CFP: Humanities: Special issue on rape and trauma

Humanities will publish a Special Issue on rape and trauma: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities/special_issues/rape_trauma

As many feminists have noted, rape is a common source of trauma, yet there is little public discourse on the subject. Trauma from any source is even more common—most people experience a traumatic event in their lifetime. Yet there is surprisingly little discourse on trauma. Collecting trauma narratives is important for at least three reasons: (1) discussing traumatic memories can restore a sense of control and agency in the speaker, (2) publicizing trauma narratives contributes to a public understanding of trauma, including how to respond appropriately to trauma survivors, and (3) documenting trauma narratives supports a properly polyvocal and critical approach to trauma, as opposed to the stereotypical, hegemonic, and simplistic notions that tend to prevail in public discourse. In addition, the very definition of trauma is deeply contested, and trauma discourse has implications for various theoretical constructs, such as notions of the self, agency, autonomy, and responsibility. For example, if discussing trauma enhances the speaker’s agency, perhaps this means that agency is inherently relational (see Brison 2003). We invite critical perspectives on rape and trauma from any discipline in the humanities. Papers may draw from any relevant source of evidence, ranging from the empirical sciences to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays.

Prof. Dr. Gualtiero Piccinini (University of Missouri - St. Louis)
Dr. Michelle Ciurria (University of New South Wales: Practical Justice Initiative)
Guest Editors

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to the website.* Once you are registered, go to the submission form: http://susy.mdpi.com. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles, as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process by referees selected and approved by the editors. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities/instructions. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 350 CHF (Swiss Francs). English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

Key words: trauma, rape, abuse, victim, survivor, identity, narrative, self, agency, autonomy, responsibility

*Register here: http://susy.mdpi.com/user/register

*Log in here: http://susy.mdpi.com/user/login
 

If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Ciurria at [email protected].