For nearly three centuries, scholars have debated the sources for Swift's portrayal of the Yahoos... more For nearly three centuries, scholars have debated the sources for Swift's portrayal of the Yahoos in Gulliver's Travels. In this essay, I argue that Swift's representation of the Yahoos was informed by personal and cultural anxieties about Jews as a quasi-racial, ethnoreligious group. Further, I present evidence that Part Four of Gulliver's Travels is replete with anti-Semitic tropes. In creating the Yahoos as a symbol of the degenerate aspects of human nature, Swift deliberately or unconsciously relied on these age-old Judaeophobic projections. The attitudes towards Jews that permeated his milieu heavily informed his representation of these aspects-more heavily, in fact, than attitudes towards any of the other groups that have been put forth as sources for the Yahoos. I begin by reviewing existing theories about Swift's sources for the Yahoos. I then present extensive evidence to support my argument that Judaeophobia was at the heart of Swift's portrayal. Next, I explore the sociopolitical context for Swift's use of anti-Jewish canards. Finally, I briefly consider the factors that have led previous scholars to disregard the clear evidence for the presence, and, indeed, the ubiquity of such canards throughout Part Four of the Travels.
Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war barely caught the attention of Western media, but it raged o... more Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war barely caught the attention of Western media, but it raged on for over a decade, bringing misery to millions of people in West Africa from 1991 to 2002. The atrocities committed in this war and the accounts of its survivors were duly recorded by international organizations, but they run the risk of being consigned to dusty historical archives. Derived from public testimonies at a UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Freetown, this remarkable poetry collection aims to breathe new life into the records of Sierra Leone’s civil war, delicately extracting heartbreaking human stories from the morass of legal jargon. By rendering selected trial transcripts in poetic form, Shanee Stepakoff finds a novel way to communicate not only the suffering of Sierra Leone’s people, but also their courage, dignity, and resilience. Her use of innovative literary techniques helps to ensure that the voices of survivors are not forgotten, but rather heard across the world. T...
Interviews were conducted with 147 witnesses (109 men, 38 women) after they had testified in the ... more Interviews were conducted with 147 witnesses (109 men, 38 women) after they had testified in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a tribunal jointly established by the United Nations and the Sierra Leonean government to prosecute individuals accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war. Participants were asked to describe changes, for better or worse, they had experienced since testifying. Responses were examined using content analysis. More than 4 of 5 witnesses described the consequences of testifying as primarily positive (vs. negative or neutral). Further, more than 3 times as many positive as negative consequences were mentioned. The benefit mentioned most often was a feeling of having unburdened oneself. About 1 in 5 witnesses reported that testifying had resulted in long-term reductions in sadness, anxiety, anger, and/or intrusive posttraumatic stress symptoms. A small minority of witnesses p...
This study examines the relationship between suicidal ideation and behavior and five types of sex... more This study examines the relationship between suicidal ideation and behavior and five types of sexual victimization in a sample of 393 female undergraduate students. Participants completed self-report measures of sexual victimization, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior. Adult sexual victimization, but not childhood sexual abuse, predicted current hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Both childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual victimization predicted suicidal behavior. One in four rape victims, in contrast to approximately 1 in 20 nonvictimized women, had engaged in a suicidal act. Vaginal penetration following the threat or use of physical force was a stronger predictor of suicidal behavior than penetration without the use of force and/or force without penetration. The findings point to the importance of inquiring about experiences of sexual victimization when conducting research or treatment with suicidal women as well as the need for suicide risk assessment in p...
In the aftermath of war atrocities, symbolization—a process whereby an experience or emotion that... more In the aftermath of war atrocities, symbolization—a process whereby an experience or emotion that has been unexpressed is given form—can provide survivors with a sense of relief and solace and can attenuate isolation by permitting traumatic experiences to be shared with and acknowledged by others. This article focuses on creative methods of symbolization used in a trauma counseling program for
... Two years later, he sent for Chaya Leah and their surviving daughter, Rose. In America, Chaya... more ... Two years later, he sent for Chaya Leah and their surviving daughter, Rose. In America, Chaya Leah was given a new first name: Ida. ... Jewish writers, poets, and singer-songwriters have tended to be quite comfortable with confessional modes of expression. ...
