The Routledge Companion to Literature and Trauma (Routledge Literature Companions)

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. Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of contributors Acknowledgements Introduction to literary trauma studies PART I: Sources and inspirations 1. History of trauma theory 2. Philosophies of trauma 3. Trauma, poststructuralism and ethics 4. Theories of cultural trauma 5. Trauma and cultural memory studies 6. Testimony 7. Trauma, time and address PART II: Key concepts 8. Victimhood 9. Perpetrator trauma 10. Witnessing 11. Screen memory 12. Working-through 13. Affect 14. Narrative 15. Gender 16. Intersectionality PART III: Critical perspectives and future directions 17. Cosmological trauma and postcolonial modernity 18. Trauma and the implicated subject 19. Transcultural empathy 20. Cognitive approaches to trauma and literature 21. Trauma, critical posthumanism and new materialism 22. Trauma studies in the digital age 23. Reading literatures of trauma in the age of globalization 24. Trauma, illness and narrative in the medical humanities 25. Climate trauma PART IV: Genres and media 26. Trauma and fiction 27. Trauma and poetry 28. Trauma and life-writing 29. Graphic narratives as trauma fiction 30. Trauma and drama/theatre/performance 31. Trauma and photography 32. Post-apocalyptic fiction and the future anterior PART V: Places and events 33. Trauma in Holocaust literature 34. The German occupation of France, 1940–44 35. The Vietnam War 36. Narratives of the Rwandan genocide 37. 9/11 38. The Iraq War 39. Katrina 40. Transgenerational nuclear trauma Index 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 Traumais 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.Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.