Através da prática clínica, notamos em alguns pacientes diabéticos uma resistência paralisadora crônica que impede o tratamento. Eles parecem não se darem conta do que se passa com eles e vivem como se o não tratamento fosse algo bom. Sentem-se protegidos e têm a convicção de que nada irá acontecer-lhes. Eles garantem que não sentem nada, nenhum sinal de complicação aguda ou crônica. Pensamos que esta proteção perversa pode ser compreendida a partir do estudo das organizações patológicas. Elas oferecem grande resistência a mudanças e a experiências de dependência de objeto. Os objetivos desta pesquisa foram: (1) avaliar o grau de eficácia adaptativa e os episódios de crise; (2) avaliar a dinâmica emocional e o equilíbrio adaptativo do ego, visando a compreensão do sistema tensional inconsciente principal, que pode identificar, ou não, a presença das organizações patológicas; (3) correlacionar o grau de eficácia adaptativa com a presença ou não das organizações patológicas; (4) correlacionar o grau de equilíbrio adaptativo do ego com a intensidade da ação das organizações patológicas e (5) correlacionar a qualidade do controle glicêmico com a presença ou não das organizações patológicas. Os instrumentos utilizados foram a Escala Diagnóstica Adaptativa Operacionalizada - EDAO e O Teste das Relações Objetais de Phillipson - TRO. O controle da glicemia foi determinado através de exames de laboratório. Foram sujeitos desta pesquisa 30 pacientes diabéticos do tipo 2, amostra representativa e imparcial de uma população de 113 pacientes diabéticos atendidos no primeiro semestre de 1999 na Liga dos estudantes para o atendimento do pacientes diabético - LIGA, do Centro de Diabetes da Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP. Os sujeitos, de ambos os sexos, tinham idade entre 44 e 62 anos e foram divididos em dois grupos. O grupo I era formado por 15 pacientes com bom controle glicêmico e o grupo II, por 15 pacientes com mau controle. Os dois grupos foram controlados por seis meses, durante os quais as recomendações da Sociedade Brasileira de Diabetes - SBD(1999) foram utilizadas para determinar a qualidade do controle glicêmico. A partir deste critério os grupos foram definidos. Os pacientes com glicose plasmática de jejum (GJ) < 126 mg/dl e Glicose Casual (GC) < 200 mg/dl foram considerados de bom controle e formaram o Grupo I. Acima ou igual a estes valores, Grupo II, de mau controle. Os resultados mostraram que existe forte correlação entre a eficácia adaptativa e o equilíbrio interno do ego com a qualidade do controle glicêmico. Assim, quanto melhor o nível da adaptação, melhor o controle glicêmico. Da mesma forma, quando as relações de objeto tendem à adaptação ou são positivas, melhor o controle glicêmico. Quanto à presença das organizações patológicas, a análise através da EDAO e do TRO mostrou que no Grupo I, de bom controle, não foi observada a presença destas organizações. Estes pacientes apresentavam respostas que, cumulativamente, geravam a melhora ou manutenção da eficácia adaptativa. O equilíbrio do mundo interno gerava a possibilidade de adaptação às situações. No Grupo II, de mau controle, pôde-se observar a presença e a intensidade das organizações patológicas. Estes pacientes apresentavam respostas que impediam qualquer tipo de progresso, reduzindo de forma significativa a eficácia adaptativa. No TRO, da mesma forma, observou-se no Grupo II a imobilização ou paralisação frente às situações, fenômeno característico das organizações patológicas. / We observed, through clinical practice, that some diabetes patients presented a chronic paralyzing resistance which blocks treatment. They do not seem to realize what is going on with them and live as if the treatment were not a beneficial thing. They feel protected and are sure that nothing will happen to them. They assure that they do not feel anything, any signs of either acute or chronic complications. We think that such wicked protection can be understood from the study of the pathological organizations. These organizations offer great resistance to changes and object-dependant experiences. The purposes of this study were: (1) to assess the level of adaptive effectiveness and the crisis episodes; (2) assess the emotional dynamics and the adaptive balance of the ego, aiming at understanding the main unconscious stressing system, which might identify the presence or absence of pathological organizations; (3) to correlate the level of adaptive effectiveness with the presence or absence of pathological organizations; (4) to correlate the level of adaptive balance of the ego with the intensity of action of the pathological organizations; and (5) to correlate the quality of the control of glycemia with the presence or absence of pathological organizations. The instruments used were the Adaptive Operational Diagnostic Scale (Escala Diagnóstica Adaptativa Operacionalizada EDAO) and the Phillipson Object Relations Test (Teste das Relações Objetais de Phillipson TRO). The control of glycemia was determined by laboratory tests. Along this study, 30 Type II diabetes patients were observed, which represents a significant and impartial sample from a population of 113 diabetes patients treated during the first half of 1999 at the Students league for the treatment of diabetes patients (LIGA), from the Diabetes Center of Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP. The patients, from both genders, were