Review: Recent theorisations of trauma fiction, postcolonialism, and the south African novel

Njovane, Thando

Title: Review: Recent theorisations of trauma fiction, postcolonialism, and the south African novel
Creator: Njovane, Thando
Subject: To be catalogued
Date Issued: 2014
Date: 2014
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/458635
Identifier: vital:75757
Identifier: https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC156467
Description: Drawing on both psychological and sociological definitions of trauma, the essay collection The Splintered Glass engages with the intersection between individual and cultural trauma, while simultaneously warning against the blurring of the distinction between the two. In line with this, trauma is defined not only as a "wound of the mind" of an individual, but also as a "link between cultures" (x). While bearing a remarkable resemblance to the Freudian haunting inherent in most definitions of historical trauma (see also Erikson, Tal and Caruth), the concept of cultural trauma, as utilised in this collection, is situated in the present and seeks to transcend this haunting by gesturing towards a "safe post-traumatic space" (6). A traumatic history "established and sustained by power structures, social agents and contending groups" in a "constant, recurrent struggle that stirs up a troubling memory" (xii) is shared by many, if not all, postcolonial societies.
Format: 9 pages
Format: pdf
Language: English
Relation: English in Africa
Relation: Njovane, T., 2014. Review: Recent theorisations of trauma fiction, postcolonialism, and the south African novel. English in Africa, 41(1), pp.199-207
Relation: English in Africa volume 41 number 1 199 207 2014 0376-8902
Rights: Publisher
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the English in Africa Statement (https://www.ru.ac.za/isea/publications/journals/englishinafrica/)

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Njovane, Thando (Dr)

RU Department of Literary Studies in English

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