English 317TR - Trauma in the Premodern World

When told that his wife's madness cannot be cured, Macbeth asks: 'Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased?' Although the term 'trauma' was not used to describe a psychological state until the nineteenth century, Macbeth's query suggests that premodern subjects both understood and experienced the sorts of psychic injury the term denotes. This course will explore how trauma was discerned, expressed and represented in premodern European culture. Readings will include contemporary theoretical explorations of trauma, as well as works by Shakespeare, Marlowe, Aphra Behn, and Daniel Defoe.

Prereq: English 200 and English 210 or 211.