Stephen Frosh

Stephen Frosh is Emeritus Professor of Psychology and co-founder of the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck. Having joined the then Department of Psychology at Birkbeck in 1979, between 1982 and 2000 he worked partly at Birkbeck and partly in the NHS as a clinical psychologist with children and families. From 1990 to 2000 he was a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and from 1996-2000 he was Vice Dean of the Child and Family Department at the Tavistock Clinic. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, an Academic Associate of the British Psychoanalytical Society, an Honorary Member of the Institute of Group Analysis, and a Founding Member of the Association for Psychosocial Studies. He is a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Witwatersrand and São Paulo.

Professor Frosh was made Senior Lecturer in 1989, Reader in 1995 and Professor in 1998. On returning to Birkbeck full time in 2000, he co-founded the Centre for Psychosocial Studies within the School of Psychology with a group of colleagues. This Centre became the nucleus of the Department of Psychosocial Studies established in 2008, with Professor Frosh as the first Head of Department (2008-11).

Professor Stephen Frosh’s record of service to Birkbeck is impressive. As Pro-Vice-Master for Learning and Teaching from 2003-09, he was responsible for instituting the Common Awards Scheme and also leading Birkbeck through an institutional audit. This cemented his reputation among colleagues for unparalleled omniscience not only on Sigmund Freud and psychoanalytic theory, but also on all matters to do with the Common Award Scheme and, more broadly, any College regulations.

As Pro-Vice-Master for research from 2009-15, Professor Frosh steered Birkbeck through the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. He went on to become Pro-Vice-Master for Internationalisation from 2017-19.

Professor Frosh founded and was the initial Director of the Birkbeck Institute for Social Research which he chaired whilst serving as Pro-Vice Master for Research. HE was also on the management committee of the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism up until 2023, and an Academic Board Governor from 2020-23.

Professor Frosh has a distinguished academic record. He has published twenty authored books and five edited books, as well as a very large number of journal articles and book chapters on psychosocial studies, psychoanalysis, masculinities and child sexual abuse. He is co-editor of the book series Studies in the Psychosocial and of a 500,000-word Major Reference Work, the Palgrave Handbook of Psychosocial Studies, as well as the Routledge International Handbook of Psychoanalysis and Jewish Studies, another large, 40-chapter strong enterprise. The volumes The Politics of Psychoanalysis, first published in 1987; For and Against Psychoanalysis, published in 1997 and 2006; Hate and the ‘Jewish Science’: Anti-Semitism, Nazism and Psychoanalysis, published in 2005; Psychoanalysis Outside the Clinic: Interventions in Psychosocial Studies, published in 2010 are now foundational texts. These works showcase Stephen Frosh’s ability to address with distinctive clarity what are widely regarded as fiendishly complex debates in theory and politics.

Most recent publications include Hauntings: Psychoanalysis and Ghostly Transmissions, published in 2013; Those Who Come After: Postmemory, Acknowledgement and Forgiveness, published in 2019 – and Winner of the British Psychological Society Academic Book Award 2023; and Antisemitism and Racism: Ethical challenges for Psychoanalysis, published in 2023. In these works, Stephen Frosh speaks directly to the challenges of the present by urging us to reflect on the psychosocial afterlives of legacies of suffering. As Professor Judith Butler has noted, ‘Frosh shows us that ethical struggle involves looking back even when one wants to look away’ (2022).

Stephen Frosh has taught at all levels from first year undergraduate to advanced postgraduate, serving as Programme Director of the MA Psychoanalytic Studies until 2023. He has supervised over 55 students to successful completion of their doctoral theses. His commitment to doctoral researchers across Psychosocial Studies, Psychoanalytic Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies and many other fields of interdisciplinary enquiry is unwavering. Former students have related their praise for his approach to doctoral supervision, noting: ‘Stephen was fiercely supportive, inspiring, knowledgeable and kind throughout my PhD. I was constantly moved by his intellect, … kindness and generosity’.

A staunch supporter of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, Professor Frosh has contributed to the annual BIH Critical Theory Summer School every year since its inception.

Professor Frosh retired from Birkbeck on 31 July 2023 with an impressive scholarly contribution in the fields of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, and a truly exceptional record of service to the College. Outside Birkbeck, he has been Chair of Governors at a primary school, and co-founded and was Chair for 20 years of a local pre-school in North London.