Trauma and Resilience in World Literature
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Abstract
Trauma is a term that has been investigated from various approaches like medicine, psychoanalytic theory, cultural theory, human geography, psychogeography, literature, and philosophy. The complex nature of the concept of trauma requires more definition. This paper argues that concepts of trauma and resilience are explored through various cultural productions like literature, visual arts and even media production like podcasts. Trauma and resistance have grown too important and crucial that there are recently emerging literary genres that engage with these two themes exclusively, like trauma narratives, refugee literature diasporic fiction. This article explores themes of trauma, resilience, and healing in world literature by providing an account of various of literary works from different authors from different national, linguistic, ethnic, racial, gender and religious backgrounds. It focuses more extensively on canonical postcolonial and diasporic texts, which constitute what might be called a transnational archive of resilience and healing from personal and collective trauma. This study concludes that trauma and resilience are universal experiences, and that world literature reflects universal and culturally specific trauma, emphasizing postcolonial resilience.
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