aged from 44 to 62 and were divided into two groups. Group I had 15 patients with a good control of glycemia whereas Group II had 15 patients with a bad one. Both groups were controlled for six months, along which they applied the recommendations from the Brazilian Society for Diabetes (Sociedade Brasileira de Diabetes SBD - 1999) in order to determine the quality of the control of glycemia. From this criterion the groups were defined. Patients with Plasmatic Fast Glucose (GJ) < 126 mg/dl and Casual Glucose (GC) < 200 mg/dl were considered as having a good control and so they were part of Group I. Figures above or equal to these values were included in Group II, as having a bad control. The results showed that there is a strong correlation between the adaptive effectiveness and the internal balance of the ego with the quality of the control of glycemia. Therefore, the higher the level of adaptation, the better the control of glycemia. Likewise, whenever the object relations either tend to adaptation or are positive, the better the control of glycemia. As for the presence of pathological organizations, the analysis through EDAO and TRO showed that in Group I, with a good control, such organizations were not observed. These patients presented responses which, on a cumulative basis, generated either the improvement or maintenance of the adaptive effectiveness. The balance of the inner world generated the possibility of adaptation to situations. In Group II, with a bad control, we observed the presence and intensity of pathological organizations. These patients presented responses that blocked any type of progress, thus significantly the adaptive effectiveness. In TRO, likewise, we observed that in Group II the immobilization or paralysis before situations, which is a typical phenomenon of pathological organizations.

The present study used the Psychoanalytic Rorschach Profile (PRP) to assess differences in personality organization in violent and nonviolent juvenile offenders.

I create art, not out of a deep understanding of the world around me, but out of a lack of one. Human psychology, motives, behaviors, stressors, intentions and identity are the themes that boggle me the most. Therefore, it is only natural that my work would be fueled by the questions these themes pose. In the past I sought to understand what pushes people to make certain choices and how can the world around us affect the formation of identity. Currently I wonder about identity in terms of what do people use to form and reinforce identity both real and fabricated. In addition to this I am working through the question of what creates worth for an object; it’s function or its fabricated identity. Through the use of photography, video, sculpture and installation I explore the possibilities of questions and also understandings that my work can create.

Este trabalho fundamenta-se na compreensão da metapsicologia dos limites como parte da teoria psicanalítica que visa compreender a estruturação e o funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo, bem como parte da teoria psicanalítica que se destina a compreender a etiologia, o funcionamento e o tratamento das patologias-limite, manifestações decorrentes de falhas na constituição e no funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo. Tem como hipótese de pesquisa que o giro metapsicológico exigido pelos estados-limite se coloca menos no sentido de ampliar a diversidade de modelos teóricos e mais no sentido de fazer dialogar dois modelos teóricos que estão na base do pensamento psicanalítico, mas que foram historicamente separados e considerados incompatíveis, a saber: o modelo pulsional e o modelo das relações objetais. Os objetivos deste trabalho são os de (1) questionar os limites da oposição entre a teoria pulsional de Freud e a teoria relacional de Winnicott, (2) apresentar a alternativa que André Green propõe para essa aparente oposição, argumentando a favor da concepção de pulsão e objeto como um par inseparável, bem como (3) apresentar e discutir algumas consequências metapsicológicas do diálogo possível entre essas duas teorias a partir do estudo de Freud e de Winnicott, dando também destaque para as contribuições de André Green para esse diálogo a fim de verificar se a hipótese explicitada acima se sustenta. A presença do objeto na teoria freudiana e a presença do instinto na teoria winnicottiana num segundo momento do desenvolvimento emocional denotam certa abertura nessas teorias para o diálogo entre elas. A forte oposição entre essas teorias apontada pela literatura psicanalítica parece ser fruto de um momento histórico. Contudo, conclui-se também que o diálogo entre essas teorias deve ser realizado dentro de certos limites que contemplem a constatação que Freud e Winnicott se dedicaram ao estudo de dois níveis diferentes de apreensão do Self, que estão relacionados, mas não se sobrepõem. André Green, a princípio, desconsidera o limite desse diálogo a partir da argumentação de que a pulsão e o objeto formam um par inseparável, o que torna inadmissível uma teoria que se organize apenas em um desses pólos, promovendo, com isso, uma releitura de Freud e Winnicott e produzindo importantes avanços para a metapsicologia dos limites. Entretanto, mais recentemente, Green apresenta o que denomina de teoria dos gradientes, que corrobora com a constatação de que há limites nesse diálogo. O exame das consequências desse diálogo