Event overview
Goldsmiths Literature Seminar: Sarah Clement, 'Does Postmemory Theory Work for Individual Intergenerational Trauma? A Close Reading of Han Kang’s The White Book'
Marianne Hirsch’s literary theory of postmemory has mainly been used to examine creative works about the Holocaust, and other collective traumas, made by the generation after. I consider whether this theory is applicable to individual-level trauma experienced by one generation and written about by the next. Using a postmemory framework, I undertook a close reading of Han Kang’s The White Book, an autobiographical verse-novel about Han’s parents’ baby who died hours after birth. I examine how ‘postmemories’ of this death are transmitted from one generation to the next through: broken refrains; enigmatic messages; silence; ‘inhabiting’ trauma; photographs; objects; emanations of emotion; the language of the body; existence feeling contingent on prior loss; and the sense of temporal and spatial exile. Next I consider this novel as a form of ‘postmemorial work’ constituted of: reanimating past lives; commemoration and memorialisation; the act of witness; piecing together / repair; making anew; the act of empathy; laying ghosts to rest; working through / recovery; and seeking justice. I conclude that Han’s The White Book can usefully be understood through the lens of postmemory and that postmemory theory can be extended to works about individual-level trauma and loss explored by the generation after.
The talk will be followed by group discussion and a reflective activity around the theme of postmemory. Snacks and drinks will also be available following the presentation.
For questions and accessibility needs please contact the GLITS Team at glits@gold.ac.uk
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 2024 | 5:15pm - 7:00pm |
Accessibility
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