Issue Details: First known date: 2010... 2010 Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a surge in the publication and popularity of autobiographical writings about childhood. Linking literary and cultural studies, Contesting Childhood draws on a varied selection of works from a diverse range of authors - from first-time to experienced writers. Kate Douglas explores Australian accounts of the Stolen Generation, contemporary American and British narratives of abuse, the bestselling memoirs of Andrea Ashworth, Augusten Burroughs, Robert Drewe, Mary Karr, Frank McCourt, Dave Pelzer, and Lorna Sage, among many others." "Drawing on trauma and memory studies and theories of authorship and readership, Contesting Childhood offers commentary on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations that have shaped this genre. Douglas examines the content of the narratives and the limits of their representations, as well as some of the ways in which autobiographies of youth have become politically important and influential. This study enables readers to discover how stories configure childhood within cultural memory and the public sphere.' (Publisher's blurb)

Contents

* Contents derived from the New Brunswick, New Jersey,
c
United States of America (USA),
c
Americas,
:
Rutgers University Press , 2010 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Stolen Childhoods : Rosalie Fraser's Shadow Child and Donna Mehan's It Is No Secret, Kate Douglas , single work criticism
'Fraser's Shadow Child, a Stolen Generations autobiography, relates her experiences living with a foster family in the 1960s and 1970s after being removed from her parents' care. Though the narrator recounts the abuse she suffered at the hands of her foster mother, Mrs Kelly, Shadow Child links the direct forms of (physical, sexual, and emotional) abuse that she suffered to the cultural abuse and neglect levelled at her and her siblings by the welfare institutions that were responsible for them. Fraser endures horrific physical and sexual abuse from her foster mother. The narrator uses term 'the Welfare' to describe the various systems that, while claiming to have her interests and protection in mind, offered no protection and seemingly had no interest in her.' (Author's introduction)
(p. 33-42)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • New Brunswick, New Jersey,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Rutgers University Press ,
      2010 .
      Extent: viii, 223 pp.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 9780813546643 (pbk. : alk. paper), 0813546648 (pbk. : alk. paper), 9780813546636 (hardcover : alk. paper), 081354663X (hardcover : alk. paper)

Works about this Work

[Untitled] Lizzie Oliver , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Life Writing , June vol. 10 no. 2 2013; (p. 237-240)

— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory Kate Douglas , 2010 single work criticism
Untitled Janice Haaken , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Biography , Fall vol. 33 no. 4 2010; (p. 853-855)

— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory Kate Douglas , 2010 single work criticism
[Untitled] Lizzie Oliver , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Life Writing , June vol. 10 no. 2 2013; (p. 237-240)

— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory Kate Douglas , 2010 single work criticism
Untitled Janice Haaken , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Biography , Fall vol. 33 no. 4 2010; (p. 853-855)

— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory Kate Douglas , 2010 single work criticism
Last amended 28 Oct 2013 09:40:04
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