25th October/mis Hydref 2023 (Week 4 of term): Professor Hans J Ladegaard (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Title: The experience of trauma in domestic migrant workers’ storytelling: Sociolinguistic and psychological perspectives
Every year, thousands of women leave their families in developing countries like Indonesia and the Philippines to work as domestic migrant workers (DMWs) in developed economies in Asia and the Middle East. They do it to support their families, not least their children’s education. But migration often comes at a high price for DMWs: not only do they have to endure loneliness and separation from their loved ones, many are exploited and abused. Drawing on a large corpus of more than 500 domestic migrant worker narratives recorded at shelters in Hong Kong and among returnees in Indonesia and the Philippines, this talk analyzes narratives of suffering and humiliation. The women talk about their painful encounters with verbal and physical assault, sexual assault, starvation, and the fear and anxiety they experienced while working for an abusive employer. Trauma storytelling represents a break not just with a particular form of representation, but with the very possibility of representation at all. The talk outlines some of the characteristics of stories of suffering, including a broken disruptive style, incoherent stories that break with ordinary logic, and lack of appropriate vocabulary to account for extreme suffering. Finally, I discuss how we as researchers (should) deal with other people’s stories of suffering.
This seminar will take place in Room 3.58 of the John Percival Building, Colum Drive. We encourage in-person attendance. If you cannot come along, you can join online (live) by clicking here.
Speaker bio: Hans Ladegaard studied at the University of Southern Denmark and Cambridge University. Prior to his present post as Professor (and Head until 2021) of the Department of English & Communication at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he taught at universities in Denmark and the UK. His research interests include intercultural communication, language attitudes and stereotypes, narratives of migration, and discourse analysis. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Language & Intercultural Communication (Routledge).
Practical information
Seminars take place on Wednesdays from 12.10 – 1.00pm in Room 3.58 of the John Percival Building on Colum Drive and live, via Zoom, in some cases. Each session comprises a short introduction to the speaker, the talk of around 35-40 minutes and the opportunity for questions from the floor.
Although sessions end at 1pm, their aim is to encourage connections across the University and beyond and to give opportunities to think together. Therefore, you will be welcome to stay for an extra 15 to 20 minutes of further questions, discussions and chat, if that develops.
For more details or to suggest future speakers, please contact Dr Frances Rock.