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This panel seeks papers that consider how post-structuralist notions of a de-centered self intersect with the “re-centering” psychotherapeutic work of the trauma memoirs so popular today. Crafting a narrative is psychology’s primary method of treating trauma. By rewriting his or her life, the writer claims the traumatic experience as his or her own, repairs the self that has been shattered, and finds ways to reconnect with a world that has proven untrustworthy. However, producing a narrative is an immensely complex undertaking, and narratization which makes claims of literal truth is particularly vexed. A memoir’s seemingly transparent rendering of experience becomes cloudy when looked at in the context of the cultural and discursive influences on constructing a life’s story.
Of interest are papers that look at particular trauma memoirs, that consider the genre’s vogue, that look at the publishing industry, or that look at the theoretical and therapeutic issues in psychology and writing.
Please send a 1-2 page abstract and a brief bio or CV with your affiliation and electronic and postal contact information to paul.rosa@ncc.edu. Please also let me know if you have any AV needs.
Deadline: September 15, 2008.
Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) Convention
Feb. 26-March 1, 2009
Boston, Massachusetts
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