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 mid-year and end-of-year Cartel Presentation Days and other events
Through publication in the Lacan Circle journal PsychoanalysisLacan
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.
Lacan Circle Cartels - Registration of Interest
Current Lacan Circle Cartels
Civilisation and Its Discontents
| Plus-one Jonathan Redmond |
drjdredmond@gmail.com | Waste |
| Member Laurent Shervington |
laurent.shervington@research. |
Psychoanalysis and religion |
| Member Tony Hughes-D’Aeth |
tony.hda@uwa.edu.au | Empty speech / Full speech |
| Member Nick Buckley |
nick.buckley@gmail.com | Compulsion to repeat and the death drive |
| Member James Diamantopoulos |
jdiamantpsych@outlook.com | Surveying the categories of the super-ego |
Towards Madness
| Plus-one Janet Haney |
janetrhaney@gmail.com London, United Kingdom |
Foreclosure or repression |
| Member Eugénie Austin |
eugenie@eugenie.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
The madness of the pass |
| Member Francine Danniau |
francine.danniau@skynet.be Ghent, Belbium |
The non-existence of the Other |
| Member Sanem Güvenç |
sanem.gvnc@gmail.com Vancouver, Canada |
“… all is but a dream” |
| Member Amal Whabi |
amal.wahbi.psy@gmail.com Montreal, Canada |
Generalised foreclosure |
Seminar 1
| Plus-one Russell Grigg |
ragrigg@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Freud’s Papers on Technique, 1953 – 1954 |
| Member Ellen Smith |
ellenmargaretsmith@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Freud’s Papers on Technique, 1953 – 1954 |
| Member Cara Brough |
cara.brough@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Freud’s Papers on Technique, 1953 – 1954 |
| Member Ben Hjorth |
ben.hjorth@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Freud’s Papers on Technique, 1953 – 1954 |
| Member Julia McInerney |
info@juliamcinerney.com Melbourne, Australia |
Freud’s Papers on Technique, 1953 – 1954 |
| Member Mia Lalanne |
mialalanne@bigpond.com Perth, Australia |
Freud’s Papers on Technique, 1953 – 1954 |
Jouissance
| Plus-one Véronique Voruz |
contact@lacancircle.com.au | |
| Member Ali Ravenscroft |
ravenscroft@psychoanalysis.melbourne Melbourne, Australia |
Locating jouissance |
| Member Hanieh Moradi |
moradi.hanieh@yahoo.com Melbourne, Australia |
The Other, jouissance and desire |
| Member Casey Anderson |
caseyandersonlp@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Jouissance in the clinic |
| Member Milanda Matthews |
matthewsmilanda@yahoo.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Economics of jouissance and the Other |
The Sexuation Situation
| Plus-one Eugénie Austin |
eugenie@eugenie.com.au Melbourne, Australia |
Sexuation – Terminable or Interminable? |
| Member Alicia Barrena |
cabarrena24@gmail.com New York, USA |
Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Metaphysics or Ontology? |
| Member Claire Baxter |
clairejbaxter@gmail.com Melbourne, Australia |
Antigone: Upstairs or Downstairs? |
| Member S Brahnam |
sbrahnam@missouristate.edu Missouri, USA |
What if there is no Other? Do Lacan’s formulas of sexuation apply to the psychic shifts taking place in the 21st century? |
Lacan’s Four Discourses
| Plus-one Angus Craig |
angus.craig@middlemore.co.nz | The Four Discourses in the Function of Psychoanalytic Institutions: Is there a Borromean solution? |
| Member Abdul Salam |
salampsycho@gmail.com | Lacan’s Four Discourses |
| Member Stu Hatton |
stu.j.hatton@gmail.com | The Four Discourses and Developmental Diagnoses (PDA) |
| Member Thomas Capogreco |
thomas.capogreco@gmail.com | The Potential for the Discursive Role of Musical Rituals in Educational Settings |
| Member Jake Muir |
jakecmuir@gmail.com | The Four Discourses and the Ethics of Education: Student Agency, Institutional Power, and the University Discourse |
Lacan Circle of Australia Cartel Presentation Days are held twice each year. Our end-of-year event was held on 4 November 2023 and you may request the recording here. Our mid-year event was held in June 2023 and you may request the recording here.
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 Marina Frangiadaki.
4 + one quartreplusone is the journal of NLS cartels. It is published regularly and the latest edition, July 2022, is here
Contact the Lacan Circle Cartel Organiser Ellen Smith here
Visit our Cartel Presentation Days here
Return to our Home Page here