A Critical Psychology of the Postcolonial: The Mind of Apartheid

An innovative and productive account of the role of the sexual, bodily and visceral realms of desire, fantasy and affect underpinning the dynamics of post-colonial racism - Catherine Campbell, London School of Economics, UK, in Ethnic and Racial Studies

Hook has produced what will be considered as an innovative and seminal text -Saths Cooper, Psychological Society of South Africa and Brett Bowman, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in PsycCRITIQUES

A Critical Psychology of the Postcolonial is unprecedented in its depth and nuance. It is certain to appeal to anyone interested in critical psychology and social psychoanalysis, and for anyone interested in the psychology of apartheid it is essential reading. - Ross Truscott, University of Fort Hare, South Africa, in Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society

A convincing defence of the need for a critical psychology of the postcolonial ... helpful for those interested in exploring the psychological mechanisms which allow racism, and related forms of discrimination, to emerge, flourish and persist. The book will also be helpful for those interested in the writings of Fanon and Bhabha as it is to the ideas of these two postcolonial scholars that Hook pays particular attention. -Sally Matthews, Rhodes University, South Africa, in African Identities

The work of Derek Hook in the field of racism is unparalled in the light it sheds on the psychic life of colonial power. Hook further extrapolates ... the examination of the affective components of racist discourses, always through the lens of an approach to psychology that is keenly attuned to the overarching logic through racism operates. ... It will be of interest not simply to those researching and theorising the postcolonial, but to those working in the field of racism in general and in psychology specifically. - Damien W. Riggs, Flinders University, Australia, in the Journal of African and Asian Studies

Hook's path-breaking contribution marshalls a range of new resources for a revitalisation of the social psychology of racism and resistance in the postcolonial context. The 'vernacular psychology' of Steve Biko and Black Consciousness thought, the psychoanalytic writings of Frantz Fanon and the anti-apartheid writings of Chabani Manganyi and J.M. Coetzee bring new insights in Hook's brilliant construction of an innovative critical approach. - Catherine Campbell, London School of Economics, UK

...a powerful articulation of a critical psychoanalytic postcolonial theory of racism. There is no easy way to untie the knots that bind the racialized subject into place, but this book offers a conceptual vocabulary with which to approach the task. Because of this, and also for the clarity and depth of its account of the major thinkers with which it deals, A Critical Psychology of the Postcolonial will be indispensible for students and academics working around issues of race, apartheid, social psychoanalysis, critical psychology and psychosocial studies - Stephen Frosh, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK

This is clearly the boldest and most comprehensive attempt in recent years to critically explore the psychopolitical ambiguities of racist identification. Not only does it cogently summarize the best literature in the field (from Fanon to Bhabha and beyond), but it also advances a revealing pedagogy of the counter-intutitive highlighting and systematically exploring the ellusive real of apartheid racism: its reliance on the body, its often disturbing libidinal economy. Hook's accessible and reflexive style, his ability to creatively interrogate and articulate diverse research traditions (from postcolonial theory to Lacanian psychoanalysis), not to mention his compelling self-critical, interdisciplinary research ethos, will undoubtedly make this work a classic! - Yannis Stavrakakis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

There are a few good studies on psychoanalysis and racism, but this is an innovative text that stands alone, defining new lines of research while addressing contemporary social issues. - Ian Parker, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Derek Hook has written a brilliant book which captures the libidinal economy of racism in such a way that Fanon (were he alive) would have tried to write himself. - Renata Salecl, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Through the methods of contrapuntal reading Hook invigorates psychoanalytic discourse, showing how it can be applied to understanding the thinking and affective attachments of colonial subjects. I learned a lot from reading this book. It is coherent, well argued, and innovative. - Kevin Durrheim, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa