Author: Dorthe Berntsen File Type: pdf We often remember personal experiences without any conscious effort. A piece of music heard on the radio may stir a memory of a moment from the past. Such occurrences are known as involuntary autobiographical memories. They often occur in response to environmental stimuli or aspects of current thought. Until recently, they were treated almost exclusively as a clinical phenomenon, as a sign of distress or a mark of trauma. In this innovative work, however, Dorthe Berntsen argues that involuntary memories are predominantly positive and far more common than previously believed. She argues that they reflect a basic mode of remembering that predates the more advanced strategic retrieval mode, and that their primary function may simply be to prevent us from living in the present. Reviewing a variety of cognitive, clinical, and aesthetic approaches, this monograph will be of immense interest to anyone seeking to better understand this misunderstood phenomenon.ReviewA valuable addition to a field that has traditionally received less attention than warranted. Scholarly, timely and necessary for memory research as a whole. --Dr James Erskine, School of Psychology, University of HertfordshireA marvellous book. Writing with an engaging style, Berntsen identifies the important common and distinctive features of involuntary memories and provides a virtual blueprint for the next generation of research. Cognitive and clinical psychologists alike will appreciate her analysis of the role of memory in posttraumatic stress... --Joseph Fitzgerald, Wayne State UniversityDorthe Berntsens book on involuntary memories - experiences we all have many times every day - is a marvellous work of scholarship on a neglected topic. She takes a broad view, collects relevant evidence from disparate fields, and writes in an elegant but readable style. The book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in how memory works and would make a wonderful text for a graduate or advanced undergraduate seminar on this fascinating topic. --Henry L. Roediger, Washington University in St. Louis....In a marvelous new book, Involuntary Autobiographical Memories An Introduction to the Unbidden Past, Dorthe Berntsen makes a convincing case for the central importance of an alternative mode of remembering that has been for the most part overlooked by research psychologists.... Berntsens ambitious aim is to integrate this elusive phenomenon into contemporary psychological research and theory without losing sight of its relevance to clinical practice. In this respect, the book succeeds admirably.... This book is much more than a research review and integration of findings. The writing is exceptionally lucid, the content scholarly without being ponderous. Engaging case examples (including a detailed analysis of involuntary memories described by the French author Marcel Proust) and personal insights are used to illustrate scientific concepts or clarify arguments... The exciting theoretical issues raised in this book will engage students, experienced researchers, and scholars who share a serious interest in the organization and functions of autobiographical memory. For readers who believe that psychology and related disciplines are enriched by a truly integrative and theory-driven approach, this book is an inspiration. -David B. Pillemer, University of New Hampshire, Memory StudiesBook DescriptionWe often remember personal experiences without any conscious effort. Such occurrences are known as involuntary autobiographical memories, traditionally defined as a sign of distress or trauma. This 2009 study sheds light on a much-maligned phenomenon, arguing that involuntary memories are predominantly positive and far more common than previously thought.

Author: Niall H. D. Geraghty File Type: pdf Focusing on the work of the Argentine authors Cesar Aira, Marcelo Cohen, and Ricardo Piglia, The Polyphonic Machine conducts a close analysis of the interrelations between capitalism and political violence in late twentieth-century Argentina. Taking a long historical view, the book considers the most recent Argentine dictatorship of 19761983 together with its antecedents and its after-effects, exploring the transformations in power relations and conceptions of resistance which accompanied the political developments experienced throughout this period. By tracing allusive fragments of Argentine political history and drawing on a range of literary and theoretical sources Geraghty proposes that Aira, Cohen and Piglia propound a common analysis of Argentine politics during the twentieth century and construct a synergetic philosophical critique of capitalism and political violence. The book thus constitutes a radical reappraisal of three of the most important authors in contemporary Argentine literature and contributes to the philosophical and historical understanding of the most recent Argentine military government and their systematic plan of state terrorism. **Review In this meticulously researched and lucidly argued work, Niall Geraghty explores the work of three of the most important novelists of the post-dictatorship period in Argentina. Balancing insightful textual analysis with detailed philosophical exposition, The Polyphonic Machine is essential reading for any student or scholar interested in the shifting landscapes of literature and power in Latin America. Edward King, University of Bristol How does literature function in society? is the ambitious challenge confronted by Niall Geraghty with ostensible focus on, but reaching well beyond, the writings of Cesar Aira, Marcelo Cohen, and Ricardo Piglia. Evidencing alertness to the particular debates and discourses arising from the terror, overt or disguised, of dictatorship and post-dictatorship Argentina, The Polyphonic Machine reveals how viable critical theories are produced, instrumentally, though the very act of writing fiction. It analyzes persuasively as co-implicated and complementary literary projects often deemed irreconcilable yet inviting a shared immanent critique of the beyond words criminality of Dirty War and neo-liberal totalitarianisms. Bernard McGuirk, Nottingham University About the Author Niall H.D. Geraghty is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Institute of Latin American Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.