacanian philosopher Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
. They have one son.
In 2010, Renata Salecl was awarded the title of "Slovenian woman scientist of the year". In December of the same year, she was named "Slovenian person of the year" by the daily newspaper Delo
Delo
Delo is the largest national daily newspaper in Slovenia. It was established on May 1st, 1959, when two newspapers Ljudska pravica and Slovenski poročevalec merged. Nowadays, it is the most influential and credible daily newspaper in Slovenia...
. On March 8, 2011 she was named the most successful woman in Slovenia and got the title ONA 365 by the women magazine Ona (She in English translation).
In Slovene
- Disciplina kot pogoj svobode ("Discipline as the Condition of Freedom". Ljubljana, 1991).
- Zakaj ubogamo oblast? Nadzorovanje, ideologija in ideološke fantazme ("Why Do We Love Power? Control, Ideology, and Ideological Phantasms". Ljubljana, 1993).
English
- The Spoils of Freedom : Psychoanalysis and Feminism after the Fall of Socialism (London - New York, Routledge, 1994)
- (Per)versions of Love and Hate (London - New York, Verso, 1998)
- Gaze and Voice as Love Objects (co-ed.) (Durham - Duke University Press, 1996)
- Sexuation (ed.) (Durham - Duke University Press, 2000)
- On Anxiety (London - New York, Routledge, 2004).
- Choice (London - New York, Profile Books, 2010).
Her books were translated into ten languages.