World Literature and Epigenetics: Women Narrating Transgenerational Trauma

Introducing World Literature and Epigenetics: Women Narrating Transgenerational Trauma

Professor Katrin Wehling-Giorgi (Durham University) sets out the themes and aims of the World Literature and Epigenetics: Women Narrating Transgenerational Trauma workshop, exploring the intersections of literature, trauma, memory, and epigenetics.

Literary narratives of transgenerational trauma

Professor Katrin Wehling-Giorgi (Durham University), Dr Hannie Lawlor (University of Oxford), and Professor Tiziana de Rogatis (University for Foreigners of Siena) present papers on literary narratives of transgenerational trauma.

Conversation with Igiaba Scego

Writer, journalist, and activist Igiaba Scego reflects on transgenerational trauma through a discussion of excerpts from her work, read and explored by the session chair, with excerpts from her novel Cassandra in Mogadishu featured.

Clare Hanson's Keynote on Epigenetics and Reparative Social Justice

Professor Clare Hanson (University of Southampton) gives a keynote on Epigenetics and Reparative Social Justice.

Interdisciplinary perspectives from Nadja Reissland and Sana Saboowala

Professor Nadja Reissland and Dr Sana Saboowala offer interdisciplinary perspectives on epigenetics and transgenerational experience through presentations on maternal mental health and its effects on fetal and neonatal behavioural development.

Closing remarks by Katrin Wehling-Giorgi

Professor Katrin Wehling-Giorgi brings the World Literature and Epigenetics: Women Narrating Transgenerational Trauma workshop to a close.

Content note:

This event includes discussion of intergenerational and transgenerational trauma, including in the contexts of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution, postcolonial violence and its ongoing legacies, indigenous dispossession, war and political violence. Some material engages with first- and second-hand accounts of loss, persecution, forced migration, and bodily suffering. People who may find this material distressing are encouraged to engage with it at their own pace and to seek support if needed.