produziu algumas propostas, entre elas: uma nova reorganização da tópica psíquica a fim de incluir o não-psíquico, produto da desobjetalização e da clivagem, também denominado de terceira tópica; a compreensão das patologias-limite como um tipo específico de neurose narcísica; e o pensamento metapsicológico como auxílio ao analista aos desafios clínicos propostos por esses casos. Por fim, o exame realizado nesta tese demonstra que o giro metapsicológico exigido por essas patologias está na direção do diálogo entre a teoria pulsional e a teoria das relações de objeto, confirmando a hipótese inicial desta pesquisa / Understanding the metapsychology of limits as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the framing and the functioning of the psychic limits as well as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the etiology, the functioning and the treatment of the borderline cases, manifestations which occur due to failures at the constitutioning and functioning of the psychic limits. And departing of the hypothesis that the metapsychologycal turn demanded by the borderline states is less in the sense of amplify the diversity of metapsychological models and much more in the sense of set in dialogue two theoretical models which are in the base of the psychoanalytic thought, but which were historically split off and considered incompatible: the drive theory and the object relation theory. The aims of this research were (1) to question the limits of the opposition between Freuds drive theory and Winnicotts object relation theory, (2) to present the solution Andre Green propose to this apparent opposition, arguing in favor of the conception of drive and instinct as an inseparable pair, (3) to present and to discuss some of the metapsychological consequences of the possible dialogue between these two theories since study of Freuds and Winnicotts theories, also giving emphasis to the Greens contributions to this dialogue, in order to verify if the hypothesis describe above can be maintained. The presence of object in Freuds theory and the presence of instinct in Winnicotts theory in a second moment of the emotional development denote some overture on theses theories for dialogue. The strong opposition between then, pointed by the psychoanalytic literature, seems to be result of a historical moment. Nevertheless, it follows that the dialogue between these two theories must be done inside certain limits which regard the evidence that Freuds and Winnicotts studies concerned two different levels of apprehension of the Self, which are related, but not superpose each other. Andre Green, at first, disrespect the limits of this dialogue arguing in favor that drive and instinct constitute an inseparable pair, which turns unacceptable one theory which is organized upon one of these two poles, promoting then a re-reading of Freuds and Winnicotts theories and producing important advances for the metapsychology of limits. Meanwhile, more recently, Green brings up what he calls the gradients theory, which corroborate with the evidence that there are limits in this dialogue. The examination of the consequences of this dialogue have produced some proposals, among them: a new reorganization of the psychic topic in order to include the no-psychic, product of the desobjatalization and splitting process, also named third topic; the understanding of borderline pathologies as a specific type of narcissistic neurosis; and also the metapsychological thought as a help to the analyst in front of the clinical challenges proposed by these cases. Finally, the exam accomplished on this research give evidence that the metapsychological turn demanded the borderline states is towards a dialogue between drive theory and object relational theory, confirming the initial hypothesis of this research

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-03-17T18:38:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 SuzanaCataniodosSantosNardi.pdf: 581507 bytes, checksum: 99417ef7046cb36437df4a0b23b8d2b4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-17T18:38:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SuzanaCataniodosSantosNardi.pdf: 581507 bytes, checksum: 99417ef7046cb36437df4a0b23b8d2b4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-01-01 / Nenhuma / Esta Dissertação de Mestrado aborda o tema da violência no âmbito das relações afetivas íntimas, mais especificamente, a compreensão dos processos psíquicos de homens agressores. Toma como referência a teoria psicanalítica das Relações Objetais, em especial as características das relações objetais e dos vínculos afetivos estabelecidos com os outros, em homens envolvidos com violência conjugal. Esta pesquisa foi realizada em uma cidade da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Os participantes foram quinze homens envolvidos em processos judiciais de violência contra a companheira (Lei Maria da Penha). A coleta de dados foi realizada em um período de seis meses e foram utilizados os instrumentos: entrevista, ficha de dados sociodemográficos e o Inventário BORRTI-O. Este último instrumento oferece quatro tipos de resultados ou de fatores interpretativos, os quais demarcam quatro modos de relação objetal internalizada, além de um resultado numérico. A ficha de dados sociodemográficos teve como finalidade a descrição da amostra, e as entrevistas coletaram dados da historia de vida dos participantes. Assim, com