About reaction papers:
The purpose of the reaction papers (indeed, all your written assignments) is for you to demonstrate that you understand and can apply the concepts we are learning about in this class. I am looking for you to find specific examples of topics covered in the book/film and how and why they illustrate a particular concept. I am NOT looking for a detailed retelling of the story; rather pick and choose scenes and characters’ behaviors that are relevant to the topics covered in the syllabus. For example, given that we’ve covered the role of disorganized attachment as a type of trauma and understand it as a precursor to pathological dissociation, you might illustrate this process at work in a character. Or you might talk about a particular character’s resilience to trauma and explain the underlying psychological processes. You could talk about different types of trauma and why they impact a character in the way that they do. Another option might be to discuss the difference between the DSM’s view of PTSD and Van der Kolk’s idea of “developmental trauma”. There are numerous other concepts that you might discuss and you might choose to address biological and social issues as they impact a character as well.
These are just a few examples. Two or three of these concepts, as well as an awareness of the bio/psycho/social model underlying this course, will put you in the ballpark of an A.
POETRY
Dickinson, E. (1961) Final Harvest: Emily Dickinson’s poems. US/Canada: Little, Brown & Company.uy
(or any other collection of Dickinson’s poetry) You can also find the poems on line by googling : Emily Dickinson first lines.
Discuss how the following poems by Dickinson capture the themes of trauma and dissociation:
First line: “After great pain, a formal feeling comes- “
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER READING
Alpert, J. (1995) ED.) Sexual Abuse Recalled: Treating trauma in the era of the recovered memory debate. New Jersey/London: Jason Aronson Inc.
Alpert, J. & Goren, E. (2017) (EDS.) Psychoanalysis, Trauma and Community: History and contemporary reappraisals. New York: Routledge
Beltsiou, J. (2016) Immigration in psychoanalysis: Locating ourselves. New York: Routledge.
Boulanger, G. (2007) Wounded by Reality: Understanding and treating adult onset trauma. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Eisold, B. (2019). Psychodynamic Perspectives on Asylum Seekers and the Asylum-Seeking Process. New York: Routledge.
Freud, A. & Breuer, J. (1895/2004). Studies in Hysteria. New York: Penguin Books.
Grand, S. & Salberg, G. (2017). Transgenerational Trauma and the Other: Dialogues across history and difference. New York: Routledge.
Hagman, G. 12016) (ED.) New Models of Bereavement Theory: New mourning. New York: Routledge
Harris, A. & Botticelli, S. (2010) (EDS.) First Do No Harm: the paradoxical encounters of psychoanalysis, warmaking and resistance. New York: Routledge
Herman, J. (2015) Trauma and Recovery: The aftermath of violence- from domestic abuse to political terror. New York: Basic Books
Herman, J. (2023). Truth and Repair: How trauma survivors envision justice. New York: Basic Books
Howell, E. (2011) Understanding and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder.
New York: Routledge
Howell, E. & Itzkowitz, S. (2016). The Dissociative Mind in Psychoanalysis: Understanding and working with trauma. New York: Routledge.
Howell, E. (2020) Trauma and Dissociation-Informed Psychotherapy: Relational healing and the therapeutic connection. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Moskowitz, A., Dorahy, M., & Schafer, I. (2019). (EDS.) (2nd ed.) Psychosis, trauma and dissociation: Evolving perspectives on severe psychopathology. New Jersey: John Wiley $ Sons, Ltd.
Putnam, F. (1997) Dissociation in Children and Adolescents: A developmental perspective. New York: The Guilford Press
Richman, S. (2014). Mended by the Muse: Creative transformations of trauma. New York, Routledge
Salberg, J. & Grand, S. (2017). Wounds of History: Repair and resilience in the trans–generational transmission of trauma. New York: Routledge.
Stein, A. (2007) Prologue to Violence: Child abuse, dissociation and crime. New Jersey/London: The Analytic Press
Stein, A. (2016) A Tale of Two Offenders: Why dissociation is under-diagnosed in forensic populations. Pp.231-240. In: E. Howell & S. Itzkowitz (EDS.) (2016) The Dissociative Mind in Psychoanalysis: Understanding and working with trauma.
Stern, D. (2010) Partners in Thought: Working with unformulated experience, dissociation and enactment. New York: Routledge
Terr, L. (1990) Too Scared to Cry: How trauma affects children and ultimately us all. New York: Basic Books
Van der Kolk, D. (2014) The Body Keeps the Score. New York, Penguin Books