The Birth of a Political Self: The Jean-Max Gaudilliere Seminars 2001-2014 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780367523343)

Jean-Max Gaudillière studied classical literature at the École normale supérieure (ENS) in Paris before becoming a psychoanalyst. He was a professor at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) and was a member of the Center for the Study of Social Movements (CSSM), founded by Alain Touraine, research director at the EHESS.

In the weekly seminar called "Madness and the Social Link," held for forty years at the EHESS, Gaudillière combined his clinical work with the exploration of literary works dealing with the madness of war. The focus of his clinical work was the impact of historical catastrophes on personal lives.

He is the co-author of two books written with Françoise Davoine: History Beyond Trauma (2004) and A Word to the Wise (2018, Routledge).