base no referencial teórico de autores clássicos como Freud (1914/1996, 1930/1996) e Klein (1932/1969), e de autores contemporâneos como Zosky (1999), Fonagy (2000) e Caligor, Diamond, Yeomans e Kernberg (2009), buscou-se compreender, a partir dos vínculos estabelecidos precocemente pelo indivíduo, as possíveis repercussões destas relações na vida adulta. / This masters thesis addresses the issue of violence within intimate personal relationships and, especially, the comprehension of the mental processes of men who batter. It take as theoretical references the psychoanalytic theory of object relations, the characteristics of object relations and emotional ties established with other men involved in marital violence. This research was conducted in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The participants were fifteen men involved in Maria da Penhas law. Data collection was performed over a period of six months and the following instruments were used: sociodemographic data sheet, interviews and BORRTI-O. The latter instrument offers four types of results or interpretation of factors, which demarcate the four modes of internalized object relations, and a numeric result. The sociodemographic data sheet was intended to describe the sample and collect life history data from the participants.Thus, based on the theory of classical authors such as Freud (1914/1996, 1930/1996) and Klein (1932/1969), and contemporary authors as Zosky (1999), Fonagy (2000) and Caligor, Diamond, Yeomans and Kernberg (2009), we sought to understand the links established earlier in life and the possible impact of these individual relationships in adulthood.

Empirical investigation of the tenets of Object Relations Theory is recent. This study of the theoretical convergence between Object Relations Theory and Personal Construct Theory brought a new direction to the empirical investigation. It was hypothesized that individuals who displayed a well developed level of object relations, as measured by Object Relations Theory, would also display a highly adaptive blend of cognitive complexity and ordination, as described by Personal Construct Theory, and vice versa. A correlational analysis of personality measures on 136 college students approached but did not attain statistical significance. Results indicated no significant theoretical convergence between Object Relations Theory and Personal Construct Theory. Further research is warranted only if greater variability in sample age, life experience, and psychopathology is assured.

Este trabalho fundamenta-se na compreensão da metapsicologia dos limites como parte da teoria psicanalítica que visa compreender a estruturação e o funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo, bem como parte da teoria psicanalítica que se destina a compreender a etiologia, o funcionamento e o tratamento das patologias-limite, manifestações decorrentes de falhas na constituição e no funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo. Tem como hipótese de pesquisa que o giro metapsicológico exigido pelos estados-limite se coloca menos no sentido de ampliar a diversidade de modelos teóricos e mais no sentido de fazer dialogar dois modelos teóricos que estão na base do pensamento psicanalítico, mas que foram historicamente separados e considerados incompatíveis, a saber: o modelo pulsional e o modelo das relações objetais. Os objetivos deste trabalho são os de (1) questionar os limites da oposição entre a teoria pulsional de Freud e a teoria relacional de Winnicott, (2) apresentar a alternativa que André Green propõe para essa aparente oposição, argumentando a favor da concepção de pulsão e objeto como um par inseparável, bem como (3) apresentar e discutir algumas consequências metapsicológicas do diálogo possível entre essas duas teorias a partir do estudo de Freud e de Winnicott, dando também destaque para as contribuições de André Green para esse diálogo a fim de verificar se a hipótese explicitada acima se sustenta. A presença do objeto na teoria freudiana e a presença do instinto na teoria winnicottiana num segundo momento do desenvolvimento emocional denotam certa abertura nessas teorias para o diálogo entre elas. A forte oposição entre essas teorias apontada pela literatura psicanalítica parece ser fruto de um momento histórico. Contudo, conclui-se também que o diálogo entre essas teorias deve ser realizado dentro de certos limites que contemplem a constatação que Freud e Winnicott se dedicaram ao estudo de dois níveis diferentes de apreensão do Self, que estão relacionados, mas não se sobrepõem. André Green, a princípio, desconsidera o limite desse diálogo a partir da argumentação de que a pulsão e o objeto formam um par inseparável, o que torna inadmissível uma teoria que se organize apenas em um desses pólos, promovendo, com isso, uma releitura de Freud e Winnicott e produzindo importantes avanços para a metapsicologia dos limites. Entretanto, mais recentemente, Green apresenta o que denomina de teoria dos gradientes, que corrobora com a constatação de que há limites nesse diálogo. O exame das consequências desse diálogo produziu algumas propostas, entre elas: uma nova reorganização da tópica psíquica a fim de incluir o não-psíquico, produto da desobjetalização e da clivagem, também denominado de terceira tópica; a compreensão das patologias-limite como um tipo específico de neurose narcísica; e o pensamento metapsicológico como