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Literary trauma studies is a rapidly developing field which examines how literature deals with the personal and cultural aspects of trauma and engages with such historical and current phenomena as the Holocaust and other genocides, 9/11, climate catastrophe or the still unsettled legacy of colonialism.
The Routledge Companion to Literature and Trauma is a comprehensive guide to the history and theory of trauma studies, including key concepts, consideration of critical perspectives and discussion of future developments. It also explores different genres and media, such as poetry, life-writing, graphic narratives, photography and post-apocalyptic fiction, and analyses how literature engages with particular traumatic situations and events, such as the Holocaust, the Occupation of France, the Rwandan genocide, Hurricane Katrina and transgenerational nuclear trauma.
Forty essays from top thinkers in the field demonstrate the range and vitality of trauma studies as it has been used to further the understanding of literature and other cultural forms across the world.
List of contents
Introduction to Literary Trauma Studies
Colin Davis and Hanna Meretoja
Part 1: Sources and Inspirations
- History of Trauma Theory
Nicole Sütterlin
- Philosophies of Trauma
Hanna Meretoja
- Trauma, Poststructuralism and Ethics
Colin Davis
- Theories of Cultural Trauma
Todd Madigan
- Trauma and Cultural Memory Studies
Rosanne Kennedy
- Testimony
Meg Jensen
- Trauma, Time and Address
Cathy Caruth
Part 2: Key Concepts
- Victimhood
Susana Onega
- Perpetrator Trauma
Erin McGlothlin
- Witnessing
Carolyn Dean
- Screen Memory
Max Silverman
- Working-Through
Jean-Michel Ganteau
- Affect
Andreea Ritivoi
- Narrative
Jakob Lothe
- Gender
Sharon Marquart
- Intersectionality
Kaisa Ilmonen
Part 3: Critical Perspectives and Future Directions
17. Cosmological Trauma and Postcolonial Modernity
Sam Durrant and Ryan Topper18. Trauma and the Implicated Subject
Michael Rothberg
19. Transcultural Empathy
Katja Garloff
20. Cognitive Approaches to Trauma and Literature
Joshua Pederson
21. Trauma, Critical Posthumanism and New Materialism
Deniz Gundogan Ibrisim
22. Trauma Studies in the Digital Age
Anna Menyhért
23. Reading Literatures of Trauma in the Age of Globalization
Kaisa Kaakinen
24. Trauma, Illness and Narrative in the Medical Humanities
Jo Winning
25. Climate Trauma
Stef Craps
Part 4: Genres and Media
26. Trauma and Fiction
Robert Eaglestone
27. Trauma and Poetry
Charles Armstrong
28. Trauma and Life Writing
Leena Kurvet-Käosaar
29. Graphic Narratives as Trauma Fiction
Katalin Orban
30. Trauma and Drama/Theatre/Performance
Patrick Duggan
31. Trauma and Photography
Cécile Bishop
32. Post-Apocalyptic Fiction and the Future Anterior
Jouni Teittinen
Part 5: Places and Events
33. Trauma in Holocaust Literature
Sue Vice
34. The German Occupation of France, 1940-44
Avril Tynan
35. The Vietnam War
Mark Heberle
36. The Rwandan
About the author
Colin Davis is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
Hanna Meretoja is Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of SELMA: Centre for the Study of Storytelling, Experientiality and Memory at the University of Turku, Finland.
Summary
Over 40 essays from top thinkers in the field demonstrate the range and vitality of trauma studies as it has been used to further the understanding of literature and other cultural forms across the world.
Report
Contributors to this ambitious, far-ranging volume explore the way trauma has been treated in literature, from fiction to testimonial writing and visual media. These explorations, sometimes convergent and at other times divergent, will engage readers across various disciplines and may well offer bases to elaborate further possibilities and limits in the critical understanding of trauma and trauma studies.
Dominick LaCapra
