In this course, we will read a selection of life writing documenting psychological distress and the stigma surrounding it. As we consider this literature, in the genres of memoir and psycho-autobiography, we will trace the benefits derived from the act of writing about trauma. Such writing has often been considered therapeutic in itself, providing a narrative of psychological distress for those who experience it, yielding insights into the trauma and often the relief of disclosure.
Another dimension of our reading will include exploring how this literature documents the stigmatizing and marginalizing of those who suffer psychological trauma. We will gauge how such life writing, in unfolding for readers the experience of trauma, can prompt important questions. Among these questions, we will focus on the ethics of the blanket labeling of psychological trauma under the insufficient term, “mental illness”, exploring the literature for evidence of how those who cope with psychological trauma answer the stigma that comes with such labeling.
Main Texts
Woolf, Virginia, Moments of Being (Excerpts)
Frame, Janet, Angel at My Table
Styron, William, Darkness Visible
Kaysen, Susana, Girl Interrupted
Redfield Jamison, Kay, An Unquiet Mind (Excerpts)
Selected Supplemental Short Life Writing and Critical Readings (Provided in PDF on Laulima)
Course Assignments (with Percentages toward Semester Assessment)
Two five-page essays (30%)
Final ten-page Research Paper (25%)
One Oral report with two-page Summary (15%)
Final Exam (In-class Short Answer/Take-home essay) (20%)
Participation (10%) and Steady Attendance