Biographical Note: Paul Roazen was born in Boston in 1936. He received his undergraduate degree in government from Harvard College in 1958, studied at the University of Chicago, Oxford University, and again at Harvard University, where he received his doctorate in 1965. He became interested in Freud’s ideas about unconscious motives in human behavior and their application to political philosophy. A historian of the psychoanalytic movement, Roazen wrote many books on Sigmund Freud and his followers. Based on Roazen’s interviews with Freud’s patients and friends from 1965 to 1967, his works contained many controversial revelations and often reevaluated Freud’s methods and practices. He liked to cite Anna Freud’s comment that “Roazen is a menace whatever he writes”. Paul Roazen wrote books about other famous analysts, including Erik Erikson, Helene Deutsch, Sandor Rado and Edoardo Weiss. He also taught political and social science at Harvard and York Universities. After retiring in 1995, he returned to Cambridge, MA. He was made an honorary member of the American Psychoanalytic Association in 2004. Paul Roazen died on November 4, 2005 at the age of 69. His papers have been deposited to the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center of the Boston University.

Summary: the collection includes one box of correspondence with and about Paul Roazen, his book reviews, manuscripts, and Helene Deutsch book materials.  Please note that additional papers related to Paul Roazen’s research could be found in the Related BPSI Collections listed below.

Finding Aid for this collection is available here (viewing it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).


Related BPSI Collections
Assorted Correspondence, 1872-1996
Deutsch, Helene (1884-1982)
Gifford, Sanford (includes correspondence with Paul Roazen)
Vienna Psychoanalytic Society Records, 1922-1994

Related Sites
Roazen’s Obituary in Boston Globe
Roazen’s Obituary in Washington Post
Roazen’s Obituary in The Independent
Paul Roazen Web Site Books and Articles by Paul Roazen (Google Scholar)
Books and Articles by Paul Roazen (PubMed)