This course recognizes the prevalence of trauma in our world and thus in campus and classroom environments. It examines multiple reasons why some groups of people are exposed more frequently than others to traumatizing situations without necessarily becoming traumatized as individuals. We read critical discussions of trauma (especially neuro-biological and psychoanalytic) and literary texts that deal with trauma. Some of the questions we explore are the relation between individual and collective experiences of trauma; somatic and psychological consequences of trauma; how trauma impedes learning and well-being; the benefits and harms of trigger warnings; responsible ways to speak and write about trauma.

For majors who declared in Fall 2023 or later, this course can fulfill one of two subject requirements for the English major:

Literature and the Social

Literature Across Disciplines