In 1964 Jacques Lacan invented a particular form of working group
He named it a cartel
A cartel is a small group of three to five members, ‘cartelisands’, who elect to study and research together. They choose a ‘plus-one’ to lead and animate the life of the cartel, facilitate a productive group dynamic, and maintain a distance between knowledge and truth.
Each cartelisand chooses a question or a theme of work: the reading of a seminar, the investigation of a concept, the elaboration of a case, the connection between psychoanalysis and another field, etcetera. To each person’s own investigation a common theme is added that becomes the title of the cartel.
Cartel meetings are arranged in a rhythm and format that is decided between the cartel members.
“The success of the School will be measured by the production of work that is acceptable in its proper setting.”
Jacques Lacan The Founding Act 1964
The work carried out does not lead to a collective product or to a knowledge taken from the group. It is rather a matter for each one, according to the moment of his relation to psychoanalysis, to submit what could be noted of what was being able to be modified in his relation to analytic knowledge.
Lacan Circle encourage high quality cartel output:
Through participation in our May and November ‘Cartel Presentation Days’ and other events
Through publication in the Lacan Circle journal PsychoanalysisLacan
Through publication in the NLS Online journal Lacanian Review Online
Through publication in the NLS cartel Newsletter 4 + one quartreplusone
A cartel may not last longer than one or two years; each one must conclude so that new knowledge can appear.
Anyone with an interest in Lacanian Psychoanalysis may participate in cartel work. There are no fees, and no prerequisites other than desire. You may invite colleagues to form a new cartel, or you may register your interest here, and we can help you find others to work with.
Current Lacan Circle Cartels
The Body and Its Discontents
| Plus-one Astrid Lac |
alac@yonsei.ac.kr Seoul, South Korea |
Sex, Sexuation and Sinthome |
| Member Robyn Adler |
robyncadler@gmail.com Tasmania, Australia |
The Function of the Written |
| Member Jason Childs |
jasonofchilds@gmail.com Berlin, Germany |
Assaying Analysis: Genre and Jouissance |
| Member Henry Gardner |
henrygardner@me.com Melbourne, Australia |
Another Round? The (W)hole and the One |
| Member Mandy Marano |
almarano67@gmail.com Perth, Australia |
The Developing Child / The Sexuated Subject and the Body of the Other |
Formations of the Unconscious
| Plus-one Eugénie Austin |
eugenie@eugenie.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
The Leaking Unconscious |
| Member Penelope Allsobrook |
pallsobrook@gmail.com Cologne, Germany |
Formations of the Unconscious |
| Member Jas Matisse |
member@caribicresidency.com Berlin, Germany |
Fascia (interstitium) – a newfound organ and body-wide communication system of unconscious processes |
| Member Benno Schurig |
contact@bearinmindbooking.com Berlin, Germany |
Formations of the Unconscious |
| Member Dani Waltenberger |
daniloniwalton@gmail.com Berlin, Germany |
Formations of the Unconscious |
Autism
| Plus-one Leon Brenner |
leon.s.brenner@gmail.com Berlin, Germany |
The development of the differential clinic of the rim in autism |
| Member David Ferraro |
david.ferraro@thepsychologyclinic.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
The status of the Other in autism |
| Member Jonathan Redmond |
drjdredmond@gmail.com Perth, Australia |
The direction of the treatment |
| Member Noriaki Sato |
noriaki.sato@monash.edu Melbourne, Australia |
Topological significance of the rim and the ontology of a void |
| Member Serena Smith |
serenasm@internode.on.net Melbourne, Australia |
The topology of the body and the function of the object in autism |
Perversion
| Plus-one Tim Themi |
tim.themi@unimelb.edu.au Melbourne, Australia |
Perversion, Eroticism, and Be-ing |
| Member Judith Beyer |
beyer.judith@gmail.com Konstanz, Germany |
Politics as père-version |
| Member Glenn Rutter |
contact@lacancircle.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Perversion and Paraphilias |
| Member Ross Spencer |
rossspencer695@gmail.com Adelaide, Australia |
Parliamentary Perversion |
| Member Fida Elian |
fida.elian@gmail.com East Jerusalem, Palestine |
Perversion in the Colonial/Capitalist Discourse |
Seminar III
| Plus-one David Ferraro |
david.ferraro@thepsychologyclinic.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Psychosis and the position of the analyst |
| Member Leo Baldwin-Ramult |
lbal452@aucklanduni.ac.nz Auckland, New Zealand |
Psychotic structure and the triggering of psychosis |
| Member Dimitri Farmakis |
dmtrfarmakis@gmail.com Sydney, Australia |
Virtuality and the maternal phallus |
| Member Andrea Leon Lear |
andrealeonlear@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
