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Sonu Shamdasani (born 1962) is a London-based author,
editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...
, and professor at
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
. His research and writings focus on
Carl Gustav Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of over 20 books, illustrator, and correspondent, Jung was a ...
(1875–1961) and cover the history of
psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...
and
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
from the mid-nineteenth century to current times. Shamdasani edited the first publication of Jung's important work, ''Liber Novus, The Red Book''. Although its title had been well known for years, it was not until 2009 that its contents were revealed to the public and practicing
psychotherapists Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...
.


Education and academic career

He gained his BA from
Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...
in 1984, followed by an MSc in the History of Science and Medicine at
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
/
Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
. Later Shamdasani was awarded a PhD in the History of Medicine from University College London's
Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine (1968–1999) was a London centre for the study and teaching of medical history. It consisted of the Wellcome Library and an Academic Unit. The former was and is a world-class library collection ...
. He then became a professor at the Institute. In a 2009 interview with the ''
Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'', Shamdasani gave this brief biographical note:
"I am a Sindhi, I was born in Singapore and grew up in England. I first encountered Jung when I was travelling in India in my teens, looking for a
guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
. The first work of his that I came across was his commentary to '' The Secret of the Golden Flower'', which was my first introduction to psychology. I then saw the text as promising the possibility of a mediation between Eastern mysticism and Western rationality. After further study, I thought that contemporary psychology and psychotherapy was in a mess, and I wanted to figure out how it had got into this state. This led me to the studying the history of psychology".
In 2003 Shamdasani founded, along with Stephen Martin, the Philemon Foundation, which sought to publish all of Jung's works. Although Jung's ''Collected Works'' had been published in twenty volumes, there were manuscripts and other works by Jung that remained unpublished. Shamdasani commenced and continues now his labors at Philemon as the foundation's General Editor. Currently (2016) Shamdasani serves as a professor in the School of European Languages, Culture, and Society (SELCS) at University College London, and is also Director of the UCL Centre for the History of Psychological Disciplines.


The ''Red Book''

By 2000 Shamdasani had arranged to begin work editing Jung's '' The Red Book''. In 2003 he stepped in as editor of the Philemon Foundation's successful project to publish, in 2009, this much awaited volume. Although Jung had worked on the writing and the designs for it between 1914 and 1930, he did not then have it published. In 1959 Jung added a short Epilogue to his ''Red Book'', commenting on his 'confrontation with the unconscious' that started prior to World War I: "It could have developed into adnesshad I not been able to hold the overpowering force of the original experiences. ... I knew of nothing better than to write them down... and to paint the images that appeared when reliving it allas well as I could." Shamdasani describes Jung's unusual work, an illustrated volume of calligraphy, as "the book that stands at the center of his oeuvre" which "has long been recognized as the key to comprehending" Jung. The ''Red Book'' "was at the center of Jung's self-experimentation." Earlier Shamdasani stated:
If one does not place Jung's confrontation with the unconscious in a proper perspective, or understand the significance of the ''Red Book'', one is in no place to understand fully Jung's intellectual development from 1913 onwards, and not only that, but his life as well: it was his inner life which dictated his movements in the world. ... For Jung's work on his fantasies in '' Black Books'' and the ''Red Book'' formed the core of his later work, as he himself contended. The ''Red Book'' is at the center of Jung's life and work. nderstanding Jungwithout an accurate account of it would be like writing the life of
Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
without the ''Commedia'', or
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
without ''Faust''.
Jung's heirs had for many decades held the original manuscript of the ''Red Book'' in a bank vault for safe-keeping. They withheld its publication and declined offers to do so. During the 1990s Shamdasani's research, however, had uncovered the existence of text from the Book outside the family's control. Another transcription was found by Marie-Louise von Franz. It was demonstrated that Jung had sent a copy of his manuscript to a publisher. Shamdasani entered into delicate negotiations with Jung's descendants in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
and, in May 2000, obtained their agreement "to release the work for publication".Nina Martyris, "Autobiography of a Soul" in ''The Times of India'', 12 December 2009. Interview with Shamdasani about his editorship of Jung's ''Red Book''. His editing tasks then began.


Selected bibliography

Author *''Cult Fictions: C. G. Jung and the Founding of Analytical Psychology'' (London: Routledge, 1998). *''Jung and the Making of Modern Psychology: The Dream of a Science'' (Cambridge University Press, 2003). *''Jung Stripped Bare by His Biographers, Even'' (London: Karnac Books, 2004). * ''C. G. Jung. A biography in Books'' (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012). Co-author * Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen & Shamdasani, ''Le Dossier
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 seen as originating from conflicts in t ...
. Enquête sur l'histoire de la psychoanalyse'' (Paris: Les empêcheurs de penser en rond/ Le Seuil, 2006). * Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen & Shamdasani, ''The Freud Files: An Inquiry into the History of Psychoanalysis'' (Cambridge University Press, 2012). *
James Hillman James Hillman (April 12, 1926 – October 27, 2011) was an American psychologist. He studied at, and then guided studies for, the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich. He founded a movement toward archetypal psychology and retired into private practic ...
& Shamdasani, ''Lament of the Dead. Psychology After Jung's Red Book'' (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013). Editor * C. G. Jung, ''The Psychology of
Kundalini In Hinduism, kundalini (, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the '' muladhara''. It is an important concept in Åšhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power ...
Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
. Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932 by C. G. Jung'' (Bollingen/Princeton University, 1996), Introduction by Shamdasani. * C. G. Jung, '' The Red Book. Liber Novus'' (Philemon Series & New York/London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009), Introduction by Shamdasani. * C. G. Jung, ''History of Modern Psychology: Lectures Delivered at the ETH Zurich, Volume 1, 1933–1934'' (Philemon Series & Princeton University Press, 2018). * C. G. Jung, ''The Black Books of C.G. Jung (1913–1932)'' (Stiftung der Werke von C. G. Jung & W. W. Norton & Company, 2020).


References


External links


Prof. Sonu Shamdasani page at SELCS, UCL

Philemon Foundation website
* Sara Corbett

in ''The New York Times'', 16 September 2009. * Nina Martyris
"Autobiography of a Soul"
in ''The Times of India'', 12 December 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shamdasani, Sonu British psychologists 1962 births Living people British historians Academics of University College London Alumni of the University of Bristol Alumni of University College London British Hindus Sindhi writers British people of Indian descent Carl Jung Date of birth missing (living people) British people of Sindhi descent Historians of psychology