Brian Alessandro, MA in Clinical Psychology

Ph.D. Researcher in Psychoanalysis and Philosophy

Brian Alessandro

PhD Candidate in Psychoanalysis and Philosophy

GCAS College Dublin – Global Centre for Advanced Studies

New Jersey, United States

Biography

Brian Alessandro is a PhD researcher at GCAS College Dublin whose work centers on the intersection of masochism, martyrdom, trauma, and resilience with neuroplasticity and moral philosophy as connective tissue. He is taking a multidisciplinary approach with his dissertation, integrating ethnographic field work with theory and cultural studies.

He holds a BFA in Media from the New York Institute of Technology and an MA in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University, where he focused on trauma and bereavement.

Prior to joining GCAS, Brian taught high school and college courses in psychology, sexuality, gender, human development, health, film, and English literature. He has also written film and book reviews for Newsday, the Gay & Lesbian Review, Kirkus, and The Florida Review. His essays and interviews have been published in PANK, the Huffington Post, Galerie, Culture Connection, and Interview Magazine. In 2016 he founded the literary journal, The New Engagement. He has written and directed the feature film, Afghan Hound. He is the author of five books, including the novels, The Unmentionable Mann, Performer Non Grata, and Julian’s Debut. Additionally, he co-edited Fever Spores: The Queer Reclamation of William S. Burroughs, an anthology, and co-adapted Edmund White’s A Boy’s Own Story into a graphic novel. Brian is currently serving as the regional quality assurance and compliance director for New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky at The Columbus Organization, a company that provides care coordination to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Research Interests

·      Psychoanalysis and literature

·      Cultural Studies

·      Trauma and resilience

·      Coping Ugly (Bonnano)

·      Neuroplasticity and moral philosophy

·      Malabou, Girard, and Schopenhauer

Research Supervisor: TBD

Outside GCAS

When not researching and writing, Brian enjoys making art (his illustrations have been exhibited in New York, Arizona, and California, and several pieces have been published on playbills, play posters, and book covers, and in magazines), traveling (to date he’s visited 45 states and 42 countries), hiking, bingeing movies (his favorites tend to be independent, vintage, or international), and writing fiction.

Links:

Link to personal website

Link to LinkedIn

Link to Instagram

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