Trauma, Posttraumatic Growth, and World Literature : Metamorphoses and a Literary Arts Praxis

Pandemics, global climate chaos, worldwide migration crises? These phenomena are provoking traumatic experiences in unprecedented ways and numbers. This book is targeted for clinicians, scientists, cultural theorists, and other scholars and students of trauma studies interested in cultivating interdisciplinary understandings of trauma and posttraumatic conditions, especially resistance, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. Following clinicians’ invitation for trauma survivors to wear a philosopher’s hat, to engage in creative activities, and to employ cognitive exercises to combat psychic constriction, I introduce the concept of a Literary Arts Praxis. The Praxis is built on clinical research and literature seeped in existential, phenomenological, and aesthetic themes. I argue that an educational training in a Praxis might help trauma survivors to get at trauma, as they engage in imaginative escapades, while forging alliances with characters; interpretative exercises, such as triggering emotions through phenomenological experiences; and creative writing endeavors, that include turning testimonies into imaginative stories. Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Trauma, Posttraumatic Growth, and Pedagogy Part I: An Evolution of Key Concepts and Terms 1 Embryonic Concepts of Trauma and Traumatism from the Humanities 2 The Birth of the Terms Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Part II: A Gallery of Trauma Studies 3 Landscapes of Contemporary Scientific Trauma Theories 4 A Portrait of Cultural Trauma Studies Part III: Treatments and Educations for Trauma Survivors 5 Clinical Treatments for Trauma Survivors 6 Metamorphoses of the Mind and a Literary Arts Praxis Part IV: Engaging in a Literary Arts Praxis and World Literature 7 The Trauma of Aging and Reading Adventures with Miguel de Cervantes 8 The Trauma of a Plague and Creative Writing Exercises with Albert Camus 9 Childhood Trauma and Imaginative Escapades with J.M.G. Le Clézio Conclusion: Summing up and Sailing forward Bibliography Index "I argue that an educational training in a Praxis might help trauma survivors to get at trauma, as they engage in imaginative escapades, while forging alliances with characters; interpretative exercises, such as triggering emotions through phenomenological experiences; and creative writing endeavors, that include turning testimonies into imaginative stories"-- Provided by publisher