auxílio ao analista aos desafios clínicos propostos por esses casos. Por fim, o exame realizado nesta tese demonstra que o giro metapsicológico exigido por essas patologias está na direção do diálogo entre a teoria pulsional e a teoria das relações de objeto, confirmando a hipótese inicial desta pesquisa / Understanding the metapsychology of limits as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the framing and the functioning of the psychic limits as well as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the etiology, the functioning and the treatment of the borderline cases, manifestations which occur due to failures at the constitutioning and functioning of the psychic limits. And departing of the hypothesis that the metapsychologycal turn demanded by the borderline states is less in the sense of amplify the diversity of metapsychological models and much more in the sense of set in dialogue two theoretical models which are in the base of the psychoanalytic thought, but which were historically split off and considered incompatible: the drive theory and the object relation theory. The aims of this research were (1) to question the limits of the opposition between Freuds drive theory and Winnicotts object relation theory, (2) to present the solution Andre Green propose to this apparent opposition, arguing in favor of the conception of drive and instinct as an inseparable pair, (3) to present and to discuss some of the metapsychological consequences of the possible dialogue between these two theories since study of Freuds and Winnicotts theories, also giving emphasis to the Greens contributions to this dialogue, in order to verify if the hypothesis describe above can be maintained. The presence of object in Freuds theory and the presence of instinct in Winnicotts theory in a second moment of the emotional development denote some overture on theses theories for dialogue. The strong opposition between then, pointed by the psychoanalytic literature, seems to be result of a historical moment. Nevertheless, it follows that the dialogue between these two theories must be done inside certain limits which regard the evidence that Freuds and Winnicotts studies concerned two different levels of apprehension of the Self, which are related, but not superpose each other. Andre Green, at first, disrespect the limits of this dialogue arguing in favor that drive and instinct constitute an inseparable pair, which turns unacceptable one theory which is organized upon one of these two poles, promoting then a re-reading of Freuds and Winnicotts theories and producing important advances for the metapsychology of limits. Meanwhile, more recently, Green brings up what he calls the gradients theory, which corroborate with the evidence that there are limits in this dialogue. The examination of the consequences of this dialogue have produced some proposals, among them: a new reorganization of the psychic topic in order to include the no-psychic, product of the desobjatalization and splitting process, also named third topic; the understanding of borderline pathologies as a specific type of narcissistic neurosis; and also the metapsychological thought as a help to the analyst in front of the clinical challenges proposed by these cases. Finally, the exam accomplished on this research give evidence that the metapsychological turn demanded the borderline states is towards a dialogue between drive theory and object relational theory, confirming the initial hypothesis of this research

The focus of this dissertation is a group of individuals applying for psychotherapy. They have attended an office that offers psychodynamic psychotherapy, based on a Christian outlook on mankind. My research questions dealt with why they did apply for psychotherapy and what their goals were. I had planned the study and selected my data collection methods considering three domains of hypothetical reasons for their decisions to apply for psychotherapy. These grounds were their object relations, existential/religious orientations, and psychological problems and goals for the treatment. The first part of the dissertation is a survey of concepts, theories and former studies in the mentioned domains. Concerning the object-relations I make use of psychoanalytical thinking on the importance of early experiences in relation to parents and other persons but also its application to a “religious relation”, namely to the relation of the individual to her/his socalled God-representation. Concerning the existential/religious orientations I make use of existential-analytical thinking on satisfaction and meaning of life and death as an existential problem. I also make use of research from the psychology of religion on different dimensions of religiosity and its correlations to mental health. In the second part of the dissertation there is an account of my development of methods to be used in data collection. In this part of the book one can also find data from a reference group of people not applying for psychotherapy. The main part of the dissertation is the third part, describing the data of eight persons applying for psychotherapy. The information, from interviews, projective methods and scales, from each of the study subjects is put together, analysed and interpreted as intensive case studies. Questions in the interview covered religious and existential matters, relations to important persons during childhood and