Memories and Monsters Psychology, Trauma, and Narrative [Paperback]

Memories and Monsters explores the nature of the monstrous or uncanny, and the way psychological trauma relates to memory and narration. This interdisciplinary book works on the borderland between psychology and philosophy, drawing from scholars in both fields who have helped mould the bourgeoning field of relational psychoanalysis and phenomenological and existential psychology. The editors have sought out contributions to this field that speak to the pressing question: how are we to attend to and contend with our monsters?

The authors in this volume examine the ways in which we might best relate to our monsters, and how the legacies of ancient traumas and anxieties continue to affect our current stories, memories and everyday practices. Covering such manifestations of the monstrous as racism, crimes against humanity, trauma as portrayed in music and art, and the Holocaust, this book explores the impact the uncanny has on our individual and collective psyches.

By focusing on a very specific theme, and one that excites the imagination, Memories and Monstersstokes the flames of an important current movement in relational psychoanalysis. It will appeal to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists, as well as professionals in psychology and graduate school students and tutors in the fields of both psychology and philosophy.

Introduction: Listening to Monsters Eric Severson and David Goodman

Chapter 1: Apocalyptic Exceptionalism and Existential Particularity: The Rise in Popularity of Dystopian Myths and our Immortal Other Paul Cantz, PSYD, ABPP

Chapter 2: The Golem Must Live, the Golem Must Die: On the Moral Imperative of Writing Critical Cultural Histories of Psychology Philip Cushman

Chapter 3: The Golem and the Decline of Language and MagicOr, Why Our Machines Disappoint Joel Rosenberg