The Large Group Re-Visited: The Herd, Primal Horde, Crowds and Masses (International Library of Group Analysis, 25)

This important and thought-provoking book explores the workings and dynamics of the large group, with clear descriptions of both theory and technique. Building on Kreeger's earlier collection of papers, this volume shows how large-group concepts in group analysis have evolved to become important tools in understanding the social interactive processes operating in conferences, workshops, training institutes and large organizations such as hospitals, psychiatric communities and government agencies - and even operate in virtual groups formed on the internet. The authors consider issues of leadership and order, the control and expression of aggression, spiritual and therapeutic experiences, the maintenance of individuals' identities and the development of culture in the context of larger groups. Engaging with a broad set of contexts, this book will be of practical use to all those who seek fuller understanding of the social and psychological processes underlying group dynamics, including group analysts, sociologists, policy makers and consultants. Following on the papers collected in Large Group (Kreeger, 1975), 13 contributions to this volume edited by Schneider (chairman, Program for Integrative Psychotherapy, Hebrew U., Israel) and Weinberg (president, Israeli Association of Group Psychotherapy) examine the psychology of the large group, first covering theory and technique and then moving on to applications to society. The first group examines such topics as large groups and culture, experience of the mystical and the spiritual in the large group, chaos and order, and the power of projective processes in large groups. The remaining contributions address the relationship between large groups and socially sanctioned violence, the political process, the organization, and virtual environments. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR The impetus for this book arose out of the burgeoning interest in recent years in the large group. 'The unconscious is the discourse of the other,' Lacan tells us (1977, p.439).