York University Distinguished Research Professor Deborah Britzman was awarded the 2015 Hans W. Loewald Memorial Award from the International Forum for Psychoanalytic Education during its recent annual conference in Philadelphia.
This prestigious recognition is given to “an individual’s international stature for original and outstanding contributions to the development of psychoanalytic theory, practice and application.”
“The International Forum for Psychoanalytic Education (IFPE), in recognizing ‘extraordinary contributions to psychoanalytic education,’ honoured Deborah Britzman with our Loewald Award,” said IFPE President Farrell Silverberg.
“Dr. Britzman brings the realization that everything we think and know about education, we think and know through our psychological apparatus,” he said. “She reveals that our view of education remains unchanged since our childhoods, and echoes within and beyond the educational system. Professor Britzman connects psychoanalysis with pedagogy, teacher education, social inequality, gay and lesbian studies, and problems of intolerance, offering us a path toward a re-envisioning of teaching and learning.”
Britzman also gave the Loewald lecture at the meeting. Her lecture, “On the psychoanalytic situation of friendship: The Case of Melanie Klein and Richard,” was drawn from her forthcoming book Melanie Klein: Early Analysis, Play, and the Question of Freedom, which will be published by Springer Press in December.
“We were delighted to learn about Professor Britzman’s award,” said Ron Owston, dean of the Faculty of Education. “Her accomplishments enhance our reputation as a research-intensive Faculty.”
In 2006, Britzman was the first Faculty of Education member to be honoured with the title of York University Distinguished Research Professor. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a psychoanalyst. Internationally known for her research in education and psychoanalysis, she is the author of eight books and over 90 research articles, including the book A Psychoanalyst in the Classroom: Education as Human Condition (Albany: SUNY Press, 2015).