Trauma and Self

Written by scholars recognised for their achievement in a range of disciplines, this collection of original essays examines the core of psychological issue of the postmodern world: trauma and its impact on our understanding of self. Defined as disruptions in the fragile process of symbolisation, or the human capacity to give life meaning by representing the self’s immortality, trauma is an increasingly conspicuous factor in the formation of the self in a world filled with perpetual violence. others show how trauma and other fundamental breaks in human continuity translate into psychiatric, historical, religious, literary and scientific aspects of the self. The contributors to Trauma and Self analyse the multiple meanings and deeper significance of trauma, whether of shell-shocked war veterans or victims of sexual abuse, and they discuss its manifestations, both subtle and obvious, in human behaviour and memory. Organised as an honorary volume to Robert Jay Lifton, the contributors acknowledge Lifton’s considerable influence on contemporary empirical and theoretical understanding of trauma.