Naslov
Testimony between historiography and literature

Autori
Badurina, Natka

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Feminisms in a Transnational Perspective 2011 - Women narrating their lives and actions / Borić, Rada ; Jambrešić Kirin, Renata ; Siročić, Zorica-Iva - Zagreb : Centar za ženske studije, 2011, 17-17

Skup
Feminisms in a Transnational Perspective 2011 - Women narrating their lives and actions

Mjesto i datum
Dubrovnik, Hrvatska, 23.05.2011. - 27.05.2011

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Pozvano predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
traumatic memory; trauma theory; era of the witness

Sažetak
This talk will discuss the specific character of testimony about traumatic experiences of the World War II, particularly those from the concentration camps. Presented are the main points of view from the Anglo-American trauma theory regarding the modes of expressing such an experience (C. Caruth, H. White, D. La Capra). Through the example of the unpublished remembrances of Milojka Mezorana dealing with Auschwitz, we will discuss the relationship of a historiographer to a witness, and also the question of power established over the testimonial text when the same is used as a source of exact historiography knowledge. The status of testimony in historiography expands in range from its distanced use exclusively as a source of searchable data, to historiographer’s empathic immersion in witness' inability to articulate one’s experience in a discourse. We will present arguments for the “middle position” of a secondary witness between these two poles, taking into account the difficulty of testifying and the susceptibility of a testimony to discourse, but also the witness' appeal to give credence to his or her testimony. We will speak in favor of establishing the testimony archives, the institutions that would enable respect of the specific narrative working over traumatic experiences as a process without end.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Etnologija i antropologija

POVEZANOST RADA