Jouissance as Ananda seeks to resolve the often-problematic Western concept of the ego by proposing a cross-cultural theory of consciousness that draws on Indian philosophy. Author Ashmita Khasnabish begins with a critique of Western psychoanalysis, engaging French feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray's concept of jouissance to highlight shortcomings in the work of Freud and Lacan. Khasnabish then seeks to expand the idea of jouissance by comparing it with the Indian concept of ananda. The highly theoretical analysis of philosophical and psychoanalytic terms is combined with an examination of colonial and postcolonial literature. A thoughtful and immensely creative approach to psychoanalytic theory, Jouissance as Ananda will be of interest to readers from a variety of cultures and disciplines.

"Admirable both for its scope and creative interpretations, Jouissance As Ananda is a landmark in the scholarship of psychoanalysis, philosophy, feminist theory, and literature. Its interdisciplinary and cross-cultural analysis of ego-transcendence should interest a wide audience of international scholars sensitive to Ashmita Khasnabish's mastery of Indian and Western intellectual thought." - South Asian Review