Writing History, Writing Trauma - Parallax - Re-visions of Culture and Society

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Aurelia

The book frames “writing history” together with “writing trauma” by examining how trauma and post-traumatic symptoms can be studied in relation to broader social inquiry. It addresses debates that either treat trauma studies as politically threatening or reduce it to individual psychology, rhetorical analysis, or deconstruction focused on aporia and unreadability. The 2014 preface emphasizes linking trauma research to questions about the relationship between individuals and society, political implications, and limits and possibilities in approaches involving melancholia, mourning, and working through.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages265

Reading Time6 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Preface 2014

Preface to the First Edition

Writing History, Writing Trauma

Trauma, Absence, Loss

Holocaust Testimonies: Attending to the Victim's Voice

Perpetrators and Victims: The Goldhagen Debate and Beyond

Interview for Yad Vashem

Conclusion: Writing (about) Trauma

Index

Writing History, Writing Trauma PARALLAX••RE-VISIONS OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY Stephen G. Nichols, Gerald Prince, and Wendy Steiner, SERIES EDITORS Writing History, Writing Trauma With a New Preface Dominick LaCapra Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore The second essay in this book, "Trauma, Absence, Loss," was originally published in the journal Critical Inquiry 25 (1999), 696-727, by the University of Chicago Press. It is reprinted here with permission. © 2001, 2014 Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2014 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 [www.press.jhu.edu](www.press.jhu.edu) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data LaCapra, Dominick, 1939-author. Writing History, Writing Trauma / Dominick LaCapra. pages cm. - (Parallax: Re-visions of Culture and Society) Includes index. "With a new preface." ISBN 978-1-4214-1400-3 (pbk. : acid-free paper) -ISBN 978-1-4214-1401-o (electronic) -ISBN 1-4214-1400-7 (pbk. : acid-free paper) -ISBN 1-4214-1401-5 (electronic) 1. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)-Historiography. 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)-Personal narratives History and criticism. 3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Psychological aspects. 4. Psychic trauma. I. Title. D804.348.L34 2014 940.53'18072-dc23 2013045489 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Special discounts are availablefar bulk purchases ofthis book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at [4w-5I6-6936 or specialsales@press.jhu.edu](4w-5I6-6936 or specialsales@press.jhu.edu). Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible. ForJane and Faye This page intentionally left blank I Contents Preface 20I4 tX Preface to the First Edition XXtX I Writing History, Writing Trauma I 2 Trauma, Absence, Loss 4 3 3 Holocaust Testimonies: Attending to the Victim's Voice 86 4 Perpetrators and Victims: The Goldhagen Debate and Beyond 114 5 Interview for Yad Vashem Qune 9, 1998) 141 6 Conclusion: Writing (about) Trauma 181 Index 22I This page intentionally left blank I Preface 20I4 The study of trauma is clearly on the current agenda of many scholars, especially in the field of literary studies. But some see "trauma studies" as a threat, either to a political focus or to some seemingly alternative paradigm, for example, formal or delimited rhetorical analysis in terms oftropes and style. The either/or option arises when the study of trauma and its effects is made to exclude other problems, notably when it is simply conflated with "history," understood in terms of individual psychology, or converted into a more or less disguised displacement of another approach, particularly a version of deconstruction that turns time and again to aporia and unreadability. The aim of this book is to treat trauma and post-traumatic symptoms in a manner that links them to inquiry into other significant problems, including the relations between the individual and society, the political implications of a research orientation, and the limitations and possibilities of an emphasis on melancholia, the sub lime, the transhistorical, mourning, acting out, and working through problems that bear on social and political issues. Rather than rehearse problems and responses that should be evident to a reader of this book, I would in this preface like to take a different tack-that of directing attention to some issues raised in the book that warrant further development and critical assessment. 1 The very meeting of history and trauma is the most evident of these issues. Despite notable exceptions (such as Saul Friedlander), it is I. For a discussion of important responses to this book a

FAQs

What is the main aim of the book as described in the 2014 preface?

To treat trauma and post-traumatic symptoms by linking them to inquiry into other significant problems, including relations between the individual and society and the political implications of a research orientation.

What concerns does the preface raise about the field of trauma studies?

Some scholars view “trauma studies” as a threat to political focus or as an alternative paradigm, for instance by reducing trauma to formal rhetorical analysis, individual psychology, or disguised displacements of other approaches.

How does the book connect trauma to social and political issues?

It emphasizes limits and possibilities in emphases such as melancholia, mourning, acting out, and working through—approaches that bear directly on social and political problems.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Aurelia