Draft:Gila Ashtor

Gila Ashtor is a critical theorist, psychoanalyst, and writer known for her contributions to queer theory, psychoanalytic theory, and gender studies. She is a Clinical Psychoanalysis professor at Columbia University.

She is also the author of an experimental memoir, Aural History, and a book of clinical theory, Exigent Psychoanalysis: Jean Laplanche's Interventions.

For Homo Psyche: On Queer Theory and Erotophobia, she was the finalist for Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Studies.

Education
She earned a BA in English Literature and Political Science at Brandeis University, a Master of Philosophy at the University of Chicago, a PhD in Literature and Queer Theory at Tufts, and an MFA at Columbia University.

Career
Ashtor has authored non-fiction books within academia and psychoanalysis. Her writings often explore themes related to trauma, grief, affective disorders, identity, and sexuality.

Ashtor serves as an editor at Studies in Gender and Sexuality.

Notable works
Ashtor's notable works include

Homo Psyche: On Queer Theory and Erotophobia
In this book, Ashtor critiques contemporary queer theory for its perceived erotophobia and advocates for a more expansive understanding of sexuality. She engages with key figures in the field, such as Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and Judith Butler, while proposing a metapsychological approach to queer critical thought.

"Exigent Psychoanalysis: The Interventions of Jean Laplanche"
This book delves into the work of psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche, exploring his innovative contributions to psychoanalytic theory. Ashtor examines Laplanche's concepts of enlarged sexuality, seduction, and translation, and considers their implications for contemporary psychoanalytic practice.

Awards
She has been awarded by the American Studies Association, which awarded "Homo Psyche" the Alan Bray Memorial Book Award for LGBTQ+ research. Additionally, Ashtor was named a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards in the LGBTQ Studies category.