Elisabeth Young-Bruehl
| Elisabeth Young-Bruehl | |
|---|---|
| Organization details | |
| Type | Psychoanalyst and author |
| Orientation | Freudian |
| Institutional context | |
| Affiliation | Toronto Psychoanalytic Society |
| Operations | |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Geographic scope | International |
| Training function | Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis |
| Publications | Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World; Anna Freud: A Biography; The Anatomy of Prejudices |
Elisabeth Young-Bruehl (born Elisabeth Bulkley Young; March 3, 1946 – December 1, 2011) was an American philosopher, academic, psychotherapist, and psychoanalyst.[1] She is best known for her acclaimed psychobiographies of Hannah Arendt and Anna Freud, which combined rigorous scholarship with psychoanalytic insight, and for her theoretical works on prejudice and childism.[2][1]
A member of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society, Young-Bruehl contributed to the transmission of psychoanalysis through her writings, clinical practice, and educational initiatives, including co-founding Caversham Productions for psychoanalytic materials.[1]
Biography
Early Life and Education
Young-Bruehl was born Elisabeth Bulkley Young on March 3, 1946.[1] She completed undergraduate studies at The New School for Social Research and pursued a Ph.D. in philosophy there, where she studied under Hannah Arendt, who became her mentor and dissertation advisor.[2][1] Arendt joined the Graduate Faculty of the New School as Young-Bruehl enrolled, fostering a close intellectual relationship.[1]
After earning her Ph.D. in 1974, she joined the faculty of Wesleyan University in 1975, teaching philosophy in the College of Letters.[1]
Career in Philosophy and Biography
Young-Bruehl's 1982 biography Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World won the Harcourt Award and established her as a leading psychobiographer.[1][2] Her interest in psychoanalysis deepened through this work, leading her to train clinically starting in 1983 at the Child Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut.[1] There, she connected with Anna Freud's American colleagues and was invited to write Anna Freud: A Biography (1988, second edition 2008).[1][2]
In 1991, she left Wesleyan for Philadelphia, teaching part-time at Haverford College while completing psychoanalytic training at the Philadelphia Association for Psychoanalysis, graduating in 1999.[1] She maintained a private practice in Philadelphia and later New York City.[1]
Psychoanalytic Contributions
Young-Bruehl viewed psychoanalysis as essential for understanding prejudice, ideology, and social conflict, integrating it with philosophy and psychohistory.[2] Her The Anatomy of Prejudices (1996) won the Association of American Publishers' prize for Best Book in Psychology.[1] She edited Freud on Women: A Reader (1992), critiquing Freud's views on women from a feminist perspective while engaging his theories.[2]
In Subject to Biography: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Writing Women's Lives (1998), she explored the interplay of biography, feminism, and psychoanalysis, emphasizing empathy as "putting another person in yourself."[2][3] Her final book, Childism: Confronting Prejudice Against Children (2012), was published posthumously.[1]
She was a member of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and co-founded Caversham Productions.[1]
Key Works
- Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World (1982)[1]
- Anna Freud: A Biography (1988)[1]
- Freud on Women: A Reader (1992)[2]
- The Anatomy of Prejudices (1996)[1]
- Subject to Biography (1998)[3]
- Childism (2012)[1]
Legacy
Young-Bruehl's work bridged philosophy, psychobiography, and clinical psychoanalysis, influencing studies of prejudice, child psychology, and feminist engagements with Freud.[2][4] She died on December 1, 2011.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 "Elisabeth Young-Bruehl - Wikipedia". Retrieved 2026-01-31.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "The Passion of Elisabeth Young-Bruehl (article) - Clio's Psyche". Retrieved 2026-01-31.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Subject to Biography - Harvard University Press". Retrieved 2026-01-31.
- ↑ "In Memoriam: Elisabeth Young-Bruehl - Roth on Wesleyan". Retrieved 2026-01-31.