The workings of the real and the speaking body |
| Member Sijun Shen |
sijun.shen@monash.edu Melbourne, Australia |
Psychosis and melancholy |
Dreams
| Plus-one Jonathan Redmond |
drjdredmond@gmail.com Perth, Australia |
Dreams |
| Member Pritam Banerjee |
banerjeepritam21@gmail.com |
Dreams |
| Member Bodhiswata Biswas |
bodhiswatabiswas@gmail.com | Dreams |
| Member Soham Chatterjee |
soham.chatt.8@gmail.com | Dreams |
| Member Somashree Choudhury |
choudhurysomashree@gmail.com | Dreams |
Transgender
| Plus-one David Ferraro |
david.ferraro@thepsychologyclinic.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Transgender, sexuation and 21st century capitalism |
| Member Eugénie Austin |
eugenie@eugenie.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Transgender/Woman, woman/transgender, within Lacan’s formulas of sexuation |
| Member S Brahnam |
sbrahnam@gmail.com Missouri, USA |
Transgender identity and the suicidal act |
| Member Nalinda Amarasiri Gunawardana |
agnalinda@yahoo.com Bendigo, Australia |
Post Freudian transgender as not-abnormal, not-pathological |
| Member Rosemary Overell |
rosemary.overell@otago.ac.nz Singapore |
Psychoanalysis as a tool within trans* politics, hegemony and identity |
| Member Ross Spencer |
roszidewalker@gmail.com Adelaide, Australia |
Queer theory addressed to the big Other |
Interpretation
| Plus-one Russell Grigg |
ragrigg@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Interpretation as a performative |
| Member Mia Lalanne |
mialalanne@bigpond.com Perth, Australia |
The signifier: translation and interpretation |
| Member Barbara Milech |
b.milech@curtin.edu.au | Interpretation as an act of love |
| Member Suzanne Smith |
sicadee@gmail.com | Interpretation and the imaginary |
| Member Jonathan Redmond |
drjdredmond@gmail.com Perth, Australia |
Interpretation and the object a |
Jacques Lacan’s Seminar XXIV
| Plus-one Natalie Wulfing |
natalieweulfing@gmail.com Berlin, Germany |
What is a new signifier? |
| Member David Ferraro |
david.ferraro@thepsychologyclinic.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Is psychoanalysis what one would call an autism à deux? |
| Member Joanna Shemansky |
joanna.shemansky@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
The concept of narcissism in seminar XXIV |
| Member Grace Tarpey |
drgracetarpey@gmail.com Perth, Australia |
Knowledge and the symptom |
| Member David Westcombe |
westcombe@mac.com Canberra, Australia |
Lacan’s use of topology in Seminar XXIV |
Transference
| Plus-one Russell Grigg |
ragrigg@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Transference and the real unconscious |
| Member Hanieh Moradi |
moradi.hanieh@yahoo.com Melbourne, Australia |
Transference and the analyst’s desire |
| Member Joanne Manning |
joanne7155@icloud.com | Desire and the discourse of the analyst |
| Member Nalinda Amarasiri Gunwardana |
agnalinda@yahoo.com Bendigo, Australia |
Transference and love |
| Member Eva Birch |
evabirch@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Transference and jouissance |
Encore
| Plus-one Russell Grigg |
ragrigg@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Truth and jouissance |
| Member Eugénie Austin |
eugenie@eugenie.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Relational possibilities beyond the female side of sexuation |
| Member Cara Brough |
carabrough@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Desire and the discourse of the analyst |
| Member Milanda Matthews |
matthewsmilanda@yahoo.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Transference and love |
| Member Lenore Stephens |
stephens.lenore@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Transference and jouissance |
The next Lacan Circle of Australia Cartel Presentation Days will be held on 6 and 13 November 2021. All cartelisands are invited to present a paper on, or a response to, their current work. These days are free to attend, online, and open to all.
Lacan Circle Cartels are intended to facilitate research and study in the Freudian Field, and are registered with the NLS. To enquire about NLS cartel activity please contact the NLS cartel delegate Joanne Conway.
PsychoanalysisLacan is the free online journal of the Lacan Circle of Australia. We are currently calling for papers for our forthcoming Volume 5 here
4 + one quartreplusone is the journal of NLS cartel activity. It is published regularly and the latest edition is here
The Lacanian Review and TLR Online are published by the New Lacanian School (NLS). Both welcome submissions from NLS affiliated cartelisands
The Lacan Circle of Australia is an affiliate of the New Lacanian School (NLS), one of seven schools of the World Association of Psychoanalysis (WAP)
Thank you for your interest in Jacques Lacan and Lacanian psychoanalysis
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