Alwyn Lau
Biographic Data
| ID | 3687768 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alwyn Lau |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alwyn |
| FAMILY NAME | Lau |
| SIGNATURE | LAU A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Monash University Malaysia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4171-7943 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 7 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 7 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Beyond the spirits’ veil: A Žižekian re-reading of mass hysteria in Malaysian schools
Perilous presencing: How the church’s sacraments re-symbolize trauma
This article examines the church’s sacramental life – baptism and the Eucharist – as enactments of trauma that mirror Christ’s suffering and death, shaping its vocation of self-giving for a broken world. Drawing on a psychoanalytical lens inspired by Lacan and Žižek, itexplores how these sacraments resymbolise trauma as redemptive, plunging the church into the realm of Christ’s cross – a traumatic rupture that shatters sacrificial systems and red…
Between Surplus and Lack
Political theology finds itself at an impasse between those which trumpet traditional views of divine surplus and transcendence, and atheologies which deconstruct faith and the divine to a barely coherent (let alone recognizable) point. This article aims to map out the contours of a reworked political theology, one with forgiveness and divine suffering at its centre (juxtaposing the transcendent in the immanent) yet one which is neither held conf…
A Primordial Anxiety
Ethnicity is a turbulent factor in Malaysian politics and society. Through decades of inter-ethnic tension fostered by ideological engineering, itself building on a history of ethnic manipulation and polarisation in colonial times, racialised tension has remained at best dormant and at worst prone to erupt in riots reminiscent of the May 1969 riots. This study examines the discourse of ethnicity from Malaysia’s colonial roots up to the mid-20th c…
Disorderly Conduct
Psychoanalysis is gaining popularity as a tool for interrogating political problems. This paper applies the three fundamental diagnostic categories of neurosis, psychosis and perversion to Malaysian socio-political discourse. This endeavour is urgent given the political upheavals in the country since the 2008 general elections where the ruling National Alliance regime lost its two-third majority in parliament, a result repeated again five years l…
JustJouissance: Discerning and Subverting a Politics of Inherent Transgression in Malaysian Socio-Political Discourse
The Kuala Lumpur Bersih 3.0 protests of 28 April 2012 exposed the fault-lines of Malaysia's ruling regime (led by the United Malays National Organisation, UMNO), which promises political reform whilst simultaneously employing crackdowns on protesters. This article aims to read Malaysia's socio-political discourse through Slavoj Žižek's political theory of the superego (itself predicated on Lacanian concepts) in which an obscene underside runs in …
Intimating the Unconscious: A Psychoanalytical Refraction of Christian Theo-Political Activism in Malaysia
The political activism of Christians in Malaysia is in an emergent phase. Despite significant advances, especially after the milestone general elections of March 2008 (where the ruling National Alliance regime lost its two-thirds majority in parliament), many Christians hesitate to engage politically and when they do, their engagement is incoherent. Based upon a survey and critical analysis of media statements by leading Christian organizations, …
Disorderly Conduct
Psychoanalysis is gaining popularity as a tool for interrogating political problems. This paper applies the three fundamental diagnostic categories of neurosis, psychosis and perversion to Malaysian socio-political discourse. This endeavour is urgent given the political upheavals in the country since the 2008 general elections where the ruling National Alliance regime lost its two-third majority in parliament, a result repeated again five years l…
JustJouissance: Discerning and Subverting a Politics of Inherent Transgression in Malaysian Socio-Political Discourse
The Kuala Lumpur Bersih 3.0 protests of 28 April 2012 exposed the fault-lines of Malaysia's ruling regime (led by the United Malays National Organisation, UMNO), which promises political reform whilst simultaneously employing crackdowns on protesters. This article aims to read Malaysia's socio-political discourse through Slavoj Žižek's political theory of the superego (itself predicated on Lacanian concepts) in which an obscene underside runs in …
A Primordial Anxiety
Ethnicity is a turbulent factor in Malaysian politics and society. Through decades of inter-ethnic tension fostered by ideological engineering, itself building on a history of ethnic manipulation and polarisation in colonial times, racialised tension has remained at best dormant and at worst prone to erupt in riots reminiscent of the May 1969 riots. This study examines the discourse of ethnicity from Malaysia’s colonial roots up to the mid-20th c…
Disorderly Conduct
Psychoanalysis is gaining popularity as a tool for interrogating political problems. This paper applies the three fundamental diagnostic categories of neurosis, psychosis and perversion to Malaysian socio-political discourse. This endeavour is urgent given the political upheavals in the country since the 2008 general elections where the ruling National Alliance regime lost its two-third majority in parliament, a result repeated again five years l…
JustJouissance: Discerning and Subverting a Politics of Inherent Transgression in Malaysian Socio-Political Discourse
The Kuala Lumpur Bersih 3.0 protests of 28 April 2012 exposed the fault-lines of Malaysia's ruling regime (led by the United Malays National Organisation, UMNO), which promises political reform whilst simultaneously employing crackdowns on protesters. This article aims to read Malaysia's socio-political discourse through Slavoj Žižek's political theory of the superego (itself predicated on Lacanian concepts) in which an obscene underside runs in …
Intimating the Unconscious: A Psychoanalytical Refraction of Christian Theo-Political Activism in Malaysia
The political activism of Christians in Malaysia is in an emergent phase. Despite significant advances, especially after the milestone general elections of March 2008 (where the ruling National Alliance regime lost its two-thirds majority in parliament), many Christians hesitate to engage politically and when they do, their engagement is incoherent. Based upon a survey and critical analysis of media statements by leading Christian organizations, …
Between Surplus and Lack
Political theology finds itself at an impasse between those which trumpet traditional views of divine surplus and transcendence, and atheologies which deconstruct faith and the divine to a barely coherent (let alone recognizable) point. This article aims to map out the contours of a reworked political theology, one with forgiveness and divine suffering at its centre (juxtaposing the transcendent in the immanent) yet one which is neither held conf…
Perilous presencing: How the church’s sacraments re-symbolize trauma
This article examines the church’s sacramental life – baptism and the Eucharist – as enactments of trauma that mirror Christ’s suffering and death, shaping its vocation of self-giving for a broken world. Drawing on a psychoanalytical lens inspired by Lacan and Žižek, itexplores how these sacraments resymbolise trauma as redemptive, plunging the church into the realm of Christ’s cross – a traumatic rupture that shatters sacrificial systems and red…
Beyond the spirits’ veil: A Žižekian re-reading of mass hysteria in Malaysian schools
Politics (6 works) · Law (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Law (4 works) · Gender Studies (3 works) · Gender Studies (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics (3 works) · Theological Perspectives and Practices (3 works)