Translating the Jewish Freud: Psychoanalysis in Hebrew and Yiddish - Naomi Seidman (University of Toronto)

The Jewish character of psychoanalysis is still a matter of debate. But what it not disputed is that Sigmund Freud considered the translations of his work into Hebrew and Yiddish a matter of profound significance, writing about how moved he was to hold these renderings in his hand when they were sent to him by the translators. This talk will introduce the translations that moved Freud so deeply and discuss the power of Jewish languages to create Jewish connections, beyond the question of whether Freud could read and understand these translations.

Naomi Seidman is the Chancellor Jackman Professor of the Arts in the Department for the Study of Religion and the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto. Her books include Faithful Renderings: Jewish—Christian Difference and the Politics of Difference (2006), and The Marriage Plot, Or, How Jews Fell in Love with Love, and with Literature (2016). She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2016 and a National Jewish Book Award in 2019. Her podcast, “The Heretic in the House,” was awarded a Signal Award in 2023.

Translating the Jewish Freud (2024), her fifth book, was released by Stanford University Press in June.

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 • 314 Royce • 2 PM 

Naomi Seidman (University of Toronto)

Translating the Jewish Freud: Psychoanalysis in Hebrew and Yiddish

Sady and Ludwig Kahn Book Talk in German Jewish Studies