This volume investigates the complex, historically shifting interface between the disciplines of anthropology and psychoanalysis. Edited by Suzette Heald, the work compiles contributions from practitioners in both fields to examine how national traditions—specifically British, French, and American—have historically engaged with psychoanalytic theory. The text argues that the post-modern turn and the fracturing of traditional academic boundaries have created a renewed opportunity to analyze the role of the unconscious within cultural life and the methodology of knowledge production.

Experts and academics in the social sciences recognize this text as a significant resource for understanding the historical tensions and potential synergies between these two fields. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended primarily for professionals and students engaged in advanced research within anthropology or psychoanalysis.