Semester Award Granted
Spring 2025
Submission Date
May 2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Ian P. MacDonald
Abstract
Intergenerational trauma is being debated and researched in fields such as neuroscience and sociology, and yet many question whether one can genuinely feel the negative effects of a lived experience from a distant ancestor. This project aims to raise awareness on the attempts at erasing Harriet Tubman’s heritage through scholarship on her disability, and to highlight the presence of intergenerational trauma (as defined by Dr. DeGruy’s observations in Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome) in Toni Morrison’s Beloved. I note the ripple effects of chattel slavery in the United States seen in the consciousness and unconsciousness of Black Americans within a literary context by bringing in Orlando Patterson’s concept of social death in conversation with intergenerational trauma. The goal of this project is to encourage continued research into intergenerational trauma of Black Americans and to caution against scholarship that may promote the erasure of their trauma and heritage.
Recommended Citation
McCray, Jasmine, "THE SOULS OF BLACK GHOSTS: CENTERING INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA OF BLACK AMERICANS FROM HARRIET TUBMAN TO BELOVED" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 54.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general/54