The prediction of events and the creation of expectancies about their time course is a crucial as... more The prediction of events and the creation of expectancies about their time course is a crucial aspect of an infant's mental life, but temporal mechanisms underlying these predictions are obscure. Scalar timing, in which the ratio of mean durations to their standard deviations is held constant, enables a person to use an estimate of the mean for its standard deviation. It is one efficient mechanism that may facilitate predictability and the creation of expectancies in mother-infant interaction. We illustrate this mechanism with the dyadic gaze rhythm of mother and infant looking at and looking away from each other's faces. Two groups of Hi- and Lo-Distress mothers were created using self-reported depression, anxiety, self-criticism and childhood experiences. Lo-Distress infants (controls) used scalar timing 100% of the time, about double that of Hi-Distress infants. Lo-Distress mothers used scalar timing about nine times as much as Hi-Distress mothers. The diminished use of scalar timing patterns in Hi-Distress mothers and infants may make the anticipation of each other's gaze patterns more difficult for both partners.
Survivors of suicide must contend not only with traumatic grief but also with shame, stigma, and ... more Survivors of suicide must contend not only with traumatic grief but also with shame, stigma, and silence. Poetry therapy is a powerful tool for healing in this population. The utilization of preexisting poems, along with the expressive writing of poems, letters, and journals, contributes to the desensitization of traumatic memories and helps the bereaved move beyond formless anguish toward a
Every professional journal is completely dependent on the enthusiasm, wisdom, and hard work of it... more Every professional journal is completely dependent on the enthusiasm, wisdom, and hard work of its referees, who review each article in detail. Dreaming wishes to express its gratitude to the following who have served as referees over the past two years: ... Abramovitch, Henry Antrobus, John Baylor, George Belicki, Kathryn Berry, Patricia Blagrove, Mark Bograzan, Fariba Bulkeley, Kelly Bursik, Kris Bynum, Edward Bruce Campbell, Jean Cartwright, Rosalind Cohen, David Cuddy, Marion DeGarcia, Don Delaney, Gayle Dombeck, Mary Domhoff, ...
For nearly three centuries, scholars have debated the sources for Swift's portrayal of the Yahoos... more For nearly three centuries, scholars have debated the sources for Swift's portrayal of the Yahoos in Gulliver's Travels. In this essay, I argue that Swift's representation of the Yahoos was informed by personal and cultural anxieties about Jews as a quasi-racial, ethnoreligious group. Further, I present evidence that Part Four of Gulliver's Travels is replete with anti-Semitic tropes. In creating the Yahoos as a symbol of the degenerate aspects of human nature, Swift deliberately or unconsciously relied on these age-old Judaeophobic projections. The attitudes towards Jews that permeated his milieu heavily informed his representation of these aspects-more heavily, in fact, than attitudes towards any of the other groups that have been put forth as sources for the Yahoos. I begin by reviewing existing theories about Swift's sources for the Yahoos. I then present extensive evidence to support my argument that Judaeophobia was at the heart of Swift's portrayal. Next, I explore the sociopolitical context for Swift's use of anti-Jewish canards. Finally, I briefly consider the factors that have led previous scholars to disregard the clear evidence for the presence, and, indeed, the ubiquity of such canards throughout Part Four of the Travels.
Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war barely caught the attention of Western media, but it raged o... more Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war barely caught the attention of Western media, but it raged on for over a decade, bringing misery to millions of people in West Africa from 1991 to 2002. The atrocities committed in this war and the accounts of its survivors were duly recorded by international organizations, but they run the risk of being consigned to dusty historical archives. Derived from public testimonies at a UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Freetown, this remarkable poetry collection aims to breathe new life into the records of Sierra Leone’s civil war, delicately extracting heartbreaking human stories from the morass of legal jargon. By rendering selected trial transcripts in poetic form, Shanee Stepakoff finds a novel way to communicate not only the suffering of Sierra Leone’s people, but also their courage, dignity, and resilience. Her use of innovative literary techniques helps to ensure that the voices of survivors are not forgotten, but rather heard across the world. T...