later, the persons’ descriptions of themselves, and the reasons for applying for psychotherapy and their goals for the treatment. Their answers were analysed using a hermeneutic method. The projective methods covered a picture and unfinished sentences. The psychological scales covered religious beliefs and satisfaction and meaning of life and a semantic differential the symbolic meaning of the words Mother, Father and GOD. According to the results the influence of the object-relations on the decision to apply for psychotherapy was sometimes direct. But on the whole the most obvious reason was the persons’ experiences and descriptions of themselves as filled with conflicting feelings and lack of or difficulties in controlling them. The influence of existential themes was not so obvious and the effects of the religious orientations were sometimes direct and sometimes only indirect. Peoples’ mental problems and goals of the psychotherapy influenced directly their decisions to apply. Most individuals had been in therapy before. There was some difference in the description of goals between those individuals who finished recently and those applying for the first time or long time after an earlier therapy. The latter having more well-defined goals. Theoretically it is possible to classify goals into treatment and life goals, but in real life they often stick together. One important conclusion was that, when the persons experience themselves as filled with contradictory feelings or conflicting strivings and having lack of feelings or difficulties in controlling them, they also experience themselves as responsible to this and as a consequence they also apply for psychotherapy.

Re-evaluating classic work in the sociology of the visual arts, this Ph.D. thesis explores the tacit and practical bases of artistic mediation with reference to curatorial exhibition making in contemporary art. Data presented here derive from a visual microethnographic study of the exhibition-making process in two elite European centres for contemporary art (London’s Institute of Contemporary Art and ARC/Musée D’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris), combined with an additional thirty-five interviews with other curatorial professionals. By focusing on the visual dimensions of curatorial work, this thesis uses a case study in the sociology of art to think more broadly about aesthetic materials as active mediators of action, or actants in the sense of actor-network theory. Drawing on work in the sociology of education, communication studies, and the sociologies of science and technology, this research explores how the material, embodied, and situated interactions between curators, objects, and environments are constructed and understood in reflexive relation to more explicitly cognitive and verbal representations, interpretations, and accounts. In planning and installing an exhibition of contemporary art, curators frame artworks and build meaning based on the material and conceptual resources at hand. The plans made by curators when preparing an exhibition and composing textual documentation are altered and elaborated during the installation of contemporary art in the physical presence of the artworks and gallery space. The disjuncture between curatorial plans and these situated actions has consequences for the public presentation and comprehension of the final exhibition. In documenting these processes as they take shape in real time and in relation to material objects, the body, and the built environment, this work aims to contribute to the on-going developments and debates that centre on the creation of a ‘strong’ cultural sociology and to extend core sociological thinking on the social structures and bases of action.

Chapter One of this thesis looks at psychoanalytical object relations theory dealing with early childhood, with an aim to outline the shift that has taken place within critical thinking on personal development--from an emphasis on oedipal relations to the auspicious re-exploration of pre-oedipal states. Here the main theme derives from the paradoxical nature of the human skin, whose fluid sensory and communicative qualities profoundly shape our psychological functioning, and thus ultimately our creation of (gendered) knowledge in all its forms. / Chapter Two seeks to establish some of the possible socio-political implications of a recovered pre-oedipal sensibility, by way of situating the place of the personal within critical discourse--the cross-fertilization of critical theory and self-critical artistic discourses. Using the specific example of film, my central conceit consists in drawing a parallel between the skin and the filmic screen as both being simultaneously introjective and projective liminal membranes. / Chapter Three is a case study of sorts, one which traces the manifestations of a liminal subjectivity during a critical phase in the history of my native Nordic culture--the period of transition between pagan and Christian society. Its spirit is then shown to be alive and well within the ensemble films of Ingmar Bergman, whose work has come to stand as something of an archetype of the Nordic film form. / The second section, PRAXIS, appropriately provides this project's own creative component, a sketch of a film scenario that I hope to one day be able to liberate from the stasis of the written page and project into the uncertain spaces of a theater screen.