About UIT

The Unconscious in Translation has one primary mission: to provide a highly discerning English-speaking audience with the finest translations of theoretical and literary works, particularly those originating in French. These works are intricately linked to the fields of psychoanalysis and the philosophy of mind.

The establishment of The Unconscious in Translation was initiated in collaboration with Jean Laplanche a few years before his death. The primary objective was to facilitate the translation and publication of his works in the English language. This original intention has persisted over time, with an ongoing commitment to presenting his texts in a roughly reverse chronological sequence, supported by the Fondation Jean Laplanche - Nouveaux fondements pour la psychanalyse and the Institut de France.

In addition to Laplanche's texts, UIT undertakes the translation and publication of other relevant works connected to his contributions. Beyond this scope, the publisher also focuses on texts encompassing psychoanalysis, philosophy of mind, and social theory. These texts, which might otherwise remain untranslated, find their way to a broader audience through our efforts.

At the helm of our editorial endeavors is Jonathan House, who holds the position of General Editor. Dr. House teaches across several American universities, including NYU and UCLA, as well as specialized institutes. His involvement extends further as a member of the Conseil Scientifique of the Fondation Laplanche. Alongside his academic engagements, Dr. House practices psychiatry and psychoanalysis in New York.

The mission and impact of UIT have garnered the attention of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, which has offered noteworthy commentaries.

Note from the Editor

"Like everyone else, I realized early on that sex is important - important but different from other desires. I expected that all would become clear in my analytic training. It didn’t play out that way. After reading and re-reading Freud and others, I was more confused than ever. But when I began to read the work of Laplanche, it was an epiphany. It was then that I began to be able to frame my questions about sexuality – to problematize sexuality, as Laplanche might put it – and even to answer a few of them.

To help myself understand Laplanche’s thinking I began to translate his work, starting by re-translating the classic 1965 essay he wrote with J.-B. Pontalis in which he first addressed Freud’s theorizing of sexuality: Fantasme originaire, Fantasmes des origines, Origines du fantasme. In 2002 I sent Laplanche my efforts, he replied with encouragement and so began the process which eventually led to the creation of Unconscious in Translation (UIT), and the plan to publish all of Laplanche’s work in English.

Outside of the Anglophone universe, Laplanche is widely recognized as providing perhaps the most important and coherent theory of the nature and genesis of infantile sexuality. Within our community, his work has been largely unknown and even those who admire his work and who see the need to place their own theorizing in relation to his, often understand Laplanche only in terms of his early work. This is understandable as, until quite recently, almost nothing written after 1993 had been translated.

UIT aims to fix that problem.

There are other important French psychoanalytic thinkers whose work remains mostly untranslated into English. The mission of UIT is to translate and publish as much as possible of this rich body of work."

- Dr. Jonathan House