Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and Identity
Amnesia fictions may be the most abundant precursors to the contemporary neuronovel. A cluster of recent, high-profile fiction and nonfiction amnesia narratives join a rapidly evolving tradition of neuronovels and brain memoirs, drawing on neuroscience to explore philosophical and social questions a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2021-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/17472 |
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| author | Jason Tougaw |
| author_facet | Jason Tougaw |
| author_sort | Jason Tougaw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Amnesia fictions may be the most abundant precursors to the contemporary neuronovel. A cluster of recent, high-profile fiction and nonfiction amnesia narratives join a rapidly evolving tradition of neuronovels and brain memoirs, drawing on neuroscience to explore philosophical and social questions about the brain, identity, social relations, and history. While these texts vary in the representation of memory, forgetting, and identity, they share some fundamental elements: 1) They portray extreme instances of amnesia in order to explore philosophical and psychology questions about the role of forgetting in memory itself, 2) They offer detailed exploration of elements of identity that remain when memory is lost, and 3) They build worlds around their amnesiac characters, worlds designed to afford them respect, agency, and opportunities to express aspects of their identities that survive their failing memories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-67d460800c754f81b8b6dacf16f4d905 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-67d460800c754f81b8b6dacf16f4d9052025-01-06T09:08:42ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362021-12-0116410.4000/ejas.17472Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and IdentityJason TougawAmnesia fictions may be the most abundant precursors to the contemporary neuronovel. A cluster of recent, high-profile fiction and nonfiction amnesia narratives join a rapidly evolving tradition of neuronovels and brain memoirs, drawing on neuroscience to explore philosophical and social questions about the brain, identity, social relations, and history. While these texts vary in the representation of memory, forgetting, and identity, they share some fundamental elements: 1) They portray extreme instances of amnesia in order to explore philosophical and psychology questions about the role of forgetting in memory itself, 2) They offer detailed exploration of elements of identity that remain when memory is lost, and 3) They build worlds around their amnesiac characters, worlds designed to afford them respect, agency, and opportunities to express aspects of their identities that survive their failing memories.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/17472AmnesiaMemoryForgettingIdentityNeuronovelBrain Memoir |
| spellingShingle | Jason Tougaw Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and Identity European Journal of American Studies Amnesia Memory Forgetting Identity Neuronovel Brain Memoir |
| title | Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and Identity |
| title_full | Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and Identity |
| title_fullStr | Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and Identity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and Identity |
| title_short | Amnesia Narratives: Memory, Forgetting, and Identity |
| title_sort | amnesia narratives memory forgetting and identity |
| topic | Amnesia Memory Forgetting Identity Neuronovel Brain Memoir |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/17472 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jasontougaw amnesianarrativesmemoryforgettingandidentity |