The notion of the discursive complex was developed by Ian Parker to tackle the twofold nature of

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

Western culture image:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg, Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions, human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise '' ...

. In his 1997 book ''Psychoanalytic Culture'', Parker defines the 'discursive complex' as a 'methodological device. The term 'complex' is used quite deliberately to evoke the peculiarly

Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

ian and post-Freudian nature of the subjectivity people in the West live so much of the time. On the one hand the concepts that psychoanalytic texts employ are relayed through

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...

as components of a discourse, as objects that are circumscribed by definitions in

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

and

professional writing Professional writing as an activity is writing for reward or as a profession; as a product or object, professional writing is any form of written communication produced in a workplace environment or context that enables employees to, for example, co ...

and used in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

(Parker, 1995). In this sense, the discourse constitutes places for subjects to come to be, whether as a child with problems separating from the mother, as a teenager filled with frustration and resentment at authority, or as an older adult reflecting on an unfulfilled life and needs. The discourse thus positions the subject who is addressed by or who is employing the discourse to understand themselves or their troubling relationships. On the other hand, the discourse touches an already existing shape of subjectivity for those who write and speak about themselves and others, whether that is in the form of autobiography or in an advice column, in a television interview or on the couch with a therapist. It chimes with a theory of self that the subject has been invited to elaborate for themselves in this culture, and so it reconfigures each time some of the

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

s that are available to them. While psychoanalysis provides a reflection, compression and reduction of societal phenomena to the level of the individual, it does so in a way that also reveals something more of the nature of those phenomena. Parker argues that when we study the way discursive complexes structure cultural phenomena we are also able to understand more of the way they attract and mobilize their subjects. The discursive complex not only exists for the individual subject, then, but it also provides a means for understanding how psychoanalytic language works in relation to specific cultural phenomena. We can then illuminate what is felt to be the 'sharing' of experience by those involved in those phenomena, the rendering of subjects one to another as having similar psychological properties. In response to critical reviews of this work, and the claim that psychoanalysis is given too much prominence, Parker responds by arguing that the notion of the 'discursive complex' can be extended to study behavioural or cognitive notions conveyed in language and experienced by users. In those cases, Parker suggests that we would then need to speak of 'discursive repertoires' or 'discursive templates'. His main concern, he argues, is with the role of psychoanalysis in relation to psychology, and he adopts the argument made by

Erica Burman Erica Burman (born 1960) is a critical developmental psychology, development psychologist based in the United Kingdom. While little known in the developmental psychology research community, her work has been a conceptual resource for critiques of ...

that psychoanalysis is the '

repressed "Repressed" is a single by Apocalyptica, released on 19 May 2006. The title song features Max Cavalera (Soulfly and Sepultura) and Matt Tuck ( Bullet for my Valentine) on vocals. It's mostly sung in English and Portuguese, which parts in the las ...

other' of psychology. In this way he hopes to make psychoanalysis be of relevance to

critical psychology Critical psychology is a perspective on psychology that draws extensively on critical theory. Critical psychology challenges the assumptions, theories and methods of mainstream psychology and attempts to apply psychological understandings in diff ...

without simply replacing psychology with psychoanalysis.

References

{{reflist Psychoanalytic theory