Elisabeth Young-Bruehl
Encyclopedia
Elisabeth Young-Bruehl is an American
academic and psychotherapist
, living since 2007 in Toronto, Canada.http://www.cavershamproductions.com/bios/index.php She has published a wide range of books, most notably biographies of Hannah Arendt
and Anna Freud
. Her 1982 biography of Hannah Arendt
won the first Harcourt Award. Her book The Anatomy of Prejudices won the Association of American Publishers' prize for Best Book in Psychology in 1996. She is a member of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and co-founder of Caversham Productions, a company that makes psychoanalytic educational materials.
, and were active in local Maryland
politics. Her mother's father and grandfather (a newspaper editor) had been amateur scholars with a large private library. Her maternal grandmother was a Mayflower
descendant, part of the Hooker and Bulkley families of Connecticut
. Her father's family were Virginians, several trained in Theology
at William and Mary College in Williamsburg where the family home, called the Maupin-Dixon House, is located. She grew up in Maryland
and Delaware
, where her father worked as a teaching golf pro. Then she attended Sarah Lawrence College
, where she studied poetry writing with Muriel Rukeyser
. Young-Bruehl left college for the New York City counterculture
of the mid-1960s, but then completed her undergraduate studies at The New School
(then the "New School for Social Research"). There she met and married Robert Bruehl, whom she later divorced. Just as the political theorist Hannah Arendt
was joining the Graduate Faculty of the New School, Young-Bruehl enrolled as a Ph.D candidate in Philosophy. Arendt became Young-Bruehl's mentor and dissertation advisor. After earning her Ph.D. in 1974, Young-Bruehl took a faculty appointment teaching Philosophy in the College of Letters, Wesleyan University
in Connecticut
.
The next year, after Hannah Arendt died at 69, several of Arendt's émigré friends approached Young-Bruehl to take on the task of writing Arendt's biography. The resulting book, published in 1982, is still the standard work on Hannah Arendt's life. It has been translated into many languages,[4] including recently (2010) Hebrew, and a second English edition came out in 2004.
Young-Bruehl's work on the Arendt biography gave her an increasingly strong interest in psychoanalysis. In 1983, she enrolled for clinical psychoanalytic training in New Haven, Connecticut
. At New Haven's Child Study Center, she met several of Anna Freud
's American colleagues, and was invited to become Anna Freud's biographer, leading to the 1988 book "Anna Freud: A Biography". This had a second edition in 2008, with a new Preface.
In the early 1990s Young-Bruehl left Wesleyan and moved to Philadelphia, where she taught part-time at Haverford College
and continued her psychoanalytic training at the Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis, from which she graduated in 1999. She started a private practice as a therapist, first in Philadelphia and later in New York City. Throughout this time, she continued to publish books, including collections of her essays and the award-winning The Anatomy of Prejudices. The book on prejudices will be followed by one entitled Childism: Understanding and Preventing Prejudice Against Children, due from Yale Press in 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic and psychotherapist
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
, living since 2007 in Toronto, Canada.http://www.cavershamproductions.com/bios/index.php She has published a wide range of books, most notably biographies of Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
and Anna Freud
Anna Freud
Anna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis...
. Her 1982 biography of Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
won the first Harcourt Award. Her book The Anatomy of Prejudices won the Association of American Publishers' prize for Best Book in Psychology in 1996. She is a member of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and co-founder of Caversham Productions, a company that makes psychoanalytic educational materials.
Life
Young-Bruehl’s family on her mother's side ran a dairy farm on land near the head of Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, and were active in local Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
politics. Her mother's father and grandfather (a newspaper editor) had been amateur scholars with a large private library. Her maternal grandmother was a Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
descendant, part of the Hooker and Bulkley families of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Her father's family were Virginians, several trained in Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at William and Mary College in Williamsburg where the family home, called the Maupin-Dixon House, is located. She grew up in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, where her father worked as a teaching golf pro. Then she attended Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, where she studied poetry writing with Muriel Rukeyser
Muriel Rukeyser
Muriel Rukeyser was an American poet and political activist, best known for her poems about equality, feminism, social justice, and Judaism...
