Language/Literature paper by Dömötör, Teodóra
A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Repatriation and its Narrative Representation (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentationAbstract (max. 250 words):
In this presentation, I aim to address some of the key issues that are relevant to a contemporary psychoanalytic understanding of repatriation as a psychological experience. I shall also rely on Hungarian and American literature in an effort to bridge and expand theoretical conversation with another discipline.
The complex process of identity (re)construction informs repatriation as much as expatriation. While readjusting to one’s home culture may be less difficult than adjusting to a foreign culture as a sojourner or expatriate, re-entry should still be viewed as one form of cultural adjustment, the process of which has several similarities and differences with adjustment to life in a foreign country. Preparedness for repatriation and cultural identity change predict distress. The symptoms presented by returnees range from ineffective communication with friends to dealing with stereotypes, uncertainty over cultural identity, social withdrawal, and decreased relationship satisfaction; all resulting from a changed identity affected by previous foreign influences. The most common physical and mental manifestations of re-entry shock – including anxiety, loneliness or feelings of loss – inform the works of authors who experienced geographic mobility over the last century, which this paper sets out to analyze.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
She received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Surrey, UK. She currently works as Assistant Professor at Karoli Gaspar University (Budapest). As a visiting scholar, she conducted research at Columbia University (NY) and JFK Presidential Library (Boston), with whom she maintains an active relationship. Her primary research goals include the study of the narrative representation of immigration and identity in twentieth-century transnational American literature with an interdisciplinary (psychoanalysis, gender studies, social history) approach. In addition to articles and chapters in American and European publications, she is working on her first monograph focusing on the trauma of expatriation.