Benjamin, Jessica

Feminist theorist, sociologist, and practicing psychoanalyst Jessica Benjamin is known for her work on intersubjectivity and recognition, and particularly the issue of maternal subjectivity and its implications for child development. Benjamin began her [Page 112]studies at Bard College and then at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She went on to graduate work at the Frankfurt School in the late 1960s, where she became involved with the children's pedagogy movement. Upon her return in the early 1970s to the United States and influenced by both feminism and critical social theory, Benjamin continued her study of the connections between social theory and psychoanalysis.

She completed her doctorate in Sociology in 1977–78 at New York University (NYU). In 1980 she began postdoctoral training in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, also ...