Interviews were conducted with 147 witnesses (109 men, 38 women) after they had testified in the ... more Interviews were conducted with 147 witnesses (109 men, 38 women) after they had testified in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a tribunal jointly established by the United Nations and the Sierra Leonean government to prosecute individuals accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war. Participants were asked to describe changes, for better or worse, they had experienced since testifying. Responses were examined using content analysis. More than 4 of 5 witnesses described the consequences of testifying as primarily positive (vs. negative or neutral). Further, more than 3 times as many positive as negative consequences were mentioned. The benefit mentioned most often was a feeling of having unburdened oneself. About 1 in 5 witnesses reported that testifying had resulted in long-term reductions in sadness, anxiety, anger, and/or intrusive posttraumatic stress symptoms. A small minority of witnesses p...
This study examines the relationship between suicidal ideation and behavior and five types of sex... more This study examines the relationship between suicidal ideation and behavior and five types of sexual victimization in a sample of 393 female undergraduate students. Participants completed self-report measures of sexual victimization, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior. Adult sexual victimization, but not childhood sexual abuse, predicted current hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Both childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual victimization predicted suicidal behavior. One in four rape victims, in contrast to approximately 1 in 20 nonvictimized women, had engaged in a suicidal act. Vaginal penetration following the threat or use of physical force was a stronger predictor of suicidal behavior than penetration without the use of force and/or force without penetration. The findings point to the importance of inquiring about experiences of sexual victimization when conducting research or treatment with suicidal women as well as the need for suicide risk assessment in p...
In the aftermath of war atrocities, symbolization—a process whereby an experience or emotion that... more In the aftermath of war atrocities, symbolization—a process whereby an experience or emotion that has been unexpressed is given form—can provide survivors with a sense of relief and solace and can attenuate isolation by permitting traumatic experiences to be shared with and acknowledged by others. This article focuses on creative methods of symbolization used in a trauma counseling program for
... Two years later, he sent for Chaya Leah and their surviving daughter, Rose. In America, Chaya... more ... Two years later, he sent for Chaya Leah and their surviving daughter, Rose. In America, Chaya Leah was given a new first name: Ida. ... Jewish writers, poets, and singer-songwriters have tended to be quite comfortable with confessional modes of expression. ...
The prediction of events and the creation of expectancies about their time course is a crucial as... more The prediction of events and the creation of expectancies about their time course is a crucial aspect of an infant's mental life, but temporal mechanisms underlying these predictions are obscure. Scalar timing, in which the ratio of mean durations to their standard deviations is held constant, enables a person to use an estimate of the mean for its standard deviation. It is one efficient mechanism that may facilitate predictability and the creation of expectancies in mother-infant interaction. We illustrate this mechanism with the dyadic gaze rhythm of mother and infant looking at and looking away from each other's faces. Two groups of Hi- and Lo-Distress mothers were created using self-reported depression, anxiety, self-criticism and childhood experiences. Lo-Distress infants (controls) used scalar timing 100% of the time, about double that of Hi-Distress infants. Lo-Distress mothers used scalar timing about nine times as much as Hi-Distress mothers. The diminished use of scalar timing patterns in Hi-Distress mothers and infants may make the anticipation of each other's gaze patterns more difficult for both partners.
Survivors of suicide must contend not only with traumatic grief but also with shame, stigma, and ... more Survivors of suicide must contend not only with traumatic grief but also with shame, stigma, and silence. Poetry therapy is a powerful tool for healing in this population. The utilization of preexisting poems, along with the expressive writing of poems, letters, and journals, contributes to the desensitization of traumatic memories and helps the bereaved move beyond formless anguish toward a
Every professional journal is completely dependent on the enthusiasm, wisdom, and hard work of it... more Every professional journal is completely dependent on the enthusiasm, wisdom, and hard work of its referees, who review each article in detail. Dreaming wishes to express its gratitude to the following who have served as referees over the past two years: ... Abramovitch, Henry Antrobus, John Baylor, George Belicki, Kathryn Berry, Patricia Blagrove, Mark Bograzan, Fariba Bulkeley, Kelly Bursik, Kris Bynum, Edward Bruce Campbell, Jean Cartwright, Rosalind Cohen, David Cuddy, Marion DeGarcia, Don Delaney, Gayle Dombeck, Mary Domhoff, ...
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