. Young-Bruehl left college for the New York City counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
of the mid-1960s, but then completed her undergraduate studies at The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
(then the "New School for Social Research"). There she met and married Robert Bruehl, whom she later divorced. Just as the political theorist Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
was joining the Graduate Faculty of the New School, Young-Bruehl enrolled as a Ph.D candidate in Philosophy. Arendt became Young-Bruehl's mentor and dissertation advisor. After earning her Ph.D. in 1974, Young-Bruehl took a faculty appointment teaching Philosophy in the College of Letters, Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
The next year, after Hannah Arendt died at 69, several of Arendt's émigré friends approached Young-Bruehl to take on the task of writing Arendt's biography. The resulting book, published in 1982, is still the standard work on Hannah Arendt's life. It has been translated into many languages,[4] including recently (2010) Hebrew, and a second English edition came out in 2004.
Young-Bruehl's work on the Arendt biography gave her an increasingly strong interest in psychoanalysis. In 1983, she enrolled for clinical psychoanalytic training in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
. At New Haven's Child Study Center, she met several of Anna Freud
Anna Freud
Anna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis...
's American colleagues, and was invited to become Anna Freud's biographer, leading to the 1988 book "Anna Freud: A Biography". This had a second edition in 2008, with a new Preface.
In the early 1990s Young-Bruehl left Wesleyan and moved to Philadelphia, where she taught part-time at Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and continued her psychoanalytic training at the Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis, from which she graduated in 1999. She started a private practice as a therapist, first in Philadelphia and later in New York City. Throughout this time, she continued to publish books, including collections of her essays and the award-winning The Anatomy of Prejudices. The book on prejudices will be followed by one entitled Childism: Understanding and Preventing Prejudice Against Children, due from Yale Press in 2011.
Works
- Conor Cruise O'Brien: An Appraisal (co-author: Joanne L. Henderson. Proscenium Press, 1974, ISBN 0-912262-33-8)
- Freedom and Karl Jasper's Philosophy (Yale University Press, 1981, ISBN 0-300-02629-3)
- Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World (Yale University Press 1982, ISBN 0-300-02660-9; Second Edition Yale University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-300-10588-6)
- Vigil (novel, Louisiana State University Press, 1983, ISBN 0-8071-1075-2)
- Anna Freud: A Biography (Summit Books, New York, 1988, ISBN 0-671-61696-X)
- Mind and the Body Politic (Routledge, Independence, KentuckyIndependence, KentuckyIndependence is a suburban city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,982 at the 2000 census and estimated to be 22,105 in 2009. It is one of two county seats of Kenton County...
, 1989, ISBN 0-415-90118-9) - Foreword to Between Hell and Reason: Essays From the Resistance Newspaper "Combat", 1944-1947 (Wesleyan University Press, 1991, ISBN 0-8195-5189-9)
- Creative Characters, (Routledge, 1991, ISBN 0-415-90369-6)
- Freud on Women: A Reader (editor) (Norton, 1992, ISBN 0-393-30870-7)
- Global Cultures: a Transnational Short Fiction Reader (editor, Wesleyan University Press, 1994, ISBN 0-8195-6282-3)
- The Anatomy of Prejudices (Harvard University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-674-03190-3),
- Foreword to 1997 re-issue of David Stafford-Clark's 1965 book, What Freud Really Said: An Introduction to His Life and Thought (Schocken Books, 1997, ISBN 0-8052-1080-6)
- Subject to Biography: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Writing Women's Lives (Harvard Univ Press, 1999, ISBN 0-674-85371-7),
- Cherishment: a Psychology of the Heart (co-author: Faith Bethelard. Free Press, 2000, ISBN 0-684-85966-1)
- Where Do We Fall When We Fall in Love? (essays, Other Press (NY), 2003, ISBN 1